bims-mibica Biomed News
on Mitochondrial bioenergetics in cancer
Issue of 2020‒11‒29
fifty-six papers selected by
Kelsey Fisher-Wellman, East Carolina University
  1. Warburg-like Metabolic Reprogramming in Aging Intestinal Stem Cells Contributes to Tissue Hyperplasia.
  2. KRAS-regulated glutamine metabolism requires UCP2-mediated aspartate transport to support pancreatic cancer growth.
  3. Mitochondrial Ca2+ Signaling Is an Electrometabolic Switch to Fuel Phagosome Killing.
  4. The disubstituted adamantyl derivative LW1564 inhibits the growth of cancer cells by targeting mitochondrial respiration and reducing hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α accumulation.
  5. Shikonin differentially regulates glucose metabolism via PKM2 and HIF1α to overcome apoptosis in a refractory HCC cell line.
  6. Total Cellular ATP Production Changes With Primary Substrate in MCF7 Breast Cancer Cells.
  7. PGC1α regulates mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation involved in cisplatin resistance in ovarian cancer cells via nucleo-mitochondrial transcriptional feedback.
  8. Analysis of Human Mutations in the Supernumerary Subunits of Complex I.
  9. Serine-70 phosphorylated Bcl-2 prevents oxidative stress-induced DNA damage by modulating the mitochondrial redox metabolism.
  10. Essential role of accessory subunit LYRM6 in the mechanism of mitochondrial complex I.
  11. Oxoglutarate Carrier Inhibition Reduced Melanoma Growth and Invasion by Reducing ATP Production.
  12. Evidences of a Direct Relationship between Cellular Fuel Supply and Ciliogenesis Regulated by Hypoxic VDAC1-ΔC.
  13. ETNK1 mutations induce a mutator phenotype that can be reverted with phosphoethanolamine.
  14. Systemic hypoxia inhibits T cell response by limiting mitobiogenesis via matrix substrate-level phosphorylation arrest.
  15. Quantitative proteomics revealed energy metabolism pathway alterations in human epithelial ovarian carcinoma and their regulation by the antiparasite drug ivermectin: data interpretation in the context of 3P medicine.
  16. The energetic cost of NNT-dependent ROS removal.
  17. RNA Crosslinking to Analyze the Mitochondrial RNA-Binding Proteome.
  18. DNAJA3/Tid1 Is Required for Mitochondrial DNA Maintenance and Regulates Migration and Invasion of Human Gastric Cancer Cells.
  19. Altered mitochondria functionality defines a metastatic cell state in lung cancer and creates an exploitable vulnerability.
  20. Metabolic Plasticity Is an Essential Requirement of Acquired Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor Resistance in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia.
  21. Unexpected obesity, rather than tumorigenesis, in a conditional mouse model of mitochondrial complex II deficiency.
  22. Redox activation of ATM enhances GSNOR translation to sustain mitophagy and tolerance to oxidative stress.
  23. Effects of inflammatory and anti-inflammatory environments on the macrophage mitochondrial function.
  24. Cysteine metabolic circuitries: druggable targets in cancer.
  25. G6PD overexpression protects from oxidative stress and age-related hearing loss.
  26. Clinical features of mtDNA-related syndromes in adulthood.
  27. An enolase inhibitor for the targeted treatment of ENO1-deleted cancers.
  28. Identification of Mubritinib (TAK 165) as an inhibitor of KSHV driven primary effusion lymphoma via disruption of mitochondrial OXPHOS metabolism.
  29. Exercise Reduces the Resumption of Tumor Growth and Proteolytic Pathways in the Skeletal Muscle of Mice Following Chemotherapy.
  30. The Regulatory Mechanism and Biological Significance of Mitochondrial Calcium Uniporter in the Migration, Invasion, Angiogenesis and Growth of Gastric Cancer.
  31. Identification of new OPA1 cleavage site reveals that short isoforms regulate mitochondrial fusion.
  32. Targeting copper metabolism to defeat KRAS-driven colorectal cancer.
  33. CDX2 inhibits epithelial-mesenchymal transition in colorectal cancer by modulation of Snail expression and β-catenin stabilisation via transactivation of PTEN expression.
  34. Engineered diets to improve cancer outcomes.
  35. Mitochondrial DNA analysis efficiently contributes to the identification of metastatic contralateral breast cancers.
  36. Dysregulated Glutamate Transporter SLC1A1 Propels Cystine Uptake via Xc- for Glutathione Synthesis in Lung Cancer.
  37. Coptisine induces autophagic cell death through down-regulation of PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway and up-regulation of ROS-mediated mitochondrial dysfunction in hepatocellular carcinoma Hep3B cells.
  38. HIF1α promotes tumor chemoresistance via recruiting GDF15-producing TAMs in colorectal cancer.
  39. Quantitative shotgun proteome analysis by direct infusion.
  40. Overexpression of DJ-1 alleviates autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease by regulating cell proliferation, apoptosis, and mitochondrial metabolism in vitro and in vivo.
  41. Visualizing Mitochondrial Ribosomal RNA and Mitochondrial Protein Synthesis in Human Cell Lines.
  42. PDK4 promotes tumorigenesis and cisplatin resistance in lung adenocarcinoma via transcriptional regulation of EPAS1.
  43. Integrative analysis reveals novel driver genes and molecular subclasses of hepatocellular carcinoma.
  44. Pan-Cancer Analysis of the Mitophagy-Related Protein PINK1 as a Biomarker for the Immunological and Prognostic Role.
  45. SRT2183 impairs ovarian cancer by facilitating autophagy.
  46. Fatty acid synthase promotes breast cancer metastasis by mediating changes in fatty acid metabolism.
  47. Loss of FBP1 promotes proliferation, migration, and invasion by regulating fatty acid metabolism in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.
  48. Mitochondrial Complexome Profiling.
  49. Blue-Native Electrophoresis to Study the OXPHOS Complexes.
  50. Cytosolic serine hydroxymethyltransferase controls lung adenocarcinoma cells migratory ability by modulating AMP kinase activity.
  51. Melanoma Persister Cells Are Tolerant to BRAF/MEK Inhibitors via ACOX1-Mediated Fatty Acid Oxidation.
  52. PGC-1α activates SIRT3 to modulate cell proliferation and glycolytic metabolism in breast cancer.
  53. Glutamine-directed migration of cancer-activated fibroblasts facilitates epithelial tumor invasion.
  54. SUCLA2 mutations cause global protein succinylation contributing to the pathomechanism of a hereditary mitochondrial disease.
  55. Pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) in cancer and cancer therapeutics.
  56. Multi-omics Analysis of CRISPRi-Knockdowns Identifies Mechanisms that Buffer Decreases of Enzymes in E. coli Metabolism.
  1. Cell Rep. 2020 Nov 24. pii: S2211-1247(20)31412-1. [Epub ahead of print]33(8): 108423
    Warburg-like Metabolic Reprogramming in Aging Intestinal Stem Cells Contributes to Tissue Hyperplasia.
    Otto Morris, Hansong Deng, Christine Tam, Heinrich Jasper.
      In many tissues, stem cell (SC) proliferation is dynamically adjusted to regenerative needs. How SCs adapt their metabolism to meet the demands of proliferation and how changes in such adaptive mechanisms contribute to age-related dysfunction remain poorly understood. Here, we identify mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake as a central coordinator of SC metabolism. Live imaging of genetically encoded metabolite sensors in intestinal SCs (ISCs) of Drosophila reveals that mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake transiently adapts electron transport chain flux to match energetic demand upon proliferative activation. This tight metabolic adaptation is lost in ISCs of old flies, as declines in mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake promote a "Warburg-like" metabolic reprogramming toward aerobic glycolysis. This switch mimics metabolic reprogramming by the oncogene RasV12 and enhances ISC hyperplasia. Our data identify a critical mechanism for metabolic adaptation of tissue SCs and reveal how its decline sets aging SCs on a metabolic trajectory reminiscent of that seen upon oncogenic transformation.
    Keywords:  Drosophila; Warburg; aging; calcium; cancer; intestine; metabolism; mitochondria; stem cell; tissue homeostasis
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2020.108423
  2. Nat Metab. 2020 Nov 23.
    KRAS-regulated glutamine metabolism requires UCP2-mediated aspartate transport to support pancreatic cancer growth.
    Susanna Raho, Loredana Capobianco, Rocco Malivindi, Angelo Vozza, Carmela Piazzolla, Francesco De Leonardis, Ruggiero Gorgoglione, Pasquale Scarcia, Francesca Pezzuto, Gennaro Agrimi, Simona N Barile, Isabella Pisano, Stephan J Reshkin, Maria R Greco, Rosa A Cardone, Vittoria Rago, Yuan Li, Carlo M T Marobbio, Wolfgang Sommergruber, Christopher L Riley, Francesco M Lasorsa, Edward Mills, Maria C Vegliante, Giuseppe E De Benedetto, Deborah Fratantonio, Luigi Palmieri, Vincenza Dolce, Giuseppe Fiermonte.
      The oncogenic KRAS mutation has a critical role in the initiation of human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) since it rewires glutamine metabolism to increase reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) production, balancing cellular redox homeostasis with macromolecular synthesis1,2. Mitochondrial glutamine-derived aspartate must be transported into the cytosol to generate metabolic precursors for NADPH production2. The mitochondrial transporter responsible for this aspartate efflux has remained elusive. Here, we show that mitochondrial uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2) catalyses this transport and promotes tumour growth. UCP2-silenced KRASmut cell lines display decreased glutaminolysis, lower NADPH/NADP+ and glutathione/glutathione disulfide ratios and higher reactive oxygen species levels compared to wild-type counterparts. UCP2 silencing reduces glutaminolysis also in KRASWT PDAC cells but does not affect their redox homeostasis or proliferation rates. In vitro and in vivo, UCP2 silencing strongly suppresses KRASmut PDAC cell growth. Collectively, these results demonstrate that UCP2 plays a vital role in PDAC, since its aspartate transport activity connects the mitochondrial and cytosolic reactions necessary for KRASmut rewired glutamine metabolism2, and thus it should be considered a key metabolic target for the treatment of this refractory tumour.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-020-00315-1
  3. Cell Rep. 2020 Nov 24. pii: S2211-1247(20)31400-5. [Epub ahead of print]33(8): 108411
    Mitochondrial Ca2+ Signaling Is an Electrometabolic Switch to Fuel Phagosome Killing.
    Philip V Seegren, Taylor K Downs, Marta E Stremska, Logan R Harper, Ruofan Cao, Rachel J Olson, Clint M Upchurch, Catherine A Doyle, Joel Kennedy, Eric L Stipes, Norbert Leitinger, Ammasi Periasamy, Bimal N Desai.
      Phagocytes reallocate metabolic resources to kill engulfed pathogens, but the intracellular signals that rapidly switch the immunometabolic program necessary to fuel microbial killing are not understood. We report that macrophages use a fast two-step Ca2+ relay to meet the bioenergetic demands of phagosomal killing. Upon detection of a fungal pathogen, macrophages rapidly elevate cytosolic Ca2+ (phase 1), and by concurrently activating the mitochondrial Ca2+ (mCa2+) uniporter (MCU), they trigger a rapid influx of Ca2+ into the mitochondria (phase 2). mCa2+ signaling reprograms mitochondrial metabolism, at least in part, through the activation of pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH). Deprived of mCa2+ signaling, Mcu-/- macrophages are deficient in phagosomal reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and defective at killing fungi. Mice lacking MCU in their myeloid cells are highly susceptible to disseminated candidiasis. In essence, this study reveals an elegant design principle that MCU-dependent Ca2+ signaling is an electrometabolic switch to fuel phagosome killing.
    Keywords:  MCU; NADPH; calcium; citrate; electrometabolic; immunometabolism; mitochondria, Ca(2+); phagosome; pyruvate dehydrogenase
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2020.108411
  4. Exp Mol Med. 2020 Nov 25.
    The disubstituted adamantyl derivative LW1564 inhibits the growth of cancer cells by targeting mitochondrial respiration and reducing hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α accumulation.
    Inhyub Kim, Minkyoung Kim, Min Kyung Park, Ravi Naik, Jae Hyung Park, Bo-Kyung Kim, Yongseok Choi, Kwan Young Chang, Misun Won, Hyun Seung Ban, Kyeong Lee.
      Targeting cancer metabolism has emerged as an important cancer therapeutic strategy. Here, we describe the synthesis and biological evaluation of a novel class of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α inhibitors, disubstituted adamantyl derivatives. One such compound, LW1564, significantly suppressed HIF-1α accumulation and inhibited the growth of various cancer cell lines, including HepG2, A549, and HCT116. Measurements of the oxygen consumption rate (OCR) and ATP production rate revealed that LW1564 suppressed mitochondrial respiration, thereby increasing the intracellular oxygen concentration to stimulate HIF-1α degradation. LW1564 also significantly decreased overall ATP levels by inhibiting mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC) complex I and downregulated mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling by increasing the AMP/ATP ratio, which increased AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) phosphorylation. Consequently, LW1564 promoted the phosphorylation of acetyl-CoA carboxylase, which inhibited lipid synthesis. In addition, LW1564 significantly inhibited tumor growth in a HepG2 mouse xenograft model. Taken together, the results indicate that LW1564 inhibits the growth of cancer cells by targeting mitochondrial ETC complex I and impairing cancer cell metabolism. We, therefore, suggest that LW1564 may be a potent therapeutic agent for a subset of cancers that rely on oxidative phosphorylation for ATP generation.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s12276-020-00523-5
  5. Life Sci. 2020 Nov 18. pii: S0024-3205(20)31549-6. [Epub ahead of print] 118796
    Shikonin differentially regulates glucose metabolism via PKM2 and HIF1α to overcome apoptosis in a refractory HCC cell line.
    Wei Yang, Jianhua Liu, Lin Hou, Qingmin Chen, Yahui Liu.
      AIMS: In tumor cells, shikonin treatment has been reported to inhibit glycolysis by suppressing the activity of pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) and to induce apoptosis by increasing reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. However, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) shows variable sensitivity to shikonin treatment, and the mechanism for these differences remains unclear. We evaluated the effects of shikonin on metabolic and oxidative pathways in sensitive and refractory HCC cell lines to identify mechanisms of differential sensitivity.MAIN METHODS: Cell viability and apoptosis were evaluated by MTT assay, PI/Annexin V and JC-1 staining. Mitochondrial function was further evaluated by measurements of ROS and mitochondrial mass. Oxygen consumption rates, NAD+/NADH, ATP and lactate were measured as indicators of energy metabolism and glycolysis. Protein expression associated with glycolysis and apoptosis was evaluated by western blotting, RT-qPCR and immunofluorescence staining.
    KEY FINDINGS: The sensitivity to shikonin treatment was significantly higher for HepG2 cells than for HCCLM3 cells, with less dramatic effects in HCCLM3 cells on apoptosis, ROS, and oxidative phosphorylation. Shikonin up-regulated mitochondrial biogenesis to increase mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation in HepG2 cells, but displayed the opposite trend in HCCLM3 cells. Mechanistically, shikonin promoted nuclear expression of PKM2 and HIF1α in HCCLM3 cells, with upregulation of glycolysis-related gene transcription and glycolysis.
    SIGNIFICANCE: These results suggest that PKM2 rewires glucose metabolism, which explains the differential sensitivity to shikonin-induced apoptosis in HCC cells. Our findings elucidate mechanisms for differential responses to shikonin, provide potential biomarkers, and indicate a theoretical basis for targeting glycolytic enzymes in refractory HCC.
    Keywords:  Apoptosis; Glycolysis; HIF1α; Mitochondrial biogenesis; PKM2; Shikonin
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lfs.2020.118796
  6. Front Oncol. 2020 ;10 1703
    Total Cellular ATP Production Changes With Primary Substrate in MCF7 Breast Cancer Cells.
    Maggie C Louie, Justin Ton, Maurice L Brady, Diem T Le, Jordon N Mar, Chad A Lerner, Akos A Gerencser, Shona A Mookerjee.
      Cancer growth is predicted to require substantial rates of substrate catabolism and ATP turnover to drive unrestricted biosynthesis and cell growth. While substrate limitation can dramatically alter cell behavior, the effects of substrate limitation on total cellular ATP production rate is poorly understood. Here, we show that MCF7 breast cancer cells, given different combinations of the common cell culture substrates glucose, glutamine, and pyruvate, display ATP production rates 1.6-fold higher than when cells are limited to each individual substrate. This increase occurred mainly through faster oxidative ATP production, with little to no increase in glycolytic ATP production. In comparison, non-transformed C2C12 myoblast cells show no change in ATP production rate when substrates are limited. In MCF7 cells, glutamine allows unexpected access to oxidative capacity that pyruvate, also a strictly oxidized substrate, does not. Pyruvate, when added with other exogenous substrates, increases substrate-driven oxidative ATP production, by increasing both ATP supply and demand. Overall, we find that MCF7 cells are highly flexible with respect to maintaining total cellular ATP production under different substrate-limited conditions, over an acute (within minutes) timeframe that is unlikely to result from more protracted (hours or more) transcription-driven changes to metabolic enzyme expression. The near-identical ATP production rates maintained by MCF7 and C2C12 cells given single substrates reveal a potential difficulty in using substrate limitation to selectively starve cancer cells of ATP. In contrast, the higher ATP production rate conferred by mixed substrates in MCF7 cells remains a potentially exploitable difference.
    Keywords:  ATP supply flexibility; Crabtree; bioenergetic capacity; glycolysis; oxidative phosphorylation
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2020.01703
  7. Exp Cell Res. 2020 Nov 18. pii: S0014-4827(20)30622-4. [Epub ahead of print] 112369
    PGC1α regulates mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation involved in cisplatin resistance in ovarian cancer cells via nucleo-mitochondrial transcriptional feedback.
    Luyan Shen, Li Zhou, Meihui Xia, Nan Lin, Jiaoyan Ma, Delu Dong, Liankun Sun.
      Mitochondria play an important role in effective cell energy production and cell survival under stress conditions, such as treatment with chemotherapeutic drugs. Mitochondrial biogenesis is increased in ovarian cancer tissues, which is accompanied by alteration of mitochondrial energy metabolism, structure, and dynamics. These factors are involved in tumorigenesis and apoptosis resistance, highlighting the role of mitochondria in resisting cisplatin toxicity. Cisplatin-resistant ovarian cancer cells are dependent on mitochondrial OXPHOS for energy supply, and intracellular PGC1α-mediated mitochondrial biogenesis levels are increased in this cell line, indicating the important role of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation in cisplatin resistance. As PGC1α is a key molecule for integrating and coordinating nuclear DNA and mitochondrial DNA transcriptional machinery, an investigation into the regulatory mechanism PGC1α in mitochondrial energy metabolism via transcription may provide new clues for solving chemotherapy resistance. In the present study, it was demonstrated that inhibiting the expression of PGC1α decreased nuclear and mitochondrial DNA transcription factor expression, leading to increased lactic acid production and decreased cellular oxygen consumption and mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation. Furthermore, mitochondrial stress-induced ROS production, as a feedback signal from mitochondria to the cell nucleus, increased PGC1α expression in SKOV3/DDP cells, which was involved in mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation regulation. Collectively, the present study provides evidence that PGC1α-mediated nuclear and mitochondrial transcription feedback regulates energy metabolism and is involved in ovarian cancer cells escaping apoptosis during cisplatin treatment.
    Keywords:  Cisplatin resistance; Mitochondria; OXPHOS; Ovarian cancer; mtDNA transcription
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yexcr.2020.112369
  8. Life (Basel). 2020 Nov 20. pii: E296. [Epub ahead of print]10(11):
    Analysis of Human Mutations in the Supernumerary Subunits of Complex I.
    Quynh-Chi L Dang, Duong H Phan, Abigail N Johnson, Mukund Pasapuleti, Hind A Alkhaldi, Fang Zhang, Steven B Vik.
      Complex I is the largest member of the electron transport chain in human mitochondria. It comprises 45 subunits and requires at least 15 assembly factors. The subunits can be divided into 14 "core" subunits that carry out oxidation-reduction reactions and proton translocation, as well as 31 additional supernumerary (or accessory) subunits whose functions are less well known. Diminished levels of complex I activity are seen in many mitochondrial disease states. This review seeks to tabulate mutations in the supernumerary subunits of humans that appear to cause disease. Mutations in 20 of the supernumerary subunits have been identified. The mutations were analyzed in light of the tertiary and quaternary structure of human complex I (PDB id = 5xtd). Mutations were found that might disrupt the folding of that subunit or that would weaken binding to another subunit. In some cases, it appeared that no protein was made or, at least, could not be detected. A very common outcome is the lack of assembly of complex I when supernumerary subunits are mutated or missing. We suggest that poor assembly is the result of disrupting the large network of subunit interactions that the supernumerary subunits typically engage in.
    Keywords:  Leigh syndrome; NADH dehydrogenase; complex I assembly; complex I deficiency; complex I structure; electron transport chain; mammalian complex I; mitochondria; mitochondrial dysfunction; supernumerary subunits
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/life10110296
  9. Nucleic Acids Res. 2020 Nov 27. pii: gkaa1110. [Epub ahead of print]
    Serine-70 phosphorylated Bcl-2 prevents oxidative stress-induced DNA damage by modulating the mitochondrial redox metabolism.
    Stephen Jun Fei Chong, Kartini Iskandar, Jolin Xiao Hui Lai, Jianhua Qu, Deepika Raman, Rebecca Valentin, Charles Herbaux, Mary Collins, Ivan Cherh Chiet Low, Thomas Loh, Matthew Davids, Shazib Pervaiz.
      Bcl-2 phosphorylation at serine-70 (S70pBcl2) confers resistance against drug-induced apoptosis. Nevertheless, its specific mechanism in driving drug-resistance remains unclear. We present evidence that S70pBcl2 promotes cancer cell survival by acting as a redox sensor and modulator to prevent oxidative stress-induced DNA damage and execution. Increased S70pBcl2 levels are inversely correlated with DNA damage in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and lymphoma patient-derived primary cells as well as in reactive oxygen species (ROS)- or chemotherapeutic drug-treated cell lines. Bioinformatic analyses suggest that S70pBcl2 is associated with lower median overall survival in lymphoma patients. Empirically, sustained expression of the redox-sensitive S70pBcl2 prevents oxidative stress-induced DNA damage and cell death by suppressing mitochondrial ROS production. Using cell lines and lymphoma primary cells, we further demonstrate that S70pBcl2 reduces the interaction of Bcl-2 with the mitochondrial complex-IV subunit-5A, thereby reducing mitochondrial complex-IV activity, respiration and ROS production. Notably, targeting S70pBcl2 with the phosphatase activator, FTY720, is accompanied by an enhanced drug-induced DNA damage and cell death in CLL primary cells. Collectively, we provide a novel facet of the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 by demonstrating that its phosphorylation at serine-70 functions as a redox sensor to prevent drug-induced oxidative stress-mediated DNA damage and execution with potential therapeutic implications.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkaa1110
  10. Nat Commun. 2020 Nov 26. 11(1): 6008
    Essential role of accessory subunit LYRM6 in the mechanism of mitochondrial complex I.
    Etienne Galemou Yoga, Kristian Parey, Amina Djurabekova, Outi Haapanen, Karin Siegmund, Klaus Zwicker, Vivek Sharma, Volker Zickermann, Heike Angerer.
      Respiratory complex I catalyzes electron transfer from NADH to ubiquinone (Q) coupled to vectorial proton translocation across the inner mitochondrial membrane. Despite recent progress in structure determination of this very large membrane protein complex, the coupling mechanism is a matter of ongoing debate and the function of accessory subunits surrounding the canonical core subunits is essentially unknown. Concerted rearrangements within a cluster of conserved loops of central subunits NDUFS2 (β1-β2S2 loop), ND1 (TMH5-6ND1 loop) and ND3 (TMH1-2ND3 loop) were suggested to be critical for its proton pumping mechanism. Here, we show that stabilization of the TMH1-2ND3 loop by accessory subunit LYRM6 (NDUFA6) is pivotal for energy conversion by mitochondrial complex I. We determined the high-resolution structure of inactive mutant F89ALYRM6 of eukaryotic complex I from the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica and found long-range structural changes affecting the entire loop cluster. In atomistic molecular dynamics simulations of the mutant, we observed conformational transitions in the loop cluster that disrupted a putative pathway for delivery of substrate protons required in Q redox chemistry. Our results elucidate in detail the essential role of accessory subunit LYRM6 for the function of eukaryotic complex I and offer clues on its redox-linked proton pumping mechanism.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-19778-7
  11. Pharmaceutics. 2020 Nov 23. pii: E1128. [Epub ahead of print]12(11):
    Oxoglutarate Carrier Inhibition Reduced Melanoma Growth and Invasion by Reducing ATP Production.
    Jae-Seon Lee, Jiwon Choi, Seon-Hyeong Lee, Joon Hee Kang, Ji Sun Ha, Hee Yeon Kim, Hyonchol Jang, Jong In Yook, Soo-Youl Kim.
      Recent findings indicate that (a) mitochondria in proliferating cancer cells are functional, (b) cancer cells use more oxygen than normal cells for oxidative phosphorylation, and (c) cancer cells critically rely on cytosolic NADH transported into mitochondria via the malate-aspartate shuttle (MAS) for ATP production. In a spontaneous lung cancer model, tumor growth was reduced by 50% in heterozygous oxoglutarate carrier (OGC) knock-out mice compared with wild-type counterparts. To determine the mechanism through which OGC promotes tumor growth, the effects of the OGC inhibitor N-phenylmaleimide (NPM) on mitochondrial activity, oxygen consumption, and ATP production were evaluated in melanoma cell lines. NPM suppressed oxygen consumption and decreased ATP production in melanoma cells in a dose-dependent manner. NPM also reduced the proliferation of melanoma cells. To test the effects of NPM on tumor growth and metastasis in vivo, NPM was administered in a human melanoma xenograft model. NPM reduced tumor growth by approximately 50% and reduced melanoma invasion by 70% at a dose of 20 mg/kg. Therefore, blocking OGC activity may be a useful approach for cancer therapy.
    Keywords:  ATP production; cancer metabolism; malate-aspartate shuttle; oxoglutarate carrier
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics12111128
  12. Cancers (Basel). 2020 Nov 23. pii: E3484. [Epub ahead of print]12(11):
    Evidences of a Direct Relationship between Cellular Fuel Supply and Ciliogenesis Regulated by Hypoxic VDAC1-ΔC.
    Monique Meyenberg Cunha-de Padua, Lucilla Fabbri, Maeva Dufies, Sandra Lacas-Gervais, Julie Contenti, Charles Voyton, Sofia Fazio, Marie Irondelle, Baharia Mograbi, Matthieu Rouleau, Nirvana Sadaghianloo, Amandine Rovini, Catherine Brenner, William J Craigen, Jérôme Bourgeais, Olivier Herault, Frédéric Bost, Nathalie M Mazure.
      Metabolic flexibility is the ability of a cell to adapt its metabolism to changes in its surrounding environment. Such adaptability, combined with apoptosis resistance provides cancer cells with a survival advantage. Mitochondrial voltage-dependent anion channel 1 (VDAC1) has been defined as a metabolic checkpoint at the crossroad of these two processes. Here, we show that the hypoxia-induced cleaved form of VDAC1 (VDAC1-ΔC) is implicated in both the up-regulation of glycolysis and the mitochondrial respiration. We demonstrate that VDAC1-ΔC, due to the loss of the putative phosphorylation site at serine 215, concomitantly with the loss of interaction with tubulin and microtubules, reprograms the cell to utilize more metabolites, favoring cell growth in hypoxic microenvironment. We further found that VDAC1-ΔC represses ciliogenesis and thus participates in ciliopathy, a group of genetic disorders involving dysfunctional primary cilium. Cancer, although not representing a ciliopathy, is tightly linked to cilia. Moreover, we highlight, for the first time, a direct relationship between the cilium and cancer cell metabolism. Our study provides the first new comprehensive molecular-level model centered on VDAC1-ΔC integrating metabolic flexibility, ciliogenesis, and enhanced survival in a hypoxic microenvironment.
    Keywords:  ciliopathy; glycolysis; mitochondrial respiration; primary cilium; tubulin; voltage-dependent anion channel 1
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers12113484
  13. Nat Commun. 2020 11 23. 11(1): 5938
    ETNK1 mutations induce a mutator phenotype that can be reverted with phosphoethanolamine.
    Diletta Fontana, Mario Mauri, Rossella Renso, Mattia Docci, Ilaria Crespiatico, Lisa M Røst, Mi Jang, Antonio Niro, Deborah D'Aliberti, Luca Massimino, Mayla Bertagna, Giovanni Zambrotta, Mario Bossi, Stefania Citterio, Barbara Crescenzi, Francesca Fanelli, Valeria Cassina, Roberta Corti, Domenico Salerno, Luca Nardo, Clizia Chinello, Francesco Mantegazza, Cristina Mecucci, Fulvio Magni, Guido Cavaletti, Per Bruheim, Delphine Rea, Steen Larsen, Carlo Gambacorti-Passerini, Rocco Piazza.
      Recurrent somatic mutations in ETNK1 (Ethanolamine-Kinase-1) were identified in several myeloid malignancies and are responsible for a reduced enzymatic activity. Here, we demonstrate in primary leukemic cells and in cell lines that mutated ETNK1 causes a significant increase in mitochondrial activity, ROS production, and Histone H2AX phosphorylation, ultimately driving the increased accumulation of new mutations. We also show that phosphoethanolamine, the metabolic product of ETNK1, negatively controls mitochondrial activity through a direct competition with succinate at mitochondrial complex II. Hence, reduced intracellular phosphoethanolamine causes mitochondria hyperactivation, ROS production, and DNA damage. Treatment with phosphoethanolamine is able to counteract complex II hyperactivation and to restore a normal phenotype.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-19721-w
  14. Elife. 2020 Nov 23. pii: e56612. [Epub ahead of print]9
    Systemic hypoxia inhibits T cell response by limiting mitobiogenesis via matrix substrate-level phosphorylation arrest.
    Amijai Saragovi, Ifat Abramovich, Ibrahim Omar, Eliran Arbib, Ori Toker, Eyal Gottlieb, Michael Berger.
      Systemic oxygen restriction (SOR) is prevalent in numerous clinical conditions, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD),and is associated with increased susceptibility to viral infections. However, the influence of SOR on T cell immunity remains uncharacterized. Here we show the detrimental effect of hypoxia on mitochondrial-biogenesis in activated mouse CD8+ T cells. We find that low oxygen level diminishes CD8+ T cell viral response in vivo. We reveal that respiratory restriction inhibits ATP-dependent matrix processes that are critical for mitochondrial biogenesis. This respiratory restriction-mediated effect could be rescued by TCA cycle re-stimulation, which yielded increased mitochondrial matrix-localized ATP via substrate-level phosphorylation. Finally, we demonstrate that the hypoxia-arrested CD8+ viral response could be rescued in vivo through brief exposure to atmospheric oxygen pressure. Overall, these findings elucidate the detrimental effect of hypoxia on mitochondrial-biogenesis in activated CD8+ T cells, and suggest a new approach for reducing viral infections in COPD.
    Keywords:  immunology; inflammation; mouse
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.56612
  15. EPMA J. 2020 Dec;11(4): 661-694
    Quantitative proteomics revealed energy metabolism pathway alterations in human epithelial ovarian carcinoma and their regulation by the antiparasite drug ivermectin: data interpretation in the context of 3P medicine.
    Na Li, Huanni Li, Ya Wang, Lanqin Cao, Xianquan Zhan.
      Objective: Energy metabolism abnormality is the hallmark in epithelial ovarian carcinoma (EOC). This study aimed to investigate energy metabolism pathway alterations and their regulation by the antiparasite drug ivermectin in EOC for the discovery of energy metabolism pathway-based molecular biomarker pattern and therapeutic targets in the context of predictive, preventive, and personalized medicine (PPPM) in EOC.Methods: iTRAQ-based quantitative proteomics was used to identify mitochondrial differentially expressed proteins (mtDEPs) between human EOC and control mitochondrial samples isolated from 8 EOC and 11 control ovary tissues from gynecologic surgery of Chinese patients, respectively. Stable isotope labeling with amino acids in cell culture (SILAC)-based quantitative proteomics was used to analyze the protein expressions of energy metabolic pathways in EOC cells treated with and without ivermectin. Cell proliferation, cell cycle, apoptosis, and important molecules in energy metabolism pathway were examined before and after ivermectin treatment of different EOC cells.
    Results: In total, 1198 mtDEPs were identified, and various mtDEPs were related to energy metabolism changes in EOC, with an interesting result that EOC tissues had enhanced abilities in oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), Kreb's cycle, and aerobic glycolysis, for ATP generation, with experiment-confirmed upregulations of UQCRH in OXPHOS; IDH2, CS, and OGDHL in Kreb's cycle; and PKM2 in glycolysis pathways. Importantly, PDHB that links glycolysis with Kreb's cycle was upregulated in EOC. SILAC-based quantitative proteomics found that the protein expression levels of energy metabolic pathways were regulated by ivermectin in EOC cells. Furthermore, ivermectin demonstrated its strong abilities to inhibit proliferation and cell cycle and promote apoptosis in EOC cells, through molecular networks to target PFKP in glycolysis; IDH2 and IDH3B in Kreb's cycle; ND2, ND5, CYTB, and UQCRH in OXPHOS; and MCT1 and MCT4 in lactate shuttle to inhibit EOC growth.
    Conclusions: Our findings revealed that the Warburg and reverse Warburg effects coexisted in human ovarian cancer tissues, provided the first multiomics-based molecular alteration spectrum of ovarian cancer energy metabolism pathways (aerobic glycolysis, Kreb's cycle, oxidative phosphorylation, and lactate shuttle), and demonstrated that the antiparasite drug ivermectin effectively regulated these changed molecules in energy metabolism pathways and had strong capability to inhibit cell proliferation and cell cycle progression and promote cell apoptosis in ovarian cancer cells. The observed molecular changes in energy metabolism pathways bring benefits for an in-depth understanding of the molecular mechanisms of energy metabolism heterogeneity and the discovery of effective biomarkers for individualized patient stratification and predictive/prognostic assessment and therapeutic targets/drugs for personalized therapy of ovarian cancer patients.
    Keywords:  Aerobic glycolysis; Early diagnosis; Energy metabolism pathway; Epithelial ovarian carcinoma; Ivermectin; Kreb’s cycle; Lactate shuttle; Mitochondrial proteomics; Molecular biomarker pattern; Oxidative phosphorylation; Predictive preventive personalized medicine (PPPM); Prognostic assessment; Reverse Warburg effect; SILAC-based quantitative proteomics; Warburg effect; iTRAQ-based quantitative proteomics
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s13167-020-00224-z
  16. J Biol Chem. 2020 Nov 27. 295(48): 16217-16218
    The energetic cost of NNT-dependent ROS removal.
    Nina Kaludercic, Fabio Di Lisa.
      Under conditions of high nutrient availability and low ATP synthesis, mitochondria generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) that must be removed to avoid cell injury. Among the enzymes involved in this scavenging process, peroxidases play a crucial role, using NADPH provided mostly by nicotinamide nucleotide transhydrogenase (NNT). However, scarce information is available on how and to what extent ROS formation is linked to mitochondrial oxygen consumption. A new study by Smith et al. shows that NNT activity maintains low ROS levels by means of a fine modulation of mitochondrial oxygen utilization.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.H120.016368
  17. Methods Mol Biol. 2021 ;2192 147-158
    RNA Crosslinking to Analyze the Mitochondrial RNA-Binding Proteome.
    Selma L van Esveld, Johannes N Spelbrink.
      Even though the mammalian mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) is very small and only codes for 13 proteins, all being subunits of the oxidative phosphorylation system, it requires several hundred nuclear encoded proteins for its maintenance and expression. These include replication and transcription factors, approximately 80 mitoribosomal proteins and many proteins involved in the posttranscriptional modification, processing, and stability of mitochondrial RNAs. In recent years, many of these factors have been identified and functionally characterized, but the complete mtRNA-interacting proteome is not firmly established. Shotgun proteomics has been used successfully to define whole-cell polyadenylated RNA (poly(A)-RNA) interacting proteomes using the nucleotide analogue 4-thiouridine (4SU) combined with UV crosslinking, poly(A)-RNA isolation and mass spectrometry to identify all poly(A)-RNA bound proteins. Although in this case also a considerable number of mitochondrial proteins were identified, the method was not specifically directed at the mitochondrial poly(A)-RNA bound proteome. Here we describe a method for enrichment of the mitochondrial poly(A)-RNA bound proteome based on 4SU labeling and UV crosslinking. The method can be applied either for isolated mitochondria prior to UV crosslinking or for whole-cell crosslinking followed by mitochondrial isolation.
    Keywords:  4-Thiouridine; Crosslinking; Mass spectrometry; Mitochondrial RNA; mtDNA
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-0834-0_12
  18. Cancers (Basel). 2020 Nov 20. pii: E3463. [Epub ahead of print]12(11):
    DNAJA3/Tid1 Is Required for Mitochondrial DNA Maintenance and Regulates Migration and Invasion of Human Gastric Cancer Cells.
    Sheng-Fan Wang, Kuo-Hung Huang, Wei-Chuan Tseng, Jeng-Fan Lo, Anna Fen-Yau Li, Wen-Liang Fang, Chian-Feng Chen, Tien-Shun Yeh, Yuh-Lih Chang, Yueh-Ching Chou, Hung-Hsu Hung, Hsin-Chen Lee.
