Hexokinase 2-driven glycolysis in pericytes activates their contractility leading to tumor blood vessel abnormalities.

ABSTRACT: Defective pericyte-endothelial cell interaction in tumors leads to a chaotic, poorly organized and dysfunctional vasculature. However, the underlying mechanism behind this is poorly studied. Herein, we develop a method that combines magnetic beads and flow cytometry cell sorting to isolate pericytes from tumors and normal adjacent tissues from patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Pericytes from tumors show defective blood vessel supporting functions when comparing to those obtained from normal tissues. Mechanistically, combined proteomics and metabolic flux analysis reveals elevated hexokinase 2(HK2)-driven glycolysis in tumor pericytes, which up-regulates their ROCK2-MLC2 mediated contractility leading to impaired blood vessel supporting fun

SUBMITTER: Meng YM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8517026 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature