Army Medical University Researchers Report Research in Cancer (CircRNA regulates the liquid-liquid phase separation of ATG4B, a novel strategy to inhibit cancer metastasis?).

A recent report from Army Medical University in Chongqing, China, discusses the role of ATG4B, a key factor in autophagy, in cancer metastasis. The researchers found that ATG4B interacts with circSPECC1, a circular RNA, to facilitate liquid-liquid phase separation and ubiquitination of ATG4B. They also discovered that the m6A reader ELAVL1 inhibits the expression of circSPECC1, leading to increased expression of ATG4B and resistance to anoikis, a programmed death for detached cells. The researchers identified lopinavir, an FDA-approved compound, as a potential treatment to block this pathway and inhibit gastric cancer metastasis. [Extracted from the article]