The role of factor X in cancer pyroptosis 2616

Abstract Description Recent therapeutic strategies in cancer have focused on shifting from apoptosis to alternative forms of programmed cell death, such as pyroptosis. Factor X, a human-specific protein with high sequence homology to factor Y, is known to activate apoptotic pathways, and both factors reportedly share common substrates. However, despite their high homology, emerging evidence suggests that factors X and Y may exert distinct functional roles in cancer cell death. To elucidate the mechanistic role of factor X in cancer, we generated a factor X knockout cell line and conducted various cell death assays. Our study demonstrated that factor X modulates the expression of inflammatory cytokines associated with pyroptosis. Furthermore, we observed that factor X-mediated pyroptosis promotes M1-like polarization of macrophages within the tumor microenvironment, leading to an enhanced pro-inflammatory response. Collectively, these findings suggest that targeting factor X could represent a novel therapeutic strategy for liver cancer. Additionally, our study reveals a unique, evolutionarily conserved function of factor X in humans, highlighting its potential as a selective target for cancer treatment. Funding Sources This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea(NRF) grant funded by the Korea government(MSIT) (NRF-2023R1A2C1005804, RS-2024-00408822) Topic Categories Tumor Immunology: Cellular Responses and Tumor Microevironment (TIME)