Mineralocorticoid receptor suppresses cancer progression and the Warburg effect by modulating the miR‐338‐3p‐PKLR axis in hepatocellular carcinoma

What is it about?

The article describes a novel mechanism about the regulation of aerobic glycolysis (Warburg effects) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Classically, mineralocorticoid receptor regulates water and electrolyte homeostasis and controls blood pressure. This article found that mineralocorticoid receptor, as a transcriptional factor, directly regulated the expression of miR-338-3p and suppressed the Warburg effects of HCC cells by targeting a key enzyme of glycolysis: pyruvate kinase, liver and red blood cells(PKLR).

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Why is it important?

This work is significant as it unveiled, for the first time, that MR exerts a suppressive role in HCC progression. Down-regulation of MR expression in HCC was caused by both chromosome deletion and histone deacetylation. MR affects HCC development by modulating the miR-338-3p/ PKLR axis with an ability to suppress the Warburg effect. These data provide evidence that the MR-miR-338-3p/PKLR axis plays an important role in cancer progression by modulating aerobic glycolysis in HCC.