Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41644513›Full record

ArticleCell death & disease2026

c-Myc/GRPEL1 maintains fatty acid synthesis via FASN to support PDAC cell proliferation.

Jing Wang, Liyuan Zhang, Keke Chen, Fangze Wei, Wendi Li, Chanjuan Cui, Feng Chen, Bing Wei, Tao Huang, Hezhi Fang and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Cell death & disease, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Jing WangDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2423-9206
Liyuan ZhangDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
Keke ChenZhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Medical Genetics, College of Laboratory Medicine and Life Sciences, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China.
Fangze WeiDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
Wendi LiDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
Chanjuan CuiDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
Feng ChenDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
Bing WeiThe Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University & Henan Cancer Hospital, Zhengzhou, China.
Tao HuangThe Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University & Henan Cancer Hospital, Zhengzhou, China.
Hezhi FangDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China. fangh@cicams.ac.cn.
Wei CuiDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China. cui123@cicams.ac.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0947-5091

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 82272435National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 82302602
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cells undergo mitochondrial metabolic reprogramming to support their proliferation. However, the mechanisms by which mitochondrial protein quality control (MPQC) regulates cell metabolism remain unclear. Here, we found that c-Myc promotes PDAC cell proliferation by transcriptionally upregulating the expression of GRPEL1, an essential MPQC component. Mechanistically, c-Myc-regulated GRPEL1 maintains oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) and minimizes ROS accumulation, thereby facilitating de novo fatty acid (FA) synthesis through the transcriptional upregulation of fatty acid synthase (FASN) expression. Targeting the c-Myc/GRPEL1 axis to block FASN-regulated FA synthesis inhibited PDAC cell proliferation and tumor growth in both cell models and patient-derived organoids (PDOs), whereas FA supplementation partially reversed this inhibitory effect. Clinically, c-Myc expression is positively associated with the levels of MPQC components in pancreatic ductal cells, with GRPEL1 ranking among the top hits. Furthermore, c-Myc, GRPEL1, and FASN are all expressed at higher levels in PDAC tissues than in peri-tumoral pancreatic tissues, and both c-Myc and GRPEL1 expression levels are positively correlated with that of FASN. These findings suggest that therapeutic inhibition of FA synthesis may be promising for treating PDAC patients with active c-Myc/GRPEL1/FASN signaling. Overall, this study demonstrates that FA synthesis mediated by the c-Myc/GRPEL1/FASN axis is essential for PDAC growth.

Indexed as

Carcinoma, Pancreatic DuctalFatty AcidsFatty Acid Synthase, Type IMitochondrial ProteinsPancreatic NeoplasmsProto-Oncogene Proteins c-mycAnimalsCell Line, TumorCell ProliferationGene Expression Regulation, NeoplasticHumansMetabolic ReprogrammingMiceFASN protein, humanFatty AcidsFatty Acid Synthase, Type IMitochondrial ProteinsMYC protein, humanProto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc

Identifiers

PMID41644513
PMCPMC12894993

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.