      BACKGROUND: Gastric cancer is a common health issue. Deregulated cellular energetics is regarded as a cancer hallmark and mitochondrial dysfunction might contribute to cancer progression. Tid1, a mitochondrial co-chaperone, may play a role as a tumor suppressor in various cancers, but the role of Tid1 in gastric cancers remains under investigated.METHODS: The clinical TCGA online database and immunohistochemical staining for Tid1 expression in tumor samples of gastric cancer patients were analyzed. Tid1 knockdown by siRNA was applied to investigate the role of Tid1 in gastric cancer cells.
    RESULTS: Low Tid1 protein-expressing gastric cancer patients had a poorer prognosis and higher lymph node invasion than high Tid1-expressing patients. Knockdown of Tid1 did not increase cell proliferation, colony/tumor sphere formation, or chemotherapy resistance in gastric cancer cells. However, Tid1 knockdown increased cell migration and invasion. Moreover, Tid1 knockdown reduced the mtDNA copy number of gastric cancer cells. In addition, the Tid1-galectin-7-MMP-9 axis might be associated with Tid1 knockdown-induced cell migration and invasion of gastric cancer cells.
    CONCLUSIONS: Tid1 is required for mtDNA maintenance and regulates migration and invasion of gastric cancer cells. Tid1 deletion may be a poor prognostic factor in gastric cancers and could be further investigated for development of gastric cancer treatments.
    Keywords:  MMP-9; Tid1; cancer progression; galectin-7; gastric cancer; mitochondria
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers12113463
  19. Cancer Res. 2020 Nov 25. pii: canres.1865.2020. [Epub ahead of print]
    Altered mitochondria functionality defines a metastatic cell state in lung cancer and creates an exploitable vulnerability.
    Chen-Hua Chuang, Madeleine Dorsch, Philip Dujardin, Sukrit Silas, Kristina Ueffing, Johanna M Hölken, Dian Yang, Monte M Winslow, Barbara M Grüner.
      Lung cancer is a prevalent and lethal cancer type that leads to more deaths than the next four major cancer types combined. Metastatic cancer spread is responsible for most cancer deaths but the cellular changes that enable cancer cells to leave the primary tumor and establish inoperable and lethal metastases remain poorly understood. To uncover genes that are specifically required to sustain metastasis survival or growth, we performed a genome-scale pooled lentiviral-shRNA library screen in cells that represent non-metastatic and metastatic states of lung adenocarcinoma. Mitochondrial ribosome and mitochondria-associated genes were identified as top gene sets associated with metastasis-specific lethality. Metastasis-derived cell lines in vitro and metastases analyzed ex vivo from an autochthonous lung cancer mouse model had lower mitochondrial membrane potential and reduced mitochondrial functionality than non-metastatic primary tumors. Electron microscopy of metastases uncovered irregular mitochondria with bridging and loss of normal membrane structure. Consistent with these findings, compounds that inhibit mitochondrial translation or replication had a greater effect on the growth of metastasis-derived cells. Finally, mice with established tumors developed fewer metastases upon treatment with phenformin in vivo. These results suggest that the metastatic cell state in lung adenocarcinoma is associated with a specifically altered mitochondrial functionality that can be therapeutically exploited.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-20-1865
  20. Cancers (Basel). 2020 Nov 19. pii: E3443. [Epub ahead of print]12(11):
    Metabolic Plasticity Is an Essential Requirement of Acquired Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor Resistance in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia.
    Miriam G Contreras Mostazo, Nina Kurrle, Marta Casado, Dominik Fuhrmann, Islam Alshamleh, Björn Häupl, Paloma Martín-Sanz, Bernhard Brüne, Hubert Serve, Harald Schwalbe, Frank Schnütgen, Silvia Marin, Marta Cascante.
      Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are currently the standard chemotherapeutic agents for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). However, due to TKI resistance acquisition in CML patients, identification of new vulnerabilities is urgently required for a sustained response to therapy. In this study, we have investigated metabolic reprogramming induced by TKIs independent of BCR-ABL1 alterations. Proteomics and metabolomics profiling of imatinib-resistant CML cells (ImaR) was performed. KU812 ImaR cells enhanced pentose phosphate pathway, glycogen synthesis, serine-glycine-one-carbon metabolism, proline synthesis and mitochondrial respiration compared with their respective syngeneic parental counterparts. Moreover, the fact that only 36% of the main carbon sources were utilized for mitochondrial respiration pointed to glycerol-phosphate shuttle as mainly contributors to mitochondrial respiration. In conclusion, CML cells that acquire TKIs resistance present a severe metabolic reprogramming associated with an increase in metabolic plasticity needed to overcome TKI-induced cell death. Moreover, this study unveils that KU812 Parental and ImaR cells viability can be targeted with metabolic inhibitors paving the way to propose novel and promising therapeutic opportunities to overcome TKI resistance in CML.
    Keywords:  chronic myeloid leukemia; metabolic reprogramming; proteomics; tyrosine kinase inhibitors
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers12113443
  21. FASEB J. 2020 Nov 27.
    Unexpected obesity, rather than tumorigenesis, in a conditional mouse model of mitochondrial complex II deficiency.
    Fatimah Al Khazal, Seungwoo Kang, Molly Nelson Holte, Doo-Sup Choi, Ravinder Singh, Patricia Ortega-Sáenz, José López-Barneo, L James Maher.
      Mutations in any of the genes encoding the four subunits of succinate dehydrogenase (SDH), a mitochondrial membrane-bound enzyme complex that is involved in both the tricarboxylic acid cycle and the electron transport chain, can lead to a variety of disorders. Recognized conditions with such mutations include Leigh syndrome and hereditary tumors such as pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma (PPGL), renal cell carcinoma, and gastrointestinal stromal tumor. Tumors appear in SDH mutation carriers with dominant inheritance due to loss of heterozygosity in susceptible cells. Here, we describe a mouse model intended to reproduce hereditary PPGL through Cre-mediated loss of SDHC in cells that express tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), a compartment where PPGL is known to originate. We report that while there is modest expansion of TH+ glomus cells in the carotid body upon SDHC loss, PPGL is not observed in such mice, even in the presence of a conditional dominant negative p53 protein and chronic hypoxia. Instead, we report an unexpected phenotype of nondiabetic obesity beginning at about 20 weeks of age. We hypothesize that this obesity is caused by TH+ cell loss or altered phenotype in key compartments of the central nervous system responsible for regulating feeding behavior, coupled with metabolic changes due to loss of peripheral catecholamine production.
    Keywords:  catecholamines; dopaminergic cells; familial paraganglioma; mitochondrial disease; mouse; obesity; succinate dehydrogenase; tyrosine hydroxylase
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1096/fj.202002100R
  22. EMBO Rep. 2020 Nov 27. e50500
    Redox activation of ATM enhances GSNOR translation to sustain mitophagy and tolerance to oxidative stress.
    Claudia Cirotti, Salvatore Rizza, Paola Giglio, Noemi Poerio, Maria Francesca Allega, Giuseppina Claps, Chiara Pecorari, Ji-Hoon Lee, Barbara Benassi, Daniela Barilà, Caroline Robert, Jonathan S Stamler, Francesco Cecconi, Maurizio Fraziano, Tanya T Paull, Giuseppe Filomeni.
      The denitrosylase S-nitrosoglutathione reductase (GSNOR) has been suggested to sustain mitochondrial removal by autophagy (mitophagy), functionally linking S-nitrosylation to cell senescence and aging. In this study, we provide evidence that GSNOR is induced at the translational level in response to hydrogen peroxide and mitochondrial ROS. The use of selective pharmacological inhibitors and siRNA demonstrates that GSNOR induction is an event downstream of the redox-mediated activation of ATM, which in turn phosphorylates and activates CHK2 and p53 as intermediate players of this signaling cascade. The modulation of ATM/GSNOR axis, or the expression of a redox-insensitive ATM mutant influences cell sensitivity to nitrosative and oxidative stress, impairs mitophagy and affects cell survival. Remarkably, this interplay modulates T-cell activation, supporting the conclusion that GSNOR is a key molecular effector of the antioxidant function of ATM and providing new clues to comprehend the pleiotropic effects of ATM in the context of immune function.
    Keywords:  ATM; GSNOR; ROS; T cell; mitophagy
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.15252/embr.202050500
  23. Sci Rep. 2020 Nov 23. 10(1): 20324
    Effects of inflammatory and anti-inflammatory environments on the macrophage mitochondrial function.
    Dong Ji, Jian-Yun Yin, Dan-Feng Li, Chang-Tai Zhu, Jian-Ping Ye, Yuan-Qing Pan.
      Mitochondrial response to inflammation is crucial in the metabolic adaptation to infection. This study aimed to explore the mitochondrial response under inflammatory and anti-inflammatory environments, with a focus on the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle. Expression levels of key TCA cycle enzymes and the autophagy-related protein light chain 3b (LC3b) were determined in raw 264.7 cells treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and metformin (Met). Additionally, reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and mitochondrial membrane potential were assessed using flow cytometry. Moreover, 8-week-old C57BL/6J mice were intraperitoneally injected with LPS and Met to assess the mitochondrial response in vivo. Upon LPS stimulation, the expression of key TCA enzymes, including citrate synthase, α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase, and isocitrate dehydrogenase 2, and the mitochondrial membrane potential decreased, whereas the levels of LC3b and ROS increased. However, treatment with Met inhibited the reduction of LPS-induced enzyme levels as well as the elevation of LC3b and ROS levels. In conclusion, the mitochondrial TCA cycle is affected by the inflammatory environment, and the LPS-induced effects can be reversed by Met treatment.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-77370-x
  24. Br J Cancer. 2020 Nov 23.
    Cysteine metabolic circuitries: druggable targets in cancer.
    Vasco D B Bonifácio, Sofia A Pereira, Jacinta Serpa, João B Vicente.
      To enable survival in adverse conditions, cancer cells undergo global metabolic adaptations. The amino acid cysteine actively contributes to cancer metabolic remodelling on three different levels: first, in its free form, in redox control, as a component of the antioxidant glutathione or its involvement in protein s-cysteinylation, a reversible post-translational modification; second, as a substrate for the production of hydrogen sulphide (H2S), which feeds the mitochondrial electron transfer chain and mediates per-sulphidation of ATPase and glycolytic enzymes, thereby stimulating cellular bioenergetics; and, finally, as a carbon source for epigenetic regulation, biomass production and energy production. This review will provide a systematic portrayal of the role of cysteine in cancer biology as a source of carbon and sulphur atoms, the pivotal role of cysteine in different metabolic pathways and the importance of H2S as an energetic substrate and signalling molecule. The different pools of cysteine in the cell and within the body, and their putative use as prognostic cancer markers will be also addressed. Finally, we will discuss the pharmacological means and potential of targeting cysteine metabolism for the treatment of cancer.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41416-020-01156-1
  25. Aging Cell. 2020 Nov 22. e13275
    G6PD overexpression protects from oxidative stress and age-related hearing loss.
    Jose M Bermúdez-Muñoz, Adelaida M Celaya, Sara Hijazo-Pechero, Jing Wang, Manuel Serrano, Isabel Varela-Nieto.
      Aging of the auditory system is associated with the incremental production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the accumulation of oxidative damage in macromolecules, which contributes to cellular malfunction, compromises cell viability, and, ultimately, leads to functional decline. Cellular detoxification relies in part on the production of NADPH, which is an important cofactor for major cellular antioxidant systems. NADPH is produced principally by the housekeeping enzyme glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), which catalyzes the rate-limiting step in the pentose phosphate pathway. We show here that G6PD transgenic mice (G6PD-Tg), which show enhanced constitutive G6PD activity and NADPH production along life, have lower auditory thresholds than wild-type mice during aging, together with preserved inner hair cell (IHC) and outer hair cell (OHC), OHC innervation, and a conserved number of synapses per IHC. Gene expression of antioxidant enzymes was higher in 3-month-old G6PD-Tg mice than in wild-type counterparts, whereas the levels of pro-apoptotic proteins were lower. Consequently, nitration of proteins, mitochondrial damage, and TUNEL+ apoptotic cells were all lower in 9-month-old G6PD-Tg than in wild-type counterparts. Unexpectedly, G6PD overexpression triggered low-grade inflammation that was effectively resolved in young mice, as shown by the absence of cochlear cellular damage and macrophage infiltration. Our results lead us to propose that NADPH overproduction from an early stage is an efficient mechanism to maintain the balance between the production of ROS and cellular detoxification power along aging and thus prevents hearing loss progression.
    Keywords:  ARHL; NADPH; TrxR; aging; glutathione
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1111/acel.13275
  26. Arch Biochem Biophys. 2020 Nov 20. pii: S0003-9861(20)30698-6. [Epub ahead of print] 108689
    Clinical features of mtDNA-related syndromes in adulthood.
    Montano V, Gruosso F, Simoncini C, Siciliano G, Mancuso M.
      Mitochondrial diseases are the most common inheritable metabolic diseases, due to defects in oxidative phosphorylation. They are caused by mutations of nuclear or mitochondrial DNA in genes involved in mitochondrial function. The peculiarity of "mitochondrial DNA genetics rules"in part explains the marked phenotypic variability, the complexity of genotype-phenotype correlations and the challenge of genetic counseling. The new massive genetic sequencing technologies have changed the diagnostic approach, enhancing mitochondrial DNA-related syndromes diagnosis and often avoiding the need of a tissue biopsy. Here we present the most common phenotypes associated with a mitochondrial DNA mutation with the recent advances in diagnosis and in therapeutic perspectives.
    Keywords:  MELAS; MERRF; Mitochondrial disorders; Primary mitochondrial myopathy
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.abb.2020.108689
  27. Nat Metab. 2020 Nov 23.
    An enolase inhibitor for the targeted treatment of ENO1-deleted cancers.
    Yu-Hsi Lin, Nikunj Satani, Naima Hammoudi, Victoria C Yan, Yasaman Barekatain, Sunada Khadka, Jeffrey J Ackroyd, Dimitra K Georgiou, Cong-Dat Pham, Kenisha Arthur, David Maxwell, Zhenghong Peng, Paul G Leonard, Barbara Czako, Federica Pisaneschi, Pijus Mandal, Yuting Sun, Rafal Zielinski, Susana Castro Pando, Xiaobo Wang, Theresa Tran, Quanyu Xu, Qi Wu, Yongying Jiang, Zhijun Kang, John M Asara, Waldemar Priebe, William Bornmann, Joseph R Marszalek, Ronald A DePinho, Florian L Muller.
      Inhibiting glycolysis remains an aspirational approach for the treatment of cancer. We have previously identified a subset of cancers harbouring homozygous deletion of the glycolytic enzyme enolase (ENO1) that have exceptional sensitivity to inhibition of its redundant paralogue, ENO2, through a therapeutic strategy known as collateral lethality. Here, we show that a small-molecule enolase inhibitor, POMHEX, can selectively kill ENO1-deleted glioma cells at low-nanomolar concentrations and eradicate intracranial orthotopic ENO1-deleted tumours in mice at doses well-tolerated in non-human primates. Our data provide an in vivo proof of principle of the power of collateral lethality in precision oncology and demonstrate the utility of POMHEX for glycolysis inhibition with potential use across a range of therapeutic settings.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-020-00313-3
  28. Oncotarget. 2020 Nov 17. 11(46): 4224-4242
    Identification of Mubritinib (TAK 165) as an inhibitor of KSHV driven primary effusion lymphoma via disruption of mitochondrial OXPHOS metabolism.
    Abram Calderon, Samantha S Soldan, Alessandra De Leo, Zhong Deng, Drew M Frase, Emma M Anderson, Yue Zhang, Olga Vladimirova, Fang Lu, Jessica C Leung, Maureen E Murphy, Paul M Lieberman.
      KSHV-associated cancers have poor prognoses and lack therapeutics that selectively target viral gene functions. We developed a screening campaign to identify known drugs that could be repurposed for the treatment of KSHV-associated cancers. We focused on primary effusion lymphoma (PEL), which has particularly poor treatment outcomes. We developed a luciferase reporter assay to test the ability of drugs to inhibit DNA binding of the KSHV LANA DNA binding domain (DBD). In parallel, we screened drugs for selective inhibition of a KSHV+ PEL cells. While potent hits were identified in each assay, only one hit, Mubritinib, was found to score in both assays. Mubritinib caused PEL cells to undergo cell cycle arrest with accumulation of sub-G1 population and Annexin V. Mubritinib inhibited LANA binding to KSHV terminal repeat (TR) DNA in KSHV+ PEL cells, but did not lead to KSHV lytic cycle reactivation. Mubritinib was originally identified as a receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) inhibitor selective for HER2/ErbB2. But recent studies have revealed that Mubritinib can also inhibit the electron transport chain (ETC) complex at nanomolar concentrations. We found that other related ETC complex inhibitors (Rotenone and Deguelin) exhibited PEL cell growth inhibition while RTK inhibitors failed. Seahorse analysis demonstrated that Mubritinib selectively inhibits the maximal oxygen consumption (OCR) in PEL cells and metabolomics revealed changes in ATP/ADP and ATP/AMP ratios. These findings indicate that PEL cells are selectively sensitive to ETC complex inhibitors and provide a rationale for repurposing Mubritinib for selective treatment of PEL.
    Keywords:  KSHV; LANA; Mubritinib; high-throughput screen (HTS); primary effusion lymphoma
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.27815
  29. Cancers (Basel). 2020 Nov 20. pii: E3466. [Epub ahead of print]12(11):
    Exercise Reduces the Resumption of Tumor Growth and Proteolytic Pathways in the Skeletal Muscle of Mice Following Chemotherapy.
    Edson Alves de Lima, Alexandre Abilio de Souza Teixeira, Luana Amorim Biondo, Tiego Aparecido Diniz, Loreana Sanches Silveira, Dario Coletti, Silvia Busquets Rius, José Cesar Rosa Neto.
      The pathogenesis of muscle atrophy plays a central role in cancer cachexia, and chemotherapy contributes to this condition. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the effects of endurance exercise on time-dependent muscle atrophy caused by doxorubicin. For this, C57 BL/6 mice were subcutaneously inoculated with Lewis lung carcinoma cells (LLC group). One week after the tumor establishment, a group of these animals initiated the doxorubicin chemotherapy alone (LLC + DOX group) or combined with endurance exercise (LLC + DOX + EXER group). One group of animals was euthanized after the chemotherapy cycle, whereas the remaining animals were euthanized one week after the last administration of doxorubicin. The practice of exercise combined with chemotherapy showed beneficial effects such as a decrease in tumor growth rate after chemotherapy interruption and amelioration of premature death due to doxorubicin toxicity. Moreover, the protein degradation levels in mice undergoing exercise returned to basal levels after chemotherapy; in contrast, the mice treated with doxorubicin alone experienced an increase in the mRNA expression levels of the proteolytic pathways in gastrocnemius muscle (Trim63, Fbxo32, Myostatin, FoxO). Collectively, our results suggest that endurance exercise could be utilized during and after chemotherapy for mitigating muscle atrophy promoted by doxorubicin and avoid the resumption of tumor growth.
    Keywords:  Lewis lung carcinoma; chemotherapy; doxorubicin; endurance exercise; skeletal muscle; tumor
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers12113466
  30. Onco Targets Ther. 2020 ;13 11781-11794
    The Regulatory Mechanism and Biological Significance of Mitochondrial Calcium Uniporter in the Migration, Invasion, Angiogenesis and Growth of Gastric Cancer.
    Xiaofei Wang, Xudong Song, Guang Cheng, Jingwen Zhang, Liru Dong, Jie Bai, Dan Luo, Yanjie Xiong, Shuang Li, Fang Liu, Yuanyuan Sun, Xin Wang, Yuyang Li, Yunning Huang.
      Objective: Increasing evidences suggest that mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU), a selective channel responsible for mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake, is involved in the progression of several cancers. In this study, we aimed to observe the clinical implications and biological functions of MCU in gastric cancer.Methods: The expression of MCU in 90 pairs of gastric cancer tissues and adjacent normal tissues was examined using immunohistochemistry and correlation between MCU expression and clinical features was analyzed. After construction of stable MCU knockdown or overexpression gastric cancer cells, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), wound healing and transwell assays were performed to examine MMP levels, migration and invasion. Subcutaneous xenograft tumors induced by gastric cancer cells transfected with MCU siRNAs or controls were constructed. Immunofluorescence was used to detect CD34 expression. Western blot was used to detect the expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related proteins.
    Results: MCU had a higher expression in gastric cancer tissues than normal tissues. Compared to gastric cancer tissues, its expression was significantly higher after omental metastasis. MCU expression was significantly correlated with depth of invasion (p=0.048), lymph metastasis (p=0.027), TNM stage (p=0.036) and distant metastasis (p=0.029). Patients with high MCU expression indicated a worse prognosis than those with its low expression (p=0.0098). MCU significantly increased the MMP levels of gastric cancer cells. Wound healing and transwell assay results showed that MCU promoted migration and invasion of gastric cancer cells. In vivo, MCU knockdown significantly inhibited tumor growth and angiogenesis. Both in vitro and in vivo, silencing MCU suppressed the expression of HIF-1α and VEGF as well as activity of EMT processes.
    Conclusion: Our findings suggested that highly expressed MCU could promote migration, invasion, angiogenesis and growth of gastric cancer, which could become a potential therapeutic marker for gastric cancer.
    Keywords:  angiogenesis; epithelial–mesenchymal transition; gastric cancer; invasion; mitochondrial calcium uniporter
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.2147/OTT.S262049
  31. Mol Biol Cell. 2020 Nov 25. mbcE20090605
    Identification of new OPA1 cleavage site reveals that short isoforms regulate mitochondrial fusion.
    Ruohan Wang, Prashant Mishra, Spiros D Garbis, Annie Moradian, Michael J Sweredoski, David C Chan.
      OPA1, a large GTPase of the dynamin superfamily, mediates fusion of the mitochondrial inner membranes, regulates cristae morphology, and maintains respiratory chain function. Inner-membrane-anchored long forms of OPA1 (l-OPA1) are proteolytically processed by the OMA1 or YME1L proteases, acting at cleavage sites S1 and S2 respectively, to produce short forms (s-OPA1). In both mouse and human, half of the mRNA splice forms of Opa1 are constitutively processed to yield exclusively s-OPA1. However, the function of s-OPA1 in mitochondrial fusion has been debated, because in some stress conditions, s-OPA1 is dispensable for fusion. By constructing cells in which the Opa1 locus no longer produces transcripts with S2 cleavage sites, we generated a simplified system to identify the new YME1L-dependent site S3 that mediates constitutive and complete cleavage of OPA1. We show that mitochondrial morphology is highly sensitive to the ratio of l-OPA1 to s-OPA1, indicating that s-OPA1 regulates mitochondrial fusion.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1091/mbc.E20-09-0605
  32. Mol Cell Oncol. 2020 Oct 07. 7(6): 1822123
    Targeting copper metabolism to defeat KRAS-driven colorectal cancer.
    Léo Aubert, Neethi Nandagopal, Philippe P Roux.
      KRAS-driven cancers acquire profound metabolic dependencies that are intimately linked to tumor growth. Our work revealed that colorectal cancers that harbor KRAS mutations are addicted to copper metabolism. This adaptation renders tumor cells critically dependent on the copper transporter ATP7A, which reveals copper metabolism as a promising therapeutic target for KRAS-driven colorectal cancers.
    Keywords:  ATP7A; Copper; KRAS; TTM; chelators; colorectal cancer; micronutrients
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1080/23723556.2020.1822123
  33. Br J Cancer. 2020 Nov 26.
    CDX2 inhibits epithelial-mesenchymal transition in colorectal cancer by modulation of Snail expression and β-catenin stabilisation via transactivation of PTEN expression.
    Junhui Yu, Shan Li, Zhengshui Xu, Jing Guo, Xiaopeng Li, Yunhua Wu, Jianbao Zheng, Xuejun Sun.
      BACKGROUND: Emerging evidence suggests the involvement of caudal-related homoeobox transcription factor 2 (CDX2) in tumorigenesis of various cancers. Although CDX2 functions in cancer invasion and metastasis, fewer studies focus on the role of CDX2 during the induction of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in colorectal cancer (CRC).METHODS: Immunohistochemical analysis of CDX2 was performed. A series of in vitro and in vivo experiments were conducted to reveal the role of CDX2 in the invasion and metastasis of CRC.
    RESULTS: CDX2 was downregulated in CRC tissues and reduced CDX2 correlated with poor prognosis. Knockdown of CDX2 promoted colon cancer cell invasion in vitro and facilitated liver metastasis in vivo with inducing EMT phenotypes. Further investigation indicated that CDX2 retarded Akt and GSK-3β phosphorylation, and thereby diminished Snail expression, β-catenin stabilisation and nuclear translocation. The depletion of β-catenin neutralised the regulation of Slug and ZEB1 by CDX2 knockdown. Mechanistically, CDX2 antagonised PI3K/Akt activity in CRC by modulating PTEN expression. CDX2 directly bound to the promoter of PTEN and transactivated its expression.
