Project description:Subcellular compartmentalization of metabolic enzymes may elicit specific cellular functions by establishing a unique metabolic environment. Indeed, the nuclear translocation of certain metabolic enzymes is required for epigenetic regulation and gene expression control. Here, we reveal that, in cancer cells, the mitochondrial enzyme methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase 2 (MTHFD2) localizes in the nucleus during the G2-M phase of the cell cycle to secure mitosis progression. Nuclear MTHFD2 interacts with proteins involved in mitosis regulation and centromere stability, including the methyltransferases KMT5A and DNMT3B. Loss of MTHFD2 induces centromere overexpression and severe methylation defects, and impedes correct mitosis completion. As a consequence, MTHFD2 deficient cells accumulate chromosomal aberrations arising from chromosome congression and segregation defects. Blocking the catalytic nuclear function of MTHFD2 recapitulates the phenotype observed in MTHFD2 deficient cells, attributing to nuclear MTHFD2 an enzymatic active role in controlling mitosis. Our discovery uncovers a nuclear moonlighting role for the cancer target MTHFD2, and emphasizes that cancer metabolism rewiring may encompass the relocation of metabolic enzymes to alternative subcellular compartments.
Project description:Subcellular compartmentalization of metabolic enzymes may elicit specific cellular functions by establishing a unique metabolic environment. Indeed, the nuclear translocation of certain metabolic enzymes is required for epigenetic regulation and gene expression control. Here, we reveal that, in cancer cells, the mitochondrial enzyme methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase 2 (MTHFD2) localizes in the nucleus during the G2-M phase of the cell cycle to secure mitosis progression. Nuclear MTHFD2 interacts with proteins involved in mitosis regulation and centromere stability, including the methyltransferases KMT5A and DNMT3B. Loss of MTHFD2 induces centromere overexpression and severe methylation defects, and impedes correct mitosis completion. As a consequence, MTHFD2 deficient cells accumulate chromosomal aberrations arising from chromosome congression and segregation defects. Blocking the catalytic nuclear function of MTHFD2 recapitulates the phenotype observed in MTHFD2 deficient cells, attributing to nuclear MTHFD2 an enzymatic active role in controlling mitosis. Our discovery uncovers a nuclear moonlighting role for the cancer target MTHFD2, and emphasizes that cancer metabolism rewiring may encompass the relocation of metabolic enzymes to alternative subcellular compartments.
Project description:Subcellular compartmentalization of metabolic enzymes may elicit specific cellular functions by establishing a unique metabolic environment. Indeed, the nuclear translocation of certain metabolic enzymes is required for epigenetic regulation and gene expression control. Here, we reveal that, in cancer cells, the mitochondrial enzyme methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase 2 (MTHFD2) localizes in the nucleus during the G2-M phase of the cell cycle to secure mitosis progression. Nuclear MTHFD2 interacts with proteins involved in mitosis regulation and centromere stability, including the methyltransferases KMT5A and DNMT3B. Loss of MTHFD2 induces centromere overexpression and severe methylation defects, and impedes correct mitosis completion. As a consequence, MTHFD2 deficient cells accumulate chromosomal aberrations arising from chromosome congression and segregation defects. Blocking the catalytic nuclear function of MTHFD2 recapitulates the phenotype observed in MTHFD2 deficient cells, attributing to nuclear MTHFD2 an enzymatic active role in controlling mitosis. Our discovery uncovers a nuclear moonlighting role for the cancer target MTHFD2, and emphasizes that cancer metabolism rewiring may encompass the relocation of metabolic enzymes to alternative subcellular compartments.
Project description:Lung cancer is leading cause of cancer-related death in the world, because of high recurrence rate and acquired resistance to targeting drugs such as gefitinib. Here we uncover a critical MTHFD2 enzyme-mediated purine synthesis pathway in mitochondria in poor prognostic lung cancer. Expression of MTHFD2 was induced by epidermal growth factor (EGF) stimulation. It was overexpressed in gefitinib-resistant cancer cells and high-grade tumor tissues. Knockdown of MTHFD2 significantly decreased not only in vitro and in vivo cell growth but also tumor sphere formation and tumor initiating activity, properties of cancer stem-like cells. Integrated analysis of metabolome and transcriptome of MTHFD2 knocked-down cells revealed significant accumulation of the nucleotide intermediates before MTHFD2-mediated one carbon transfer and marked deficiency of purine nucleotides required for cell growth. Thus we provide evidence that MTHFD2 pathway is critical for growth of both cancer cells and cancer stem-like cells as an Achilles heel to eradicate tumors in poor prognostic lung cancer.
Project description:We performed transcriptome analysis of Human Aortic Endothelial Cells after siRNA mediated knockdown of MTHFD2. We identified MTHFD2 as a key driver for a gene cluster which integrates mitochondrial one-carbon metabolism, serine synthesizing enzymes as well as common amino acid and ER stress response genes.
Project description:Purpose: Identify new targets in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Methods: MOLM-14 cells were transduced with lentivirus encoding shRNAs targeting MTHFD2 (shMTHFD2 hairpin TRCN0000036553, denoted M5) and control (LacZ, shControl TRCN0000072231). RNA from 6 samples, biological duplicates (LacZ1, LacZ2; M5-1, M5-2) and a technical replicate (LacZ3, M5-3) were sequenced as 50+50 bp paired-end reads using Illumina TruSeq strand specific library. The pool of six samples was sequenced on two lanes of an Illumina HiSeq, generating 101bp paired end reads. The software package RSEM (Li et al., 2001) was run using Bowtie (version 1.0.0) to align the reads that passed quality filters to the hg19 GENCODE version 17 (http://www.gencodegenes.org/releases/17.html) transcriptome and to quantify transcript abundance at isoform and gene level. Results: MTHFD2 suppression induces AML differentiation. There was upregulation of well-validated myeloid differentiation genes and gene sets consistent with myeloid maturation. Conclusion: Our study supports the therapeutic targeting of MTHFD2 in AML.
Project description:CENP-A is the histone H3 variant necessary to specify the location of all eukaryoticcentromeres via its CENP-A targeting domain and either one of its terminal regions. In humans, several post-translational modifications occur on CENP-A, but their role in centromere function remains controversial. One of these modifications of CENP-A, phosphorylation on serine 7,has been proposed to control centromere assembly and function. Here, using gene targeting at both endogenous CENP-A alleles and gene replacement in human cells, we demonstrate that a CENP-A variant that cannot be phosphorylated at serine 7 maintains correct CENP-C recruitment, faithful chromosome segregation and long-term cell viability. Thus, we conclude that phosphorylation of CENP-A on serine 7 is dispensable to maintain correct centromere dynamics and function.