Project description:We report that MSRA is a potent suppressor of pancreatic cancer metastasis. We performed global RNA sequencing to examine the transcriptome of pancreatic cancer cells that are proficient or deficient of MSRA
Project description:Post-translational oxidation of methionine residues can destabilize proteins or modify their functions. Although levels of methionine oxidation can provide important information regarding the structural integrity and regulation of proteins, their quantitation is often challenging as analytical procedures in and of themselves can artifactually oxidize methionines. Here, we develop a mass spectrometry-based method called Methionine Oxidation by Blocking with Alkylation (MObBa) that accurately quantifies methionine oxidation by selectively alkylating and blocking unoxidized methionines. Thus, alkylated methionines can be used as a stable proxy for unoxidized methionines. Using proof of concept experiments, we demonstrate that MObBa can be used to accurately quantify methionine oxidation levels within individual synthetic peptides and on proteome-wide scales. MObBa may provide a straightforward experimental strategy for mass spectrometric quantitation of methionine oxidation.
Project description:The oxidation of methionine side chains has emerged as an important posttranslational modification of proteins. A diverse array of low-throughput and targeted studies have suggested that the oxidation of methionine residues in select proteins can have diverse impacts on cell physiology, ranging from detrimental effects on protein structure and stability to functional roles in cell signaling. Despite its importance, the large-scale investigation of methionine oxidation in a complex matrix, such as the cellular proteome has been historically hampered by technical limitations. Herein we report a methodology, Methionine Oxidation by Blocking (MobB), that allows for accurate and precise quantification of low levels of methionine oxidation typically observed in vivo. To demonstrate the utility of this methodology, we applied MobB to the brain tissues of young (6 m.o.) and old (20 m.o.) mice and identified over 280 novel sites for in vivo methionine oxidation. We further demonstrated that oxidation stoichiometries for specific methionine residues are highly consistent between individual animals and methionine sulfoxides are enriched in clusters of functionally related gene products including membrane and extracellular proteins. However, we did not detect significant changes in methionine oxidation in brains of old mice, suggesting that oxidation levels are highly regulated during the course of aging.
Project description:Alternative splicing of the Pkm gene product generates the PKM1 and PKM2 isoforms of pyruvate kinase, and PKM2 expression is closely linked to embryogenesis, tissue regeneration, and cancer. To interrogate the functional requirement for PKM2 during development and tissue homeostasis, we generated germline PKM2 null mice (Pkm2-/-). Unexpectedly, despite being the primary isoform expressed in most wild-type adult tissues, we found that Pkm2-/- mice are viable and fertile. Thus, PKM2 is not required for embryonic or postnatal development. Loss of PKM2 leads to compensatory expression of PKM1 in the tissues that normally express PKM2. Strikingly, PKM2 loss leads to spontaneous development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with high penetrance that is accompanied by progressive changes in systemic metabolism characterized by altered systemic glucose homeostasis, inflammation, and hepatic steatosis. Therefore, in addition to its role in cancer metabolism, PKM2 plays a role in controlling systemic metabolic homeostasis and inflammation, thereby preventing HCC by a non-cell-autonomous mechanism. RNA was isolated from flash frozen ground whole liver tissue of 35 week old PKM2 KO and WT mice. Three independent mice from each condition were used as biological replicates.
Project description:Cancer mortality is primarily a consequence of its metastatic spread. Here, we report that methionine sulfoxide reductase A (MSRA), which can reduce oxidized methionine residues, acts as a suppressor of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) metastasis. MSRA expression is decreased in the metastatic tumors of PDA patients, whereas MSRA loss in primary PDA cells promotes migration and invasion. Chemoproteomic profiling of pancreatic organoids revealed that MSRA loss results in the selective oxidation of a methionine residue (M239) in pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2). Moreover, M239 oxidation sustains PKM2 in an active tetrameric state to promote respiration, migration, and metastasis, whereas pharmacological activation of PKM2 increases cell migration and metastasis in vivo. These results demonstrate that methionine residues can act as reversible redox switches governing distinct signaling outcomes and that the MSRA-PKM2 axis serves as a regulatory nexus between redox biology and cancer metabolism to control tumor metastasis.
