Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41792243›Full record

ArticleCell death and differentiation2026

BRD9 recognizes lactate-induced H3K18 lactylation to drive oncogenic chromatin remodeling in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Enwei Wei, Donglei Ji, Yanjie Jia, Ze Sun, Chunfeng Gao, Caroline Zeng, Chunyu Wang, Miaomiao Yu, Guanglei Shang, Linying Xie and 8 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Cell death and differentiation, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing 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

7 citing papers in PubMed.

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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

18 authors.

Enwei WeiInstitute of Translational Medicine, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, China.ORCID 0000-0002-9021-2853
Donglei JiInstitute of Translational Medicine, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, China.
Yanjie JiaInstitute of Translational Medicine, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, China.
Ze SunDepartment of Cell Fate and Diseases, Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Women's Reproductive Health, Jilin Provincial Clinical Research Center for Birth Defect and Rare Disease, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China.
Chunfeng GaoInstitute of Translational Medicine, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, China.
Caroline ZengPennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, USA.
Chunyu WangState Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, China.
Miaomiao YuInstitute of Translational Medicine, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, China.
Guanglei ShangInstitute of Translational Medicine, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, China.
Linying XieInstitute of Translational Medicine, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, China.
Wenju ZhangInstitute of Translational Medicine, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, China.
Yameng LiInstitute of Translational Medicine, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, China.
Yingying LiangInstitute of Translational Medicine, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, China.
Bai JiDepartment of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China.
Yanzhu YueDepartment of Cell Fate and Diseases, Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Women's Reproductive Health, Jilin Provincial Clinical Research Center for Birth Defect and Rare Disease, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China.
Yahui LiuDepartment of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China. yahui@jlu.edu.cn.ORCID 0000-0003-3081-8156
Ming-Ming ZhouDepartment of Pharmacological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA. ming-ming.zhou@mssm.edu.ORCID 0000-0002-7049-0573
Lei ZengInstitute of Translational Medicine, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, China. leizeng@jlu.edu.cn.ORCID 0000-0002-4236-6735

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 82372736
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Histone lactylation couples glycolytic metabolism to oncogenic transcription, but its mechanistic readers remain poorly defined. Here, we identify bromodomain-containing protein 9 (BRD9) as a lactyl-lysine reader that links lactate-driven H3K18 lactylation (H3K18la) to chromatin remodeling in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Clinically, elevated H3K18la levels correlate with poor HCC prognosis. Structural (NMR) and biophysical analyses demonstrate that BRD9's bromodomain engages H3K18la with weak, transient affinity through its conserved acetyl-lysine pocket, distinct from its stable H3K18ac binding. This enables BRD9 to function as a metabolic-epigenetic sensor, dynamically recruited to chromatin in response to glycolytic flux. Multi-omics profiling reveals that H3K18la recruits BRD9 and the non-canonical BRG1-associated factor (ncBAF) chromatin remodeling complex to active enhancers and promoters, promoting chromatin accessibility and driving oncogenic transcription (SPARC, TMEM64, ANGEL1, SCARB1). Glycolytic inhibition or BRD9 targeting displaces BRD9 from chromatin, suppresses oncogenes, and impairs HCC proliferation. Modulating the lactylation vis p300 or HDAC inhibition attenuates transcription and reduces tumor viability. In vivo, glycolytic inhibition suppresses tumor growth. Our findings establish a feedforward loop wherein glycolytic flux promotes H3K18la-dependent BRD9-ncBAF recruitment to remodel chromatin and sustain oncogenic transcription, defining BRD9 as a critical metabolic-epigenetic mediator and a promising therapeutic target in HCC.

Indexed as

Carcinoma, HepatocellularChromatin Assembly and DisassemblyHistonesLiver NeoplasmsTranscription FactorsAnimalsBromodomain Containing ProteinsCell Line, TumorGlycolysisHumansMetabolic ReprogrammingMiceBRD9 protein, humanBromodomain Containing ProteinsHistonesTranscription Factors

Identifiers

PMID41792243
PMCPMC13631304

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
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.