Acesulfame potassium and liver cancer cell immune evasion
What it found
In lab tests on liver cancer cells, acesulfame potassium raised levels of a protein called PD-L1, which helped the cells avoid being killed by immune T cells.
What they found
Animal and lab studies
PD-L1 protein raised
Acesulfame potassium raised PD-L1 protein levels in liver cancer cells, but did not raise the mRNA levels that code for it.
Autophagy slowed
The rise in PD-L1 came from slower autophagic degradation of the protein, not from more of it being made.
Signaling pathway involved
Acesulfame potassium stimulated the ERK1/2-mTORC1 signaling pathway, which mediated the slower degradation of PD-L1.
Immune evasion
The extra PD-L1 reduced T cell-mediated death of the liver cancer cells, helping the cells evade the immune system.
What the authors conclude
“In summary, the present study suggests that Ace K promotes HCC progression by upregulating the PD-L1 protein level.”
Also in their conclusions
- They suggest that Ace K promotes HCC progression by upregulating the PD-L1 protein level.
How it was done
Some research has linked artificial sweeteners to cancer risk, including liver cancer, so the authors wanted to see if acesulfame potassium helps liver cancer cells hide from the immune system.
They grew liver cancer cells in the lab and treated them with acesulfame potassium, then measured PD-L1 protein and mRNA levels, checked the ERK1/2-mTORC1 signaling pathway and autophagy, and tested whether T cells could still kill the treated cells.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- These are lab tests on liver cancer cells, so they cannot show what acesulfame potassium does in people.
- The study does not show whether acesulfame potassium causes liver cancer or affects its growth in a living body.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
- Authors work at
- Kyungpook National University, South Korea
The paper
- Title
- Acesulfame potassium upregulates PD-L1 in HCC cells by attenuating autophagic degradation
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Animals and lab studies
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Kim DH, Kwon EJ, Park KG, Jin J, Byun JK (2024). Acesulfame potassium upregulates PD-L1 in HCC cells by attenuating autophagic degradation. Biochemical and biophysical research communications. doi:10.1016/j.bbrc.2024.149921PubMed 38603831DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error