Proton shifting induces cell growth and is exploited in leukemia by epigenetic enforcement of H+/lactate-cotransporter expression
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ABSTRACT: Ion balance is critical for membrane polarity, signaling and bioenergesis in cells. Here, we report that proton distribution resets metabolism and alters growth in hematopoietic cells. Multiple oncogenic mutations in acute myeloid leukemia utilize proton partitioning to enhance growth by epigenetically upregulating H+/lactate-co-transporter, MCT4, shuttling protons extracellularly to increase intracellular pH. Secondarily, activity of metabolic enzymes (hexokinase, pyruvate kinase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase) is increased, raising carbon flux through glycolysis and pentose phosphate pathway necessary for proliferation. MCT4-overexpression in normal hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells increases growth without malignant transformation. Yet, inhibiting MCT4 in AML decreases pHi and carbon flux that improves animal survival and, unexpectedly, elimination of leukemic initiating cells in vivo. AML with increased MCT4 expression have activating histone mark, H3K27ac, in MCT4 promoter where MLL-AF9 and BRD4 directly bind. These data demonstrate the sequential alteration of metabolism through epigenetic activation of proton regulator and point to cytoplasmic alkalization as a growth promoting strategy exploited by malignant cells. Inhibiting this process may diminish the competitive advantage of leukemia and potentially improve AML treatment.
Project description:Cells must appropriately sense and integrate multiple metabolic resources to commit to proliferation. Here, we report that cells regulate nitrogen (amino acid) and carbon metabolic homeostasis through tRNA U34-thiolation. Despite amino acid sufficiency, tRNA-thiolation deficient cells appear amino acid starved. In these cells, carbon flux towards nucleotide synthesis decreases, and trehalose synthesis increases, resulting in metabolic a starvation-signature. Thiolation mutants have only minor translation defects. However, these cells exhibit strongly decreased expression of phosphate homeostasis genes, mimicking a phosphate-limited state. Reduced phosphate enforces a metabolic switch, where glucose-6-phosphate is routed towards storage carbohydrates. Notably, trehalose synthesis, which releases phosphate and thereby restores phosphate availability, is central to this metabolic rewiring. Thus, cells use thiolated tRNAs to perceive amino acid sufficiency, and balance amino acid and carbon metabolic flux to maintain metabolic homeostasis, by controlling phosphate availability. These results further biochemical explain how phosphate availability determines a switch to a ‘starvation-state’.
Project description:Tumors maintain an alkaline intracellular environment to enable rapid growth. The proton exporter NHE1 participates in maintenance of this pH gradient. However, whether targeting NHE1 could inhibit the growth of tumor cells remains unknown. Here, we report that the NHE1 inhibitor Hexamethylene amiloride (HA) efficiently suppresses the growth of AML cell lines. Moreover, HA combined with venetoclax synergized to efficiently inhibit the growth of AML cells. Interestingly, lysosomes are the main contributors to the synergism of HA and venetoclax in inhibiting AML cells. Most importantly, the combination of HA and venetoclax also had prominent anti-leukemia effects in both xenograft models and bone marrow samples from AML patients. In summary, our results provide evidence that the NHE1 inhibitor HA or its combination with venetoclax efficiently inhibits the growth of AML in vitro and in vivo.
