A team of researchers in Japan has identified a protein that may play a key role in driving the progression of advanced lung adenocarcinoma, the most common form of lung cancer.
The discovery could help doctors predict how aggressive the disease will be and lead to new treatment strategies for patients who currently have limited options.
The study, published in The American Journal of Pathology, focuses on a protein called perilipin 2.
This protein sits on the surface of lipid droplets—tiny fat storage units inside cells—and helps regulate lipid metabolism, the way cells use and store fat.
In cancer cells, these stored fats act as a powerful fuel source, helping tumors grow and spread.
“Understanding how lung adenocarcinoma progresses and metastasizes is critical for developing new treatments,” said lead investigator Kana Miyata-Morita, Ph.D., from Teikyo University in Tokyo. “Our findings point to perilipin 2 as a potential target for future therapies.”
Researchers analyzed tissue samples from 214 patients with lung adenocarcinoma who underwent surgery at Teikyo University Hospital between 2010 and 2016. They found that 65 patients had tumors with high levels of perilipin 2, while 149 had low or no expression of the protein.
The results were clear: patients whose tumors had high perilipin 2 levels experienced more aggressive disease and shorter times before the cancer returned, compared with those with low levels.
Laboratory experiments further confirmed the protein’s role. When scientists used gene-editing techniques to remove perilipin 2 from lung cancer cell lines, the cancer cells accumulated far fewer lipid droplets and showed reduced ability to grow and spread.
According to Dr. Miyata-Morita, perilipin 2 is essential for maintaining these fat stores, which serve as an energy source for cancer cells. Without it, tumor cells struggle to fuel their rapid growth.
This makes the protein both a potential biomarker—something doctors could test for to predict disease progression—and a promising target for new treatments that disrupt cancer’s energy supply.
Lung cancer remains one of the leading causes of cancer deaths worldwide, with high rates of illness and mortality.
While certain targeted therapies have improved outcomes for patients with specific genetic mutations, many people with advanced lung adenocarcinoma do not have these mutations and therefore do not benefit from these drugs.
By identifying perilipin 2’s role in tumor growth, the researchers hope to open up new therapeutic possibilities, especially for patients who currently have few effective treatment options. “Our study advances understanding of how lipids drive cancer progression and highlights a new pathway we can potentially target,” Dr. Miyata-Morita said.
If future research confirms these findings, testing for perilipin 2 could become part of the diagnostic process for lung adenocarcinoma, helping to guide both prognosis and treatment planning.
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Source: KSR.
