Yifei Zhu,1,* Jiayi Gu,1,* Yuxin Lu,1 Qianying Tao,1 Xinliang Cao,1 Yanqing Zhu,1 Mu-qing Yang,2 Xin Liang1 

1Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Optogenetic Techniques for Cell Metabolism, Shanghai Key Laboratory of New Drug Design, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Hepatobiliary Surgical Center, Tongji Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

*These authors contributed equally to this work

Correspondence: Xin Liang; Mu-qing Yang, Email xin.liang@ecust.edu.cn; andyymq@tongji.edu.cn

Purpose: The crosstalk between hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells and hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) is one of the important mechanisms of liver cancer metastasis. The relationship between liver cancer metastasis and glycolysis has been extensively studied recently. However, the role of von Willebrand factor (vWF) mediated glycolysis mechanism in liver cancer metastasis is currently unknown.
Methods: Western blot was used to verify the expression of vWF in HCC cells. PAS staining, glycogen and L-lactate content assays were used to reflect cellular glycolysis levels. The ability of cell migration was explored by Wound-healing and Transwell assays. Besides, the effect of vWF on the progression of HCC in vivo was also studied using subcutaneous xenograft model.
Results: vWF derived from HCC cells promoted tumor migration by mediating glycolysis. Besides, vWF participated in the crosstalk between HCC cells and HSCs. HCC cells activated HSCs through vWF-mediated TGFB1 expression and secretion, and activated HSCs upregulated vWF expression in HCC cells through IL-6 secretion feedback. Further, in vitro and in vivo experiments also confirmed the importance of the JAK1/vWF/TGFB1 axis in regulating HSCs-derived IL-6 mediated HCC migration and growth.
Conclusion: In summary, this article demonstrated that IL-6 released from hepatic stellate cells enhanced glycolysis and migration ability of liver cancer cells by activating JAK1/vWF/TGFB1 axis which may also be a potential target for inhibiting liver cancer metastasis.

Keywords: glycolysis, crosstalk, vWF, migration