New relationship of E2F1 and BNIP3 with caveolin-1 in lung cancer-associated fibroblasts.

In recent years, studies have found that E2F1, a downstream effector of caveolin-1 (Cav-1), participates in tumor cell metabolic reprogramming. E2F1 modulates mitochondrial fusion and mitophagy. Bioinformatic analysis has identified the E2F1-MFN2 axis as a regulator of mitophagy. Our data establish a new novel paradigm for regulation of the tumor cell metabolic reprogramming pathway by Cav-1 that is operationally linked and mutually dependent on the transcriptional activation of E2F1 and induces mitophagy with BNIP3 in cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs).