Roles of Polycomb-group in links between metabolism and cancer

癌细胞的大量增殖需要主要通过激活糖酵解产生的能量。另一方面，多梳族（Polycomb group，PcG）蛋白活性的升高被认为是肿瘤发生的原因之一。了解它们将有助于癌症治疗。我们已经确定了可能影响PcG功能的代谢激酶。这一证据使我们推测癌细胞中能量代谢和PcG功能之间的相互依赖性。在本研究中，我们通过基因敲除实验和免疫共沉淀分析来验证这一假设，揭示了其中三个可能与PcG蛋白或其功能有关。这些结果支持了我们的假设。因此，我们认为这个项目值得继续研究，为应用医学做出贡献。

Massive proliferation of cancer cells needs energy produced mainly by activating glycolysis. On the other hand, it is thought that elevated activities of Polycomb-group (PcG) proteins are one of causes for tumorigenesis. Understanding them will be helpful for cancer therapies. We have already identified mine metabolic kinases, which might affect PcG functions. This evidence has made us speculate interdependence between energy metabolism and PcG functions in cancer cells. In this study, we addressed this hypothesis by using gene knockdown experiments and co-immunoprecipitation assay, revealing that three of them could have something to do with PcG proteins or their functions. These results are supporting our hypothesis. We therefore believe that this project is worth being investigated continuously, contributing to applied medical science.