Fatty acid synthase is a metabolic oncogene targetable in malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs) are soft tissue sarcomas with minimal therapeutic opportunities. We observed that lipid droplets (LDs) accumulate in human MPNST cell lines and in primary human tumor samples. The goal of this study was to investigate the relevance of lipid metabolism to MPNST survival and as a possible therapeutic target.

Methods

Based on preliminary findings that MPNSTs accumulate LDs, we hypothesized that a deregulated lipid metabolism supports MPNST cell survival/proliferation rate. To test this, we examined respiration, role of fatty acid oxidation (FAO), and the enzyme fatty acid synthase involved in de novo fatty acid synthesis in MPNSTs using both genetic and pharmacological tools.

Results

We demonstrate that LDs acc

SUBMITTER: Patel AV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4633928 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature