Abstract

Protein acetylation is increasingly recognized as a key regulator of tumor progression, yet natural compounds capable of modulating this modification remain poorly defined. Apigenin, a dietary flavonoid suppresses bladder cancer progression based on in vitro functional assays and dynamic xenograft models. Mechanistically, we applied an integrated multi-omics approach to unravel that apigenin enhances SIRT6-mediated deacetylation of Nuclear Receptor Coactivator 2 (NCOA2), leading to site-specific deacetylation of NCOA2 at lysine 780 and 785. This modification potentiates PPARα transcriptional activity, reprograms cellular energy metabolism, and disrupts mitochondrial membrane potential. Clinically, reduced SIRT6 expression coupled with elevated NCOA2 and mitochondrial/β-oxidation markers correlates with metastatic progression in bladder cancer. Together, these findings identify a previously unrecognized SIRT6-NCOA2-PPARα signaling axis as a metabolic vulnerability in bladder cancer.