Study Reveals That "Fbxw7" May Be Involved in the Malignancy and Prognosis of Human Liver Cancer Cells

Release Date:April 7, 2026

Study Reveals That “Fbxw7” May Be Involved in the Malignancy and Prognosis of Human Liver Cancer Cells
~ Researchers Discover That Loss of Fbxw7 Impairs Lipid Homeostasis and Autophagy in Liver Cancer Cells ~

Research findings by a group led by Yoshihiro Hayashi, a technical staff member at the Innovation Center, were published online on March 27, 2026, in the Springer Nature medical journal *Medical Molecular Morphology*.
This study focused on a protein called “Fbxw7” that functions within liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma) cells. Using cancer cells in which the activity of this protein had been reduced, the researchers conducted a detailed investigation into how the cells’ shape and energy metabolism changed.
The results revealed that when Fbxw7 activity is reduced, the balance of lipids within the cells becomes disrupted, and changes occur in the cell’s internal structure and in the mechanism responsible for breaking down unwanted substances (autophagy). These changes may be related to cancer progression and malignancy.
In recent years, there has been an increase in liver cancers associated with lifestyle factors such as obesity and diabetes, rather than viral infections. The findings of this study are expected to provide clues for understanding how such cancers develop and progress, and to lead to the development of new treatments in the future.

[Paper Information]

Loss of Fbxw7 Disrupts Lipid Homeostasis and Autophagy in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells

Loss of Fbxw7 disrupts lipid homeostasis and autophagy in hepatocellular carcinoma cells

Details on the paper: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00795-026-00457-3
About the Innovation Center: https://www.kochi-u.ac.jp/espo/
About Technical Staff Member Hayashi’s Website:
https://www-cc-kochiu-dua0ahdcedd5e6bj.z01.azurefd.net/~jm-hayashiy/hayashiHP/index.html