Influence of Heparan Sulfate Biosynthesis on Metabolism in Hepatacellular Carcinoma

The goal of this study was to examine the expression changes in metabolic genes in Hep3B cells resulting from knockout of EXT1. EXT1 is a gene that contributes to the structure of Heparan Sulfate (HS), a major co-receptor for growth factors. Growth factors suppress catabolic processes, so it is hypothesized that a reduction in growth factor signaling would accelerate autophagy, mitochondrial biosynthesis, and lipid catabolism. As neurodegenerative diseases show perturbations in metabolic processes, this study seeks to investigate HS as a putative target for ameliorating disease characteristics.