    CONCLUSIONS: Our study first uncovered that CDX2 inhibits EMT and metastasis of CRC by regulation of Snail expression and β-catenin stabilisation via transactivation of PTEN expression.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41416-020-01148-1
  34. Curr Opin Biotechnol. 2020 Nov 21. pii: S0958-1669(20)30156-7. [Epub ahead of print]70 29-35
    Engineered diets to improve cancer outcomes.
    Marcus D Goncalves, Oliver Dk Maddocks.
      Cancer cells acquire a diverse range of metabolic adaptations that support their enhanced rates of growth and proliferation. While these adaptations help tune metabolism to support higher anabolic output and bolster antioxidant defenses, they can also decrease metabolic flexibility and increase dependence on nutrient uptake versus de novo synthesis. Diet is the major source of nutrients that ultimately support tumor growth, yet the potential impact of diet is currently underutilized during the treatment of cancer. Here, we review several forms of dietary augmentation therapy including those that alter the content of food, such as energy or macronutrient restriction, and those that alter the timing of food consumption, like intermittent fasting regimens. We discuss how these dietary strategies can be combined with pharmacologic therapies to exaggerate the metabolic liabilities of different cancer types.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copbio.2020.10.007
  35. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol. 2020 Nov 24.
    Mitochondrial DNA analysis efficiently contributes to the identification of metastatic contralateral breast cancers.
    Giulia Girolimetti, Lorena Marchio, Antonio De Leo, Miriam Mangiarelli, Laura Benedetta Amato, Simone Zanotti, Mario Taffurelli, Donatella Santini, Giuseppe Gasparre, Claudio Ceccarelli.
      PURPOSE: In daily practice, a contralateral breast cancer (CBC) is usually considered as a new independent tumor despite the indications of several studies showing that the second neoplasia may be a metastatic spread of the primary tumor. Recognition of clonal masses in the context of multiple synchronous or metachronous tumors is crucial for correct prognosis, therapeutic choice, and patient management. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequencing shows high informative potential in the diagnosis of synchronous neoplasms, based on the fact that somatic mtDNA mutations are non-recurrent events, whereas tumors sharing them have a common origin. We here applied this technique to reveal clonality of the CBC with respect to the first tumor.METHODS: We analyzed 30 sample pairs of primary breast cancers and synchronous or metachronous CBCs with detailed clinical information available and compared standard clinico-pathological criteria with mtDNA sequencing to reveal the metastatic nature of CBCs.
    RESULTS: MtDNA analysis was informative in 23% of the cases, for which it confirmed a clonal origin of the second tumor. In addition, it allowed to solve two ambiguous cases where histopathological criteria had failed to be conclusive and to suggest a clonal origin for two additional cases that had been classified as independent by pathologists.
    CONCLUSION: Overall, the mtDNA-based classification showed a more accurate predictive power than standard histopathology in identifying cases of metastatic rather than bilateral breast cancers in our cohort, suggesting that mtDNA sequencing may be a more precise and easy-to-use method to be introduced in daily routine to support and improve histopathological diagnoses.
    Keywords:  Breast cancer metastasis; Contralateral breast cancers; Mitochondrial DNA mutations
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-020-03459-5
  36. Cancer Res. 2020 Nov 23. pii: canres.0617.2020. [Epub ahead of print]
    Dysregulated Glutamate Transporter SLC1A1 Propels Cystine Uptake via Xc- for Glutathione Synthesis in Lung Cancer.
    Wenzheng Guo, Kaimi Li, Beibei Sun, Dongliang Xu, Lingfeng Tong, Huijing Yin, Yueling Liao, Hongyong Song, Tong Wang, Bo Jing, Min Hu, Shuli Liu, Yanbin Kuang, Jing Ling, Qi Li, Yadi Wu, Qi Wang, Feng Yao, Binhua P Zhou, Shu-Hai Lin, Jiong Deng.
      Cancer cells need to generate large amounts of glutathione (GSH) to buffer oxidative stress during tumor development. A rate-limiting step for GSH biosynthesis is cystine uptake via a cystine/glutamate antiporter Xc-. Xc- is a sodium-independent antiporter passively driven by concentration gradients from extracellular cystine and intracellular glutamate across the cell membrane. Increased uptake of cystine via Xc- in cancer cells increases the level of extracellular glutamate, which would subsequently restrain cystine uptake via Xc-. Cancer cells must therefore evolve a mechanism to overcome this negative feedback regulation. In this study, we report that glutamate transporters, in particular SLC1A1, are tightly intertwined with cystine uptake and GSH biosynthesis in lung cancer cells. Dysregulated SLC1A1, a sodium-dependent glutamate carrier, actively recycled extracellular glutamate into cells, which enhanced the efficiency of cystine uptake via Xc- and GSH biosynthesis as measured by stable isotope-assisted metabolomics. Conversely, depletion of glutamate transporter SLC1A1 increased extracellular glutamate, which inhibited cystine uptake, blocked GSH synthesis, and induced oxidative stress-mediated cell death or growth inhibition. Moreover, glutamate transporters were frequently upregulated in tissue samples of non-small cell lung cancer patients. Taken together, active uptake of glutamate via SLC1A1 propels cystine uptake via Xc- for GSH biosynthesis in lung tumorigenesis.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-20-0617
  37. Arch Biochem Biophys. 2020 Nov 21. pii: S0003-9861(20)30697-4. [Epub ahead of print]697 108688
    Coptisine induces autophagic cell death through down-regulation of PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway and up-regulation of ROS-mediated mitochondrial dysfunction in hepatocellular carcinoma Hep3B cells.
    So Young Kim, Hyun Hwangbo, Min Yeong Kim, Seon Yeong Ji, Hyesook Lee, Gi-Young Kim, Chan-Young Kwon, Sun-Hee Leem, Su Hyun Hong, JaeHun Cheong, Yung Hyun Choi.
      Coptisine is isoquinoline alkaloid derived from Coptidis Rhizoma and is known to have potential anti-cancer activity toward various carcinomas. Targeting autophagy is one of the main approaches for cancer therapy, but whether the anti-cancer efficacy of coptisine involves autophagy is still unclear. Therefore, this study investigated the effect of coptisine on autophagy in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) Hep3B cells, and identified the underlying mechanism. Our results showed that coptisine increased cytotoxicity and autophagic vacuoles in a concentration-dependent manner. Furthermore, the expressions of light chain 3 (LC3)-I/II, Beclin-1 and autophagy genes were markedly increased by coptisine, while the expression of p62 decreased. In addition, we found that pretreatment with bafilomycin A1, an inhibitor of autophagosome-lysosome fusion, markedly reduced coptisine-mediated autophagic cell death, but 3-methyladenine, an inhibitor for autophagosome formation did not. Moreover, our results showed that although coptisine up-regulated AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) that partially induced LC3-I/II, coptisine-mediated AMPK signaling did not directly regulate autophagic cell death. Additionally, we found that coptisine suppressed the phosphorylation of phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase B/mammalian target of rapamycin (PI3K/Akt/mTOR), and this effect was notably enhanced by PI3K inhibitor LY294002. Meanwhile, coptisine significantly increased both the production of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the recruitment of mitophagy-regulated proteins to mitochondria. Furthermore, N-acetylcysteine, a potential ROS scavenger, substantially suppressed the expression of mitophagy-regulated proteins and LC3 puncta by coptisine. Overall, our results demonstrate that coptisine-mediated autophagic cell death was regulated by PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling and mitochondrial ROS production associated with mitochondrial dysfunction. Taken together, these findings suggest that coptisine exerts its anti-cancer effects through induction of autophagy in HCC Hep3B cells.
    Keywords:  Autophagy; Coptisine; Hepatocellular carcinoma; PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway; ROS
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.abb.2020.108688
  38. Exp Cell Res. 2020 Nov 23. pii: S0014-4827(20)30647-9. [Epub ahead of print] 112394
    HIF1α promotes tumor chemoresistance via recruiting GDF15-producing TAMs in colorectal cancer.
    Hongtu Zheng, Shan Yu, Congcong Zhu, Tianan Guo, Fangqi Liu, Ye Xu.
      Chemoresistance is a tremendous challenge to efficacy of systemic chemotherapy which is the preferred treatment for the advanced CRC patients. More tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are recruited into the CRC tumor under chemotherapy, which are highly implicated in the chemoresistance development, but the underlying molecular mechanism is unclear. Here, we present that activated HIF1α signaling in CRC cells under chemotherapy drives the expression of HMGB1to promotes macrophage infiltration and in turn chemoresistance development. Chemotherapeutic treatment with 5-FU leads to increased recruitment of macrophages into tumors, which display tumor-protective alternative activation. Mechanistically, tumor HIF1α signaling activated by chemo-induced ROS drives the transcription of HMGB1 to promote more macrophage infiltration into CRC tumor. Furthermore, high levels of GDF15 produced by TAMs impair the chemosensitity of tumor cells via enhancing fatty acids β-oxidation. Together, our current study reveals a new insight into the cross-talking between tumor cells and immune cells, and provides novel drug targets for clinic treatments for CRC.
    Keywords:  Chemoresistance; Colorectal carcinoma; GDF15; HIF1α; TAM
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yexcr.2020.112394
  39. Nat Methods. 2020 Nov 23.
    Quantitative shotgun proteome analysis by direct infusion.
    Jesse G Meyer, Natalie M Niemi, David J Pagliarini, Joshua J Coon.
      Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) delivers sensitive peptide analysis for proteomics but requires extensive analysis time, reducing throughput. Here, we demonstrate that gas-phase peptide separation instead of LC enables fast proteome analysis. Using direct infusion-shotgun proteome analysis (DI-SPA) by data-independent acquisition mass spectrometry (DIA-MS), we demonstrate the targeted quantification of over 500 proteins within minutes of MS data collection (~3.5 proteins per second). We show the utility of this technology in performing a complex multifactorial proteomic study of interactions between nutrients, genotype and mitochondrial toxins in a collection of cultured human cells. More than 45,000 quantitative protein measurements from 132 samples were achieved in only ~4.4 h of MS data collection. Enabling fast, unbiased proteome quantification without LC, DI-SPA offers an approach to boost throughput, critical to drug and biomarker discovery studies that require analysis of thousands of proteomes.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41592-020-00999-z
  40. Ann Transl Med. 2020 Sep;8(18): 1175
    Overexpression of DJ-1 alleviates autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease by regulating cell proliferation, apoptosis, and mitochondrial metabolism in vitro and in vivo.
    Zhongxin Li, Jingjing Zhou, Yan Li, Fan Yang, Xiaoying Lian, Wenhu Liu.
      Background: DJ-1 is critical for the mitochondrial function associated with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). We aimed to investigate DJ-1's function in the pathogenesis of ADPKD.Methods: DJ-1 was knocked-down in IMCD3 cells to evaluate the effects of DJ-1 on cell phenotype and mitochondrial function in vitro. Furthermore, we generated three groups of mice with different expression levels of DJ-1 within an established ADPKD model: ADPKD, ADPKDpcDNA, and ADPKDpcDNA-DJ-1.
    Results: DJ-1 knock-down significantly increased oxidative stress as well as the proliferation and apoptosis rate of IMCD3 cells, along with Bcl-2 down-regulation and the up-regulation of Ki67, PCNA, Bax, cleaved caspase-3, and cleaved caspase-9. DJ-1 knock-down suppressed the cellular respiration, Ca2+ absorption, and mitochondrial complex I activity in mitochondria. In vivo, we verified that DJ-1 was down-regulated in ADPKD models, and its overexpression attenuated the renal dysfunction in ADPKD models. The transgenic mice had a significantly smaller renal cyst and less interstitial fibrosis than control, accompanied byα-SMA, fibronectin, and TGF-β1 up-regulation. Moreover, in vivo results confirmed DJ-1 overexpression inhibited the proliferation and apoptosis of tubular epithelial cells along with down-regulation of Ki67, PCNA, p53, intracellular Cyt c, cleaved caspase-3, and cleaved caspase-9 and the up-regulation of Bcl-2.
    Conclusions: DJ-1 was down-regulated in ADPKD models, and its overexpression may attenuate the renal dysfunction and pathological damage by regulating the proliferation, apoptosis, oxidative stress and mitochondrial metabolism, which may be mediated by the p53 signaling pathway.
    Keywords:  Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD); DJ-1; mitochondrial dysfunction; mitochondrial metabolism
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.21037/atm-20-5761
  41. Methods Mol Biol. 2021 ;2192 159-181
    Visualizing Mitochondrial Ribosomal RNA and Mitochondrial Protein Synthesis in Human Cell Lines.
    Matthew Zorkau, Yasmin Proctor-Kent, Rolando Berlinguer-Palmini, Andrew Hamilton, Zofia M Chrzanowska-Lightowlers, Robert N Lightowlers.
      Human mitochondria contain their own DNA (mtDNA) that encodes 13 proteins all of which are core subunits of oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) complexes. To form functional complexes, these 13 components need to be correctly assembled with approximately 70 nuclear-encoded subunits that are imported following synthesis in the cytosol. How this complicated coordinated translation and assembly is choreographed is still not clear. Methods are being developed to determine whether all members of a particular complex are translated in close proximity, whether protein synthesis is clustered in submitochondrial factories, whether these align with incoming polypeptides, and if there is evidence for co-translational translation that is regulated and limited by the interaction of the incoming proteins with synthesis of their mtDNA-encoded partners. Two methods are described in this chapter to visualize the distribution of mitochondrial ribosomal RNAs in conjunction with newly synthesized mitochondrial proteins. The first combines RNA Fluorescent In Situ Hybridization (FISH) and super-resolution immunocytochemistry to pinpoint mitochondrial ribosomal RNA. The second localizes nascent translation within the mitochondrial network through non-canonical amino acid labeling, click chemistry and fluorescent microscopy.
    Keywords:  Click chemistry; Fluorescence microscopy; Mitochondria; Mitochondrial RNA; Mitoribosome; Single-molecule RNA FISH; Stimulated emission depletion microscopy; Super-resolution microscopy; Translation
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-0834-0_13
  42. Cancer Chemother Pharmacol. 2020 Nov 21.
    PDK4 promotes tumorigenesis and cisplatin resistance in lung adenocarcinoma via transcriptional regulation of EPAS1.
    Shuo Yu, Yang Li, Hui Ren, Hong Zhou, Qian Ning, Xue Chen, Tinghua Hu, Lan Yang.
      The use of cisplatin for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer has long been constrained by the rapid acquisition of tumor cell chemoresistance. In the present study, we sought to better elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying this resistance phenotype. To that end, we assessed gene expression patterns in cisplatin-resistant lung adenocarcinoma cells, revealing pyruvate dehydrogenase lipoamide kinase isozyme 4 (PDK4) to be the most up-regulated kinase in resistant cells. We further found PDK4 upregulation to be directly linked with the acquisition of chemoresistance, driving enhanced tumor cell growth in vitro and in vivo. In clinical samples, we also found that PDK4 upregulation was detectable in patients with lung adenocarcinoma and that it was correlated with a poorer prognosis for these patients. From a mechanistic perspective, we further determined that PDK4 was able to promote lung adenocarcinoma cell growth and cisplatin resistance at least in part via regulating endothelial PAS domain-containing protein 1 (EPAS1) expression, thus highlighting PDK4 as a potentially viable therapeutic target in efforts to treat lung adenocarcinoma patients that have become resistant to cisplatin.
    Keywords:  Cisplatin resistance; EPAS1; NSCLC; PDK4; Therapeutic target
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s00280-020-04188-9
  43. Aging (Albany NY). 2020 Nov 20. 12
    Integrative analysis reveals novel driver genes and molecular subclasses of hepatocellular carcinoma.
    Liguang Yang, Zhengtao Zhang, Yidi Sun, Shichao Pang, Qianlan Yao, Ping Lin, Jinming Cheng, Jia Li, Guohui Ding, Lijian Hui, Yixue Li, Hong Li.
      Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a heterogeneous disease with various genetic and epigenetic abnormalities. Previous studies of HCC driver genes were primarily based on frequency of mutations and copy number alterations. Here, we performed an integrative analysis of genomic and epigenomic data from 377 HCC patients to identify driver genes that regulate gene expression in HCC. This integrative approach has significant advantages over single-platform analyses for identifying cancer drivers. Using this approach, HCC tissues were divided into four subgroups, based on expression of the transcription factor E2F and the mutation status of TP53. HCC tissues with E2F overexpression and TP53 mutation had the highest cell cycle activity, indicating a synergistic effect of E2F and TP53. We found that overexpression of the identified driver genes, stratifin (SFN) and SPP1, correlates with tumor grade and poor survival in HCC and promotes HCC cell proliferation. These findings indicate SFN and SPP1 function as oncogenes in HCC and highlight the important role of enhancers in the regulation of gene expression in HCC.
    Keywords:  SPP1; epigenome; liver cancer; stratifin; systematic integration
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.104047
  44. Front Oncol. 2020 ;10 569887
    Pan-Cancer Analysis of the Mitophagy-Related Protein PINK1 as a Biomarker for the Immunological and Prognostic Role.
    Lizhe Zhu, Wei Wu, Siyuan Jiang, Shibo Yu, Yu Yan, Ke Wang, Jianjun He, Yu Ren, Bin Wang.
      Introduction: The PINK1 gene encodes a serine/threonine protein kinase that localizes to mitochondria and has usually been considered to protect cells from stress-induced mitochondrial dysfunction. PINK1 mutations have been observed to lead to autosomal recessive Parkinson's disease. However, the immunological and prognostic roles of PINK1 across cancers remain unclear.Material and method: In the current study, we used multiple databases, including Oncomine, PrognoScan, Kaplan-Meier Plotter, GEPIA, TIMER, and cBioportal, to investigate the PINK1 expression distribution and its immunological and prognostic role across cancers.
    Results and discussion: Bioinformatics data revealed that the mRNA expression of PINK1 was downregulated in most tumors. Although there was a significant prognostic value of PINK1 expression across cancers, PINK1 played a protective or detrimental role in different kinds of cancers. Liver hepatocellular carcinoma and lung squamous cell carcinoma were selected as representative cancer types for further exploration. We found that PINK1 always played a protective role in liver hepatocellular carcinoma patients in the stratified prognostic analyses of clinicopathological characteristics. There were contradictory results between liver hepatocellular carcinoma and lung squamous cell carcinoma in the correlations of PINK1 expression with immune infiltration, including infiltration of B cells, CD8+ T cells, CD4+ T cells, macrophages, neutrophils, and dendritic cells. Furthermore, specific markers of B cells and CD8+ T cells also exhibited different PINK1-related immune infiltration patterns. In addition, there was a significant association between PINK1 copy number variations and immune infiltrates across cancers.
    Conclusion: The mitophagy-related protein PINK1 can work as a biomarker for prognosis and the immune response across cancers.
    Keywords:  PINK1; biomarker ; immune infiltration; pan-cancer; prognostic
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2020.569887
  45. Aging (Albany NY). 2020 Nov 20. 12
    SRT2183 impairs ovarian cancer by facilitating autophagy.
    Tingting Sun, Yanfen Hu, Weipeng He, Yuru Shang, Xiaohong Yang, Liyun Gong, Xianbin Zhang, Peng Gong, Guofen Yang.
      The 5-year survival rate of ovarian cancer patients is only 47%, and developing novel drugs for ovarian cancer is needed. Herein, we evaluated if and how SRT2183, a sirtuin-1 activator, impairs the ovarian cancer cells. OVCAR-3 and A2780 cells were treated with SRT2183. Cell viability was measured by cell counting kit-8 assay and clonogenic assay. Apoptosis was determined by flow cytometry with Annexin V and propidium iodide. The level of autophagy was evaluated by western blot and immunofluorescence. The activities of AKT/mTOR/70s6k and MAPK signaling pathway were measured by immunoblot. SRT2183 inhibited the growth of ovarian cancer cells, increased the accumulation of BAX, cleaved-caspase 3 and cleaved-PARP, and decreased the level of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 and Mcl-1. SRT2183 increased the LC3II level, and enhanced the degradation of p62/SQSTM1. SRT2183 increased the formation of GFP-LC3 puncta and induced the maturation of autophagosome. Interestingly, knockdown of autophagy related 5 and 7 significantly impaired the anti-carcinoma activity of SRT2183, implying that SRT2183 impaired the ovarian cancer cells by inducing autophagy. SRT2183 decreased the accumulation of p-Akt, p-mTOR and p-70s6k, and activated the p38 MAPK signaling pathway. This indicated that Akt/mTOR/70s6k and p38 MAPK signaling pathway might be involved in the SRT2183-mediated autophagy and apoptosis.
    Keywords:  AKT/mTOR pathway; STR2183; apoptosis; autophagy; p38 MAPK pathway
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.104126
  46. Oncol Lett. 2021 Jan;21(1): 27
    Fatty acid synthase promotes breast cancer metastasis by mediating changes in fatty acid metabolism.
    Shuo Xu, Tingting Chen, Lihua Dong, Tao Li, Hui Xue, Bo Gao, Xiaodong Ding, Hui Wang, Hua Li.
      Fatty acid metabolism is closely associated with the occurrence and development of tumors. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the key enzyme involved in fatty acid synthesis, fatty acid synthase (FASN), mediates fatty acid changes that affect the activity and migration of breast cancer cells, and whether specific fatty acids play a role in tumor metastasis. The difference in serum fatty acid profiles between patients with invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) and healthy controls was evaluated by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) fatty acid profile analysis, and it was revealed that five types of fatty acids may be potential tumor markers in IDC. Immunohistochemistry and GC-MS analysis revealed that FASN expression affected the serum fatty acid profiles of patients with IDC. Following FASN knockdown, the migration of SK-Br-3 breast cancer cells was inhibited, and the contents of various fatty acids both inside and outside the cell decreased, while the contents of various fatty acids inside and outside the cell increased following FASN overexpression. The results of the present study revealed that the expression level of FASN affected the content of fatty acids in IDC tissues and breast cancer cell lines, and that FASN-mediated changes in specific fatty acids promoted tumor cell migration.
    Keywords:  breast cancer cells; fatty acids synthase; free fatty acids; invasive ductal carcinoma; metastasis
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2020.12288
  47. Aging (Albany NY). 2020 Nov 21. 12
    Loss of FBP1 promotes proliferation, migration, and invasion by regulating fatty acid metabolism in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.
    Yi He, Rong Hua, Bin Li, Haiyong Gu, Yifeng Sun, Zhigang Li.
      Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is one of the most common cancers in China. Recent studies have shown fatty acid metabolism is involved in the progression of various cancers through regulating the function of various types of cells. However, the relationship between fatty acid metabolism and tumorigenesis of ESCC remains unclear. Here, in this study, the expression of FBP1 was dramatically decreased in ESCC tissues compared with the adjacent non-ESCC tissues. The cell proliferation, migration, invasion and fatty acid metabolism were evaluated in ESCC cells using transfection of shFBP1 vectors. We found loss of FBP1 promoted ESCC cell proliferation, migration and invasion, which correlated with the activated fatty acid metabolism in vitro. Moreover, the content of phospholipids, triglycerides, neutral lipids and the protein expression levels of fatty acid metabolism related FASN, ACC1 and SREBP1C proteins were significantly increased following down-regulation of FBP1. Furthermore, FBP1 was found to be directly targeted by miR-18b-5p in ESCC cells. In addition, miR-18b-5p inhibitor treatment obviously reversed the increased fatty acid metabolism induced by loss of FBP1 in ESCC cells. These findings explored a detailed molecular mechanism of tumorigenesis and progression of ESCC and might provide a potential novel method to treat ESCC in clinic.
    Keywords:  ESCC; FBP1; fatty acid metabolism; miR-18b-5p; proliferation
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.103916
  48. Methods Mol Biol. 2021 ;2192 269-285
    Mitochondrial Complexome Profiling.
    Heiko Giese, Jana Meisterknecht, Juliana Heidler, Ilka Wittig.
      Complexome profiling combines blue native gel electrophoresis (BNE) and quantitative mass spectrometry to define an entire protein interactome of a cell, an organelle, or a biological membrane preparation. The method allows the identification of protein assemblies with low abundance and detects dynamic processes of protein complex assembly. Applications of complexome profiling range from the determination of complex subunit compositions, assembly of single protein complexes, and supercomplexes to comprehensive differential studies between patients or disease models. This chapter describes the workflow of complexome profiling from sample preparation, mass spectrometry to data analysis with a bioinformatics tool.
    Keywords:  Assembly; Blue native electrophoresis; Complexome profiling; Mass spectrometry; Membrane protein complexes; Mitochondria
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-0834-0_19
  49. Methods Mol Biol. 2021 ;2192 287-311
    Blue-Native Electrophoresis to Study the OXPHOS Complexes.
    Erika Fernandez-Vizarra, Massimo Zeviani.