Project description:Purpose: In this study, we compared transcriptome profiling (RNA-seq) between normal mouse embryonic stem cell (E14) and Hexokinase2 (Hk2)/ Pyruvate Kinase M2 (Pkm2) overexpressed E14 cell. Result: Using an optimized data analysis workflow, we mapped over 4 billion sequence reads per sample to the mouse genome (build mm9) and identified 28698 transcripts in 5 samples. Conclusion: Our study represents the first detailed analysis of Hk2/ Pkm2 overexpressed E14 cell transcriptomes, generated by RNA-seq technology We compared transcriptome profiling (RNA-Seq) between normal mouse embryonic stem cell (E14) and E14 cells over-expressing Hexokinase2 (Hk2)/Pyruvate Kinase M2 (Pkm2)
Project description:Reactive oxygen species such as hydrogen peroxide can modify proteins via direct oxidation of their sulfur-containing amino acids, cysteine and methionine. Methionine oxidation, studied here, is a reversible posttranslational modification, which is increasingly suggested as a mechanism by which proteins perceive oxidative stress and function in redox signalling. Identification of proteins with oxidized methionines is a first prerequisite towards understanding the functional effect of methionine oxidation on proteins and the biological processes in which they are involved. Here, we describe a proteome-wide study of in vivo protein-bound methionine oxidation in plants upon oxidative stress, using Arabidopsis thaliana catalase 2 knock-out plants as a model system. We identified approximately 500 sites of oxidation in about 400 proteins, and quantified the differences in oxidation between wild-type and catalase 2 knock-out plants. Further, by sampling over time, we mapped the dynamics of methionine oxidation and gained new insights into this complex and dynamic landscape of the part of the plant proteome that is sculpted by oxidative stress.
Project description:The oxidation of protein-bound methionines to form methionine sulfoxides has a broad range of biological ramifications and it is therefore important to delineate factors that influence methionine oxidation rates within a protein. Previously, neighboring residue effects and solvent accessibility (SA) had been shown to impact the susceptibility of methionine residues to oxidation. In this study, we provide proteome-wide evidence that oxidation rates of buried methionine residues are also strongly influenced by the thermodynamic folding stability of the domains where they reside. We surveyed the E. coli proteome using several proteomic methodologies and globally measured oxidation rates of methionines in the presence and absence of tertiary structure as well as folding stabilities of methionione containing domains. The data indicate that buried methionines have a wide range of protection factors (PFs) against oxidation that correlate strongly with folding stabilities. Concordantly, we show that in comparison to E. coli, the proteome of the thermophile T. thermophilus is significantly more stable and thus more resistant to methionine oxidation. These results indicate that oxidation rates of buried methionines from the native state of proteins can be used as a metric of folding stability. To demonstrate the utility of this correlation, we used native methionine oxidation rates to survey the folding stabilities of E. coli and T. thermophilus proteomes at various temperatures and suggest a model that relates the temperature dependence of the folding stabilities of these two species to their optimal growth temperatures.
Project description:Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) might soon become the leading cause of end-stage liver disease worldwide with limited treatment options. Liver fibrosis, driven by chronic inflammation and hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) activation, critically determines morbidity and mortality in patients with NASH. Pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) is involved in immune activation and inflammatory liver diseases; however, its role and therapeutic potential in NASH fibrosis remain largely unexplored. By bioinformatic screening and analysis of human and murine NASH livers, we found that PKM2 was specifically upregulated in non-parenchymal cells (NPCs) in fibrotic NASH livers, especially in macrophages. Macrophage-specific Pkm2 knockout (Pkm2fl/flLysMCre) significantly ameliorated hepatic inflammation and fibrosis severity in three distinct NASH models induced by methionine–choline-deficient (MCD) diet, high-fat high-cholesterol (HFHC) diet and western diet plus weekly carbon tetrachloride injection (WD/CCl4). Single-cell transcriptomic analysis indicated that deletion of PKM2 in macrophage reduced profibrotic Ly6Chigh macrophage infiltration. Mechanistically, PKM2-dependent glycolysis promotes NLRP3 activation in proinflammatory macrophages, thus inducing HSCs activation and fibrogenesis. Pharmacological PKM2 agonist efficiently attenuated the profibrotic crosstalk between macrophages and HSCs in vitro and in vivo. Translationally, ablation of PKM2 in NPCs by cholesterol-conjugated heteroduplex oligonucleotides, a novel oligonucleotide drug that preferentially accumulated in the liver, dose-dependently reversed NASH fibrosis without observable hepatotoxicity. Our study highlights the pivotal role of macrophage PKM2 in advancing NASH fibrogenesis. Therapeutic modulation of PKM2 in a macrophage-specific or liver-specific fashion may serve as a novel strategy to combat NASH fibrosis.