Fungus Rhizopus arrhizus promotes MASLD-associated hepatocellular carcinoma through generating kynurenic acid.

Rhizopus arrhizus promotes MASLD-associated hepatocellular carcinoma by producing kynurenic acid, which accelerates tumor growth in mouse models.

• Why it matters: Understanding the role of gut fungi in liver cancer development addresses a critical gap in metabolic disease research and could lead to novel therapeutic targets.
• What they did: The study identified R. arrhizus as the most enriched fungus during MASLD progression, and used mouse models and cell assays to show its conditioned medium and KYNA promote tumor cell proliferation via MAPK pathway activation.
• The result: Blocking the interaction between KYNA and tumor cells may serve as a promising strategy to prevent or treat MASLD-HCC, highlighting the pathogenic role of R. arrhizus in liver cancer.