CRISPR/Cas9 screens reveal that hexokinase 2 enhances cancer stemness and tumorigenicity

We identified that HK2 facilitate the maintenance and self-renewal of liver cancer stem cells (CSCs). Moreover, HK2 exerts its function by enhancing the accumulation of acetyl-CoA and epigenetically activating the transcription of acyl-CoA synthetase long chain family member 4 (ACSL4), leading to an increase in fatty acid ß-oxidation (FAO) activity. Overall design: Huh 7 cells were transfected with siRNA targeted indicated genes using Lipofectamine RNAiMAX or were transfected with shRNA targeted indicated genes lentivirus. Chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by sequencing (ChIP-seq) was performed using indicated antibodies to study the H3K27ac status and binding sites of transcription factor in Huh 7 cell.