New potential therapeutic target for lung cancer treatment

A study performed by the Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy laboratory, led by Dr. Asís Palazón, Ikerbasque research Professor at CIC bioGUNE – member of BRTA -, reveals how Factor inhibiting HIF (FIH), a molecule that controls cellular adaptation to hypoxia, plays a crucial role in promoting lung cancer progression.

The team’s findings were published in the peer-reviewed journal JCI Insight, with Ana Garcia-del Río as its first author. FIH, an asparagine hydroxylase, has been found on human lung cancer tissues. The detailed analysis revealed that deletion of FIH in both mouse and human lung cancer cells increased glycolytic metabolism, aligned with an elevation in HIF activity. FIH-deficient lung cancer cells demonstrated reduced proliferation, which, when translated to in vivo scenarios, resulted in diminished tumor growth and metastatic capacity.

Furthermore, the study displayed that tumors lacking FIH were associated with a higher degree of immune infiltration by NK and T cells compared to those with competent FIH. This highlighted a direct correlation between high FIH expression and poor overall survival rates in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

This discovery opens a new avenue in lung cancer therapy, focusing on targeting FIH for the treatment of lung cancer.

The team at CIC bioGUNE extends their gratitude towards all contributing members and funding bodies that made this groundbreaking research possible, including the Spanish Cancer Association, the European Research Council (ERC), and the Basque Goverment.

Reference: Ana García-del Río, Endika Prieto-Fernández, Leire Egia-Mendikute, Asier Antoñana-Vildosola, Borja Jimenez-Lasheras, So Young Lee, Adrián Barreira-Manrique, Samanta Romina Zanetti, Ander de Blas, Paloma Velasco-Beltrán, Alexandre Bosch, Ana M. Aransay, and Asís Palazón. Journal of Clinical Investigation Insight. DOI: 10.1172/jci.insight.167394

About CIC bioGUNE

The Centre for Cooperative Research in Biosciences (CIC bioGUNE), member of the Basque Research & Technology Alliance (BRTA), located in the Bizkaia Technology Park, is a biomedical research organisation conducting cutting-edge research at the interface between structural, molecular and cell biology, with a particular focus on generating knowledge on the molecular bases of disease, for use in the development of new diagnostic methods and advanced therapies.

About Ikerbasque

Ikerbasque - Basque Foundation for Science - is the result of an initiative of the Department of Education of the Basque Government that aims to reinforce the commitment to scientific research by attracting, recovering and consolidating excellent researchers from all over the world. Currently, it is a consolidated organization that has 290 researchers/s, who develop their work in all fields of knowledge.

About BRTA

BRTA is an alliance of 4 collaborative research centres (CIC bioGUNE, CIC nanoGUNE, CIC biomaGUNE y CIC energiGUNE) and 12 technology centres (Azterlan, Azti, Ceit, Cidetec, Gaiker, Ideko, Ikerlan, Lortek, Neiker, Tecnalia, Tekniker and Vicomtech) with the main objective of developing advanced technological solutions for the Basque corporate fabric.

With the support of the Basque Government, the SPRI Group and the Provincial Councils of the three territories, the alliance seeks to promote collaboration between the research centres, strengthen the conditions to generate and transfer knowledge to companies, contributing to their competitiveness and outspreading the Basque scientific-technological capacity abroad.

BRTA has a workforce of 3,500 professionals, executes 22% of the Basque Country's R&D investment, registers an annual turnover of more than 300 million euros and generates 100 European and international patents per year.