Taurine is a natural suppressor of urea cycle via targeting ASL.

ABSTRACT: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has become the leading cause of global cancer-related mortality, which raises the demand for optimized therapeutic routes. The semi-essential micronutrient taurine has been gradually identified as a pivotal player linked to various diseases. Nevertheless, the metabolic impacts of taurine on hepatocellular carcinoma remain elusive. Here, we report that taurine is a negative regulator of urea cycle, thereby exerting a suppressive effect on growth of HCC tumors. Mechanistically, argininosuccinate lyase (ASL) is uncovered as the main target of taurine in repressing urea cycle of HCC cell lines. Furthermore, Fos proto-oncogene (FOS) functions as the transcription factor of ASL, which is significantly reduced upon taurine treatment. Physiologically, FOS-ASL axis is

SUBMITTER: Rao K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12921272 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature