A novel lncRNA driver of hepatocellular carcinoma.
We identified HELC, a previously unannotated long non-coding RNA that scaffolds the AP1 transcription factor complex to the fatty acid synthase promoter. The result is a coherent molecular axis where HELC drives lipogenic reprogramming, Skp2 upregulation, p27Kip1 degradation, and uncontrolled cell cycle progression. We then designed, synthesized, and validated HELCi-7, a first-in-class small molecule inhibitor that disrupts the HELC-AP1 interface.
The same mechanistic pattern-recognition framework that found HELC powers our diagnostic testing gap identification and non-responder stratification capabilities. The algorithm detects subtle molecular and clinical signals in harmonized patient data that code-matching approaches cannot see. For pharma and payers, this means finding the patients who should be tested but have not been, and identifying which patients on a $100K+ specialty therapy are not actually responding.