Project description:In this study, the distribution and regulation of periplasmic and cytoplasmic carbon fluxes in Gluconobacter oxydans 621H with glucose were studied by 13C-based metabolic flux analysis (13C-MFA) in combination with transcriptomics and enzyme assays. For 13C-MFA, cells were cultivated with specifically 13C-labeled glucose and intracellular metabolites were analyzed for their labeling pattern by LC-MS. In growth phase I, 90% of the glucose was oxidized periplasmatically to gluconate and partially further oxidized to 2-ketogluconate. Of the glucose taken up by the cells, 9% was phosphorylated to glucose 6-phosphate, whereas 91% was oxidized by cytoplasmic glucose dehydrogenase to gluconate. Additional gluconate was taken up into the cells by transport. Of the cytoplasmic gluconate, 70% was oxidized to 5-ketogluconate and 30% was phosphorylated to 6-phosphogluconate. In growth phase II, 87% of gluconate was oxidized to 2-ketogluconate in the periplasm and 13% was taken up by the cells and almost completely converted to 6-phosphogluconate. Since G. oxydans lacks phosphofructokinase, glucose 6-phosphate can only be metabolized via the oxidative pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) or the Entner-Doudoroff pathway (EDP). 13C-MFA showed that 6-phosphogluconate is catabolized primarily via the oxidative PPP in both phase I and II (62% and 93%) and demonstrated a cyclic carbon flux through the oxidative PPP. The transcriptome comparison revealed an increased expression of PPP genes in growth phase II, which was supported by enzyme activity measurements and correlated with the increased PPP flux in phase II. Moreover, genes possibly related to a general stress response displayed increased expression in growth phase II. The transcriptome comparisons of G. oxydans growth phase II vs. growth phase I were repeated independently three times in biological replicates resulting in 3 hybridizations as termed by sample 1 to 3.
Project description:In this study, the distribution and regulation of periplasmic and cytoplasmic carbon fluxes in Gluconobacter oxydans 621H with glucose were studied by 13C-based metabolic flux analysis (13C-MFA) in combination with transcriptomics and enzyme assays. For 13C-MFA, cells were cultivated with specifically 13C-labeled glucose and intracellular metabolites were analyzed for their labeling pattern by LC-MS. In growth phase I, 90% of the glucose was oxidized periplasmatically to gluconate and partially further oxidized to 2-ketogluconate. Of the glucose taken up by the cells, 9% was phosphorylated to glucose 6-phosphate, whereas 91% was oxidized by cytoplasmic glucose dehydrogenase to gluconate. Additional gluconate was taken up into the cells by transport. Of the cytoplasmic gluconate, 70% was oxidized to 5-ketogluconate and 30% was phosphorylated to 6-phosphogluconate. In growth phase II, 87% of gluconate was oxidized to 2-ketogluconate in the periplasm and 13% was taken up by the cells and almost completely converted to 6-phosphogluconate. Since G. oxydans lacks phosphofructokinase, glucose 6-phosphate can only be metabolized via the oxidative pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) or the Entner-Doudoroff pathway (EDP). 13C-MFA showed that 6-phosphogluconate is catabolized primarily via the oxidative PPP in both phase I and II (62% and 93%) and demonstrated a cyclic carbon flux through the oxidative PPP. The transcriptome comparison revealed an increased expression of PPP genes in growth phase II, which was supported by enzyme activity measurements and correlated with the increased PPP flux in phase II. Moreover, genes possibly related to a general stress response displayed increased expression in growth phase II.
Project description:Many cancers rely on glycolytic metabolism to fuel rapid proliferation. This has spurred interest in designing drugs that target tumor glycolysis such as AZD3965, a small molecule inhibitor of Monocarboxylate Transporter 1 (MCT1) currently undergoing Phase I evaluation for cancer treatment. Since MCT1 mediates proton-linked transport of monocarboxylates such as lactate and pyruvate across the plasma membrane (Halestrap and Meredith, 2004), AZD3965 is thought to block tumor growth through disruption of lactate transport and glycolysis. Here we show that MCT1 inhibition impairs proliferation of glycolytic breast cancer cells that express MCT4 via disruption of pyruvate rather than lactate export. We found that MCT1 expression is elevated in glycolytic breast tumors and cell lines as well as in malignant breast and lung tissues. High MCT1 expression predicts poor prognosis in breast and lung cancer patients. Stable knockdown and AZD3965-mediated inhibition of MCT1 promote oxidative metabolism. Acute inhibition of MCT1 reduces pyruvate export rate but does not consistently alter lactate transport or glycolytic flux in breast cancer cells that also express MCT4. Despite the lack of glycolysis impairment, MCT1 loss-of-function decreases breast cancer cell proliferation and blocks growth of mammary fat pad xenograft tumors. Our data suggest that MCT1 expression is elevated in glycolytic cancers to promote pyruvate export, which when inhibited enhances oxidative metabolism and reduces proliferation. This study presents an alternative molecular consequence of MCT1 inhibitors that further supports their use as anti-cancer therapeutics. Since MCT1 levels are elevated in glycolytic and malignant breast tumors, we hypothesized that MCT1 may contribute to the Warburg effect metabolic phenotype. To test this hypothesis, we generated whole genome microarray data from breast cancer cell lines either a) expressing a short hairpin (sh)RNA-mediated stable knockdown of MCT1; or b) treated for 24 hours with an MCT1 inhibitor (AZD3965). Scramble shRNA or DMSO were used as controls, and all conditions were analzed in triplicate. The cell lines used â HS578T, SUM149PT, and SUM159PT â are among the most glycolytic in a panel of 31 breast cancer cell lines.
Project description:Many cancers rely on glycolytic metabolism to fuel rapid proliferation. This has spurred interest in designing drugs that target tumor glycolysis such as AZD3965, a small molecule inhibitor of Monocarboxylate Transporter 1 (MCT1) currently undergoing Phase I evaluation for cancer treatment. Since MCT1 mediates proton-linked transport of monocarboxylates such as lactate and pyruvate across the plasma membrane (Halestrap and Meredith, 2004), AZD3965 is thought to block tumor growth through disruption of lactate transport and glycolysis. Here we show that MCT1 inhibition impairs proliferation of glycolytic breast cancer cells that express MCT4 via disruption of pyruvate rather than lactate export. We found that MCT1 expression is elevated in glycolytic breast tumors and cell lines as well as in malignant breast and lung tissues. High MCT1 expression predicts poor prognosis in breast and lung cancer patients. Stable knockdown and AZD3965-mediated inhibition of MCT1 promote oxidative metabolism. Acute inhibition of MCT1 reduces pyruvate export rate but does not consistently alter lactate transport or glycolytic flux in breast cancer cells that also express MCT4. Despite the lack of glycolysis impairment, MCT1 loss-of-function decreases breast cancer cell proliferation and blocks growth of mammary fat pad xenograft tumors. Our data suggest that MCT1 expression is elevated in glycolytic cancers to promote pyruvate export, which when inhibited enhances oxidative metabolism and reduces proliferation. This study presents an alternative molecular consequence of MCT1 inhibitors that further supports their use as anti-cancer therapeutics.
Project description:The industrial feasibility of photosynthetic bioproduction using cyanobacterial platforms remains challenging due to insufficient yields, particularly due to competition between product formation and cellular carbon demands. Here we demonstrate that circadian regulation impacts carbon partitioning between storage, growth, and product synthesis in Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942, significantly affecting production efficiency. After entrainment to light-dark cycles, cultures maintained under the constant light revealed distinct temporal patterns in sucrose production, exhibiting three-fold higher productivity during subjective night despite moderate down-regulation of the photosynthetic apparatus. This enhanced productivity coincided with reduced glycogen accumulation and halted cell division, suggesting temporal separation of competing processes. Transcriptome analysis revealed coordinated circadian-driven adjustment of the cell cycle and rewiring of energy and carbon metabolism. The subjective night was characterized by altered expression of cell division-related genes and reduced expression of genes involved in glycogen synthesis, while showing upregulation of glycogen degradation pathways, alternative electron flow components, the pentose phosphate pathway, and oxidative decarboxylation of pyruvate. These molecular changes created favorable conditions for product formation through enhanced availability of major sucrose precursors (glucose-1-phosphate and fructose-6-phosphate) and maintained redox balance. Our findings suggest that understanding the circadian regulatory rewiring of carbon metabolism could enable two distinct approaches for improving cyanobacterial bioproduction. First, accounting and leveraging natural circadian rhythms for optimizing cultivation conditions, timing of heterologous pathway induction and harvesting patterns. Second, engineering strains that mimic circadian-driven metabolic shifts through controlled carbon flux redistribution and redox rebalancing to enable efficient cycling between growth, storage accumulation, and production phases.
Project description:In contrast to batch cultivation, chemostat cultivation allows the identification of carbon source responses without interference by carbon-catabolite repression, accumulation of toxic products, and differences in specific growth rate. This study focuses on the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, grown in aerobic, carbon-limited chemostat cultures. Genome-wide transcript levels and in vivo fluxes were compared for growth on two sugars, glucose and maltose, and for two C2-compounds, ethanol and acetate. In contrast to previous reports on batch cultures, few genes (180 genes) responded to changes of the carbon source by a changed transcript level. Very few transcript levels were changed when glucose as the growth-limiting nutrient was compared with maltose (33 transcripts), or when acetate was compared with ethanol (16 transcripts). Although metabolic flux analysis using a stoichiometric model revealed major changes in the central carbon metabolism, only 117 genes exhibited a significantly different transcript level when sugars and C2-compounds were provided as the growthlimiting nutrient. Despite the extensive knowledge on carbon source regulation in yeast, many of the carbon source-responsive genes encoded proteins with unknown or incompletely characterized biological functions. In silico promoter analysis of carbon source-responsive genes confirmed the involvement of several known transcriptional regulators and suggested the involvement of additional regulators. Transcripts involved in the glyoxylate cycle and gluconeogenesis showed a good correlation with in vivo fluxes. This correlation was, however, not observed for other important pathways, including the pentose-phosphate pathway, tricarboxylic acid cycle, and, in particular, glycolysis. These results indicate that in vivo fluxes in the central carbon metabolism of S. cerevisiae grown in steadystate, carbon-limited chemostat cultures are controlled to a large extent via post-transcriptional mechanisms. Experiment Overall Design: Cultivation of microorganisms in chemostats offers numerous advantages for studying the structure and regulation of metabolic networks (11). In chemostat cultures, individual culture parameters can be changed, while keeping other relevant physical and chemical culture parameters (composition of synthetic medium, pH, temperature, aeration, etc.) constant. An especially important parameter in this respect is the specific growth rate, which, in a chemostat, is equal to the dilution rate, which can be accurately controlled. This allows the experimenter to investigate the effects of environmental changes or genetic interventions at a fixed specific growth rate, even if these changes result in different specific growth rates in batch cultures. In a chemostat, growth can be limited by a single, selected nutrient. The very low residual concentrations of this growth-limiting nutrient in chemostat cultures alleviate effects of catabolite repression and inactivation. Furthermore, these low residual substrate concentrations prevent substrate toxicity, which, for example, occurs when S. cerevisiae is grown on ethanol or acetate as the carbon source in batch cultures . Experiment Overall Design: The central goal of the present study is to assess to what extent carbon source-dependent regulation of fluxes through central carbon metabolism in S. cerevisiae is regulated at the level of transcription. To this end, we compare the transcriptome of carbon-limited, aerobic chemostat cultures grown on four different carbon sources: glucose, maltose, ethanol, and acetate. Data from the transcriptome analysis are compared with flux distribution profiles calculated with a stoichiometric metabolic network model. Questions that will be addressed are as follows: (i) does glucose-limited aerobic cultivation lead to a complete alleviation of glucose-catabolite repression; (ii) how (in)complete is our understanding of the genes involved in the transcriptional response of S. cerevisiae to four of the most common carbon sources for this yeast; and (iii) to what extent do transcriptome analyses with microarrays provide a reliable indication of flux distribution in metabolic networks?
Project description:Phosphate limitation constrains plant development in natural and agricultural systems. Under phosphate-limiting conditions plants activate genetic, biochemical and morphological modifications to cope with phosphate starvation. One of the morphological modifications that plants induce under phosphate limitation is the arrest of primary root growth and it is induced by the root tip contact with low phosphate media. The sensitive to proton rhizotoxicity (stop1) and aluminium activate malate transporter 1 (almt1) mutants of Arabidopsis thaliana continue primary root growth under in vitro Pi-limiting conditions, thus, to get insight into the molecular components that control primary root growth inhibition under low phosphate conditions we extracted and sequenced mRNA from the root tips (2-3 mm from the root apex) of wild-type plants (Col-0 accession) and low-phosphate-insensitive mutants almt1 and stop1 grown under low and high phosphate conditions 5 days after germination using an RNA-seq methodology.