      Blue-native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (BN-PAGE) is a technique optimized for the analysis of the five components of the mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) system. BN-PAGE is based on the preservation of the interactions between the individual subunits within the integral complexes. To achieve this, the complexes are extracted from the mitochondrial inner membrane using mild detergents and separated by electrophoresis in the absence of denaturing agents. The electrophoretic procedures can then be combined with a variety of downstream detection techniques. Since its development in the 1990s, BN-PAGE has been applied in the study of mitochondria from all kinds of organisms and extensive amounts of data have been produced using this technique, being key for the understanding of many aspects of OXPHOS physiopathology.
    Keywords:  Blue-native gel electrophoresis; First-dimension BN-PAGE; In gel activity assays; Mitochondrial complexes I, II, III, IV, and V; Oxidative phosphorylation system; Second-dimension BN-PAGE
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-0834-0_20
  50. Cell Death Dis. 2020 Nov 26. 11(11): 1012
    Cytosolic serine hydroxymethyltransferase controls lung adenocarcinoma cells migratory ability by modulating AMP kinase activity.
    Amani Bouzidi, Maria Chiara Magnifico, Alessandro Paiardini, Alberto Macone, Giovanna Boumis, Giorgio Giardina, Serena Rinaldo, Francesca Romana Liberati, Clotilde Lauro, Cristina Limatola, Chiara Lanzillotta, Antonella Tramutola, Marzia Perluigi, Gianluca Sgarbi, Giancarlo Solaini, Alessandra Baracca, Alessio Paone, Francesca Cutruzzolà.
      Nutrient utilization and reshaping of metabolism in cancer cells is a well-known driver of malignant transformation. Less clear is the influence of the local microenvironment on metastasis formation and choice of the final organ to invade. Here we show that the level of the amino acid serine in the cytosol affects the migratory properties of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) cells. Inhibition of serine or glycine uptake from the extracellular milieu, as well as knockdown of the cytosolic one-carbon metabolism enzyme serine hydroxymethyltransferase (SHMT1), abolishes migration. Using rescue experiments with a brain extracellular extract, and direct measurements, we demonstrate that cytosolic serine starvation controls cell movement by increasing reactive oxygen species formation and decreasing ATP levels, thereby promoting activation of the AMP sensor kinase (AMPK) by phosphorylation. Activation of AMPK induces remodeling of the cytoskeleton and finally controls cell motility. These results highlight that cytosolic serine metabolism plays a key role in controlling motility, suggesting that cells are able to dynamically exploit the compartmentalization of this metabolism to adapt their metabolic needs to different cell functions (movement vs. proliferation). We propose a model to explain the relevance of serine/glycine metabolism in the preferential colonization of the brain by LUAD cells and suggest that the inhibition of serine/glycine uptake and/or cytosolic SHMT1 might represent a successful strategy to limit the formation of brain metastasis from primary tumors, a major cause of death in these patients.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41419-020-03215-0
  51. Cell Rep. 2020 Nov 24. pii: S2211-1247(20)31410-8. [Epub ahead of print]33(8): 108421
    Melanoma Persister Cells Are Tolerant to BRAF/MEK Inhibitors via ACOX1-Mediated Fatty Acid Oxidation.
    Shensi Shen, Sara Faouzi, Sylvie Souquere, Severine Roy, Emilie Routier, Cristina Libenciuc, Fabrice André, Gérard Pierron, Jean-Yves Scoazec, Caroline Robert.
      Emerging evidence indicates that non-mutational drug tolerance mechanisms underlie the survival of residual cancer "persister" cells. Here, we find that BRAF(V600E) mutant melanoma persister cells tolerant to BRAF/MEK inhibitors switch their metabolism from glycolysis to oxidative respiration supported by peroxisomal fatty acid β-oxidation (FAO) that is transcriptionally regulated by peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα). Knockdown of the key peroxisomal FAO enzyme, acyl-CoA oxidase 1 (ACOX1), as well as treatment with the peroxisomal FAO inhibitor thioridazine, specifically suppresses the oxidative respiration of persister cells and significantly decreases their emergence. Consistently, a combination treatment of BRAF/MEK inhibitors with thioridazine in human-melanoma-bearing mice results in a durable anti-tumor response. In BRAF(V600E) melanoma samples from patients treated with BRAF/MEK inhibitors, higher baseline expression of FAO-related genes and PPARα correlates with patients' outcomes. These results pave the way for a metabolic strategy to overcome drug resistance.
    Keywords:  fatty acid oxidation; melanoma; peroxisome; persistent cancer cell; targeted therapy
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2020.108421
  52. Neoplasma. 2020 Nov 25. pii: 200530N584. [Epub ahead of print]
    PGC-1α activates SIRT3 to modulate cell proliferation and glycolytic metabolism in breast cancer.
    Yan Zu, Xiao-Fei Chen, Qiang Li, Shu-Ting Zhang, Li-Na Si.
      Breast cancer is the leading cause of death among women. PGC-1α plays an important role in the regulation of metabolic reprogramming in cancer cells. SIRT3 has significant implications for tumor growth. In this study, we explored the roles of PGC-1α and SIRT3 in cell proliferation and mitochondrial energy metabolism alterations in breast cancer cells. The expression patterns of PGC-1α and SIRT3 were examined using qRT-PCR and western blotting analysis. MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells were infected by adenovirus to overexpress or knock down the expression of PGC-1α and SIRT3. Cell viability and apoptosis were analyzed by CCK-8 and flow cytometry, respectively. Hexokinase2, pyruvate kinase activities, as well as NAD+/NADH ratio and ATP concentration, were assessed by commercial kits. Glucose consumption was measured using the glucose oxidase method and lactic acid concentration was detected by lactate dehydrogenase (LD) kit. Expression levels of PGC-1 and SIRT3 were much lower in breast cancer patients, compared with the normal controls. Overexpression of PGC-1α or SIRT3 both significantly promoted the apoptosis and inhibited the proliferation in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells. Additionally, PGC-1α or SIRT3 also induced the inhibition of glycolysis metabolism. Moreover, the expression of SIRT3 was positively regulated by PGC-1α. Silencing SIRT3 partly reversed the negative effects of PGC-1α on glycolysis metabolism. These findings demonstrated that PGC-1α/SIRT3 regulated cell proliferation and apoptosis of breast cancer through altering glycolysis metabolism, which may provide novel therapeutic strategies for breast cancer.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.4149/neo_2020_200530N584
  53. Cancer Res. 2020 Nov 23. pii: canres.0622.2020. [Epub ahead of print]
    Glutamine-directed migration of cancer-activated fibroblasts facilitates epithelial tumor invasion.
    Aida Mestre-Farrera, Marina Bruch-Oms, Raúl Peña, José Rodríguez-Morató, Lorena Alba-Castellón, Laura Comerma, Miguel Quintela-Fandino, Mireia Duñach, Josep Baulida, Óscar J Pozo, Antonio García de Herreros.
      Tumors are complex tissues composed of transformed epithelial cells as well as cancer-activated fibroblasts (CAF) that facilitate epithelial tumor cell invasion. We show here that CAF and other mesenchymal cells rely much more on glutamine than epithelial tumor cells; consequently, they are more sensitive to inhibition of glutaminase. Glutamine dependence drove CAF migration towards this amino acid when cultured in low glutamine conditions. CAF also invaded a Matrigel matrix following a glutamine concentration gradient and enhanced the invasion of tumor cells when both cells were co-cultured. Accordingly, glutamine directed invasion of xenografted tumors in immunocompromised mice. Stimulation of glutamine-driven epithelial tumor invasion by fibroblasts required previous CAF activation which involved the TGFb/Snail1 signaling axis. CAF migration towards Gln presented a polarized Akt2 distribution that was modulated by the Gln-dependent activity of TRAF6 and p62 in the migrating front, and depletion of these proteins prevented Akt2 polarization and Gln-driven CAF invasion. Our results demonstrate that glutamine deprivation promotes CAF migration and invasion, which in turn facilitates the movement of tumor epithelial cells towards nutrient-rich territories. These results provide a novel molecular mechanism for how metabolic stress enhances invasion and metastasis.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-20-0622
  54. Nat Commun. 2020 11 23. 11(1): 5927
    SUCLA2 mutations cause global protein succinylation contributing to the pathomechanism of a hereditary mitochondrial disease.
    Philipp Gut, Sanna Matilainen, Jesse G Meyer, Pieti Pällijeff, Joy Richard, Christopher J Carroll, Liliya Euro, Christopher B Jackson, Pirjo Isohanni, Berge A Minassian, Reem A Alkhater, Elsebet Østergaard, Gabriele Civiletto, Alice Parisi, Jonathan Thevenet, Matthew J Rardin, Wenjuan He, Yuya Nishida, John C Newman, Xiaojing Liu, Stefan Christen, Sofia Moco, Jason W Locasale, Birgit Schilling, Anu Suomalainen, Eric Verdin.
      Mitochondrial acyl-coenzyme A species are emerging as important sources of protein modification and damage. Succinyl-CoA ligase (SCL) deficiency causes a mitochondrial encephalomyopathy of unknown pathomechanism. Here, we show that succinyl-CoA accumulates in cells derived from patients with recessive mutations in the tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA) gene succinyl-CoA ligase subunit-β (SUCLA2), causing global protein hyper-succinylation. Using mass spectrometry, we quantify nearly 1,000 protein succinylation sites on 366 proteins from patient-derived fibroblasts and myotubes. Interestingly, hyper-succinylated proteins are distributed across cellular compartments, and many are known targets of the (NAD+)-dependent desuccinylase SIRT5. To test the contribution of hyper-succinylation to disease progression, we develop a zebrafish model of the SCL deficiency and find that SIRT5 gain-of-function reduces global protein succinylation and improves survival. Thus, increased succinyl-CoA levels contribute to the pathology of SCL deficiency through post-translational modifications.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-19743-4
  55. Cancer Lett. 2020 Nov 24. pii: S0304-3835(20)30609-1. [Epub ahead of print]
    Pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) in cancer and cancer therapeutics.
    Susi Zhu, Yeye Guo, Xu Zhang, Hong Liu, Mingzhu Yin, Xiang Chen, Cong Peng.
      Pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2), a key rate-limiting enzyme of glycolysis, is a critical regulator in tumor metabolism. PKM2 has been demonstrated to overexpressed in various cancers and promoted proliferation and metastasis of tumor cells. The errant expression of PKM2 has inspired people to investigate the function of PKM2 and the therapeutic potential in cancer. In addition, some studies have shown that the upregulation of PKM2 in tumor tissues is associated with the altered expression of lncRNAs and the poor survival. Therefore, researchers have begun to unravel the specific molecular mechanisms of lncRNA-mediated PKM2 expression in cancer metabolism. As the tumor microenvironment (TME) is essential in tumor development, it is necessary to identify the role of PKM2 in TME. In this review, we will introduce the role of PKM2 in different cancers as well as TME, and summarize the molecular mechanism of PKM2-related lncRNAs in cancer metabolism. We expect that this work will lead to a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of PKM2 that may help in developing therapeutic strategies in clinic for researchers.
    Keywords:  Agonists; Inhibitors; Long noncoding RNA; Pyruvate kinase M2; Tumor microenvironment
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.canlet.2020.11.018
  56. Cell Syst. 2020 Nov 18. pii: S2405-4712(20)30418-X. [Epub ahead of print]
    Multi-omics Analysis of CRISPRi-Knockdowns Identifies Mechanisms that Buffer Decreases of Enzymes in E. coli Metabolism.
    Stefano Donati, Michelle Kuntz, Vanessa Pahl, Niklas Farke, Dominik Beuter, Timo Glatter, José Vicente Gomes-Filho, Lennart Randau, Chun-Ying Wang, Hannes Link.
      Enzymes maintain metabolism, and their concentration affects cellular fitness: high enzyme levels are costly, and low enzyme levels can limit metabolic flux. Here, we used CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) to study the consequences of decreasing E. coli enzymes below wild-type levels. A pooled CRISPRi screen with 7,177 strains demonstrates that metabolism buffers fitness defects for hours after the induction of CRISPRi. We characterized the metabolome and proteome responses in 30 CRISPRi strains and elucidated three gene-specific buffering mechanisms: ornithine buffered the knockdown of carbamoyl phosphate synthetase (CarAB) by increasing CarAB activity, S-adenosylmethionine buffered the knockdown of homocysteine transmethylase (MetE) by de-repressing expression of the methionine pathway, and 6-phosphogluconate buffered the knockdown of 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (Gnd) by activating a bypass. In total, this work demonstrates that CRISPRi screens can reveal global sources of metabolic robustness and identify local regulatory mechanisms that buffer decreases of specific enzymes. A record of this paper's transparent peer review process is included in the Supplemental Information.
    Keywords:  CRISPR interference; allosteric regulation; metabolic robustness; metabolomics; proteomics; transcriptional regulation
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cels.2020.10.011
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