Cologne Seminars on Ageing "Targeting polyamine transport in liver cancer"
- Date: Nov 13, 2025
- Time: 01:00 PM - 02:00 PM (Local Time Germany)
- Speaker: Christoph Müller
- University of Basel, The center for Molecular Sciences, CH
- Location: MPI for Biology of Ageing
- Room: Auditorium
- Host: Björn Schumacher (CECAD)
About Dr. Müller's talk:
Polyamines are positively charged molecules that interact with DNA, RNA, proteins, and lipids. They are present at millimolar concentrations in cells and are involved in numerous biological processes, especially those required for cell proliferation. Accordingly, polyamine metabolism is often dysregulated in cancer, making it a promising target for therapeutic intervention. For our studies on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), we generated liver-specific Pten and Tsc1 double-KO mice, which develop liver tumors within 16-20 weeks. Multi-omics analyses of tumor and control liver tissues revealed elevated polyamine levels in tumors despite downregulated polyamine biosynthesis enzymes. Instead, the tumor cells appear to depend on exogenous polyamines, as demonstrated by increased uptake rates in liver tumors. We have identified the responsible transporter and uncovered a novel regulatory mechanism essential for maintaining polyamine homeostasis. We are currently establishing a polyamine depletion strategy as a potential therapeutic approach for HCC.
This event is aimed at a specialist audience.