Glioma glycolipid metabolism: MSI2–SNORD12B–FIP1L1–ZBTB4 feedback loop as a potential treatment target

Abnormal energy metabolism, including enhanced aerobic glycolysis and lipid synthesis, is a well‐established feature of glioblastoma (GBM) cells. Thus, targeting the cellular glycolipid metabolism can be a feasible therapeutic strategy for GBM. This study aimed to evaluate the roles of MSI2, SNORD12B, and ZBTB4 in regulating the glycolipid metabolism and proliferation of GBM cells. MSI2 and SNORD12B expression was significantly upregulated and ZBTB4 expression was significantly low in GBM tissues and cells. Knockdown of MSI2 or SNORD12B or overexpression of ZBTB4 inhibited GBM cell glycolipid metabolism and proliferation. MSI2 may improve SNORD12B expression by increasing its stability. Importantly, SNORD12B increased utilization of the ZBTB4 mRNA transcript distal polyadenylation signal in alternative polyadenylation processing by competitively combining with FIP1L1, which decreased ZBTB4 expression because of the increased proportion of the 3′ untranslated region long transcript. ZBTB4 transcriptionally suppressed the expression of HK2 and ACLY by binding directly to the promoter regions. Additionally, ZBTB4 bound the MSI promoter region to transcriptionally suppress MSI2 expression, thereby forming an MSI2/SNORD12B/FIP1L1/ZBTB4 feedback loop to regulate the glycolipid metabolism and proliferation of GBM cells. In conclusion, MSI2 increased the stability of SNORD12B, which regulated ZBTB4 alternative polyadenylation processing by competitively binding to FIP1L1. Thus, the MSI2/SNORD12B/FIP1L1/ZBTB4 positive feedback loop plays a crucial role in regulating the glycolipid metabolism of GBM cells and provides a potential drug target for glioma treatment.