Fig. 4: Increased stearoyl-CoA desaturase activity prevents lipotoxicity in cetuximab-resistant HNSCC cells. | Nature Communications

Fig. 4: Increased stearoyl-CoA desaturase activity prevents lipotoxicity in cetuximab-resistant HNSCC cells.

From: PPARα-mediated lipid metabolism reprogramming supports anti-EGFR therapy resistance in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Fig. 4

Intracellular abundance of total FA (a) and relative proportion of SFA, MUFA and PUFA (b) in cetuximab-sensitive (-S) and -resistant (-R) FaDu and SC263 cells (N = 3). Intracellular FA abundance in neutral lipids (NL), free FA (FFA) and phospholipids (PL) fractions in cetuximab-sensitive (-S) and -resistant (-R) FaDu (c) and SC263 cells (d) upon treatment with 50 µM BSA-conjugated palmitate (PA) for 6 h (N = 3). e Δ9 FA desaturation index in cetuximab-sensitive (-S) and -resistant (-R) FaDu and SC263 cells (N = 3). Representative immunoblotting (f) and mRNA expression (g) for SCD1 and SCD5 in cetuximab-sensitive (-S) and -resistant (-R) FaDu and SC263 cells (N = 3, n = 3). Relative abundance of saturated FA (SFA), monounsaturated FA (MUFA) and polyunsaturated FA (PUFA) in FaDu and SC263 cells, either at total levels (h, i) or in the NL fraction ( j, k) after treatment with 40 µM A939572 for 24 h (N = 3). l Growth of cetuximab-sensitive (-S) and -resistant (-R) FaDu cells after treatment with 40 µM A939572 (SCD1 inhibitor) with or without the addition of 100 µM PA for 72 h (N = 3, n = 6). Data are plotted as the means ± SEM. N indicates the number of independent biological experiments and n indicates the number of technical replicates (when >1). Significance was determined by two-way ANOVA with Sidák’s multiple comparison test (a, b, e, and g–l). P-values as indicated or ***P < 0.001; ns not significant. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.

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