Changes in tRNA methyltransferase activity and cellular S-adenosylmethionine content following methionine deprivation

Could partial nonstarch polysaccharides ameliorate cancer by altering m6A RNA methylation in hosts through intestinal microbiota?

There is a growing scientific view that the improvement of cancer by nonstarch polysaccharides (NSPs) is mediated by intestinal microbiota. Intestinal bacteria affect the supply of methyl donor substances and influence N⁶-methyladenosine (m⁶A) RNA methylation. As one of the epigenetic/epitranscriptomic modifications, m⁶A RNA methylation is closely related to the initiation and progression of cancers. This review summarizes the cancer-improving effects of NSPs through modulation of intestinal microbiota. It also summarizes the relationship between intestinal bacteria and the supply of methyl donor substances. Moreover, it also provides a summary of the effects of m⁶A RNA methylation on various types of cancer. The proposed mechanism is that, dietary consumed NSPs are utilized by specific intestinal bacteria and further reshape the microbial structure. Methyl donor substances will be directly or indirectly generated by the reshaped-microbiota, and affect the m⁶A RNA methylation of cancer-related and pro-carcinogenic inflammatory cytokine genes. Therefore, NSPs may change the m⁶A RNA methylation by affecting the methyl donor supply produced by intestinal microbiota and ameliorate cancer. This review discussed the possibility of cancer improvement of bioactive NSPs achieved by impacting RNA methylation via the intestinal microbiota, and it will offer new insights for the application of NSPs toward specific cancer prevention.

The association between 11C-methionine uptake, IDH gene mutation, and MGMT promoter methylation in patients with grade II and III gliomas

AIM

To evaluate the association between ¹¹C-methionine positron-emission tomography (¹¹C-methionine PET) findings, isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) gene mutation, and O⁶-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) promoter methylation in patients with grade II and III gliomas.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Data were collected from 40 patients with grade II and III gliomas who underwent both magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ¹¹C-methionine PET as part of their pre-surgical examination. IDH mutation was examined via DNA sequencing, and MGMT promoter methylation via quantitative methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

RESULTS

A threshold of MGMT promoter methylation of 1% was significantly associated with tumour/normal tissue (T/N) ratio. The T/N ratio in samples with MGMT promoter methylation ≥1% was higher than that in samples with MGMT promoter methylation <1%, and the difference was statistically significant (p=0.011). Reliable prediction of MGMT promoter methylation (<1% versus ≥1%) was possible using the T/N ratio under the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve with a sensitivity and specificity of 75% each (cut-off value=1.6: p=0.0226, area under the ROC curve [AUC]=0.76172). Conversely, the T/N ratio had no association with IDH mutation (p=0.6). The ROC curve revealed no reliable prediction of IDH mutation using the T/N ratio (p=0.606, AUC=0.60577).

CONCLUSION

¹¹C-methionine PET parameters can predict MGMT promoter methylation but not IDH mutation status. ¹¹C-methionine uptake may have limited potential to reflect DNA methylation processes in grade II and III gliomas.

Histogram analysis of 11C-methionine integrated PET/MRI may facilitate to determine the O6-methylguanylmethyltransferase methylation status in gliomas

OBJECTIVE

We evaluate the O6-methylguanylmethyltransferase (MGMT) methylation status noninvasively by analyzing radiomics features of C-methionine (MET) PET images, which may reflect the detailed biological properties of gliomas.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Fifty-seven patients with histopathologically confirmed gliomas, who were initially examined with C-MET PET/MR were retrospectively enrolled. Quantitative uptake of MET was assessed using conventional, histogram and texture features. These features were compared between the two groups classified by MGMT promoter methylation status.

RESULTS

The histogram features (Skewness and Kurtosis) of the MGMT methylated group were significantly higher than those of the MGMT unmethylated group (Skewness: 0.90 ± 0.71 vs. 0.49 ± 0.45; P = 0.01) (Kurtosis: 1.36 ± 2.30 vs. 0.08 ± 0.65; P = 0.003), but there were no significant differences in Skewness or Kurtosis between the groups in glioma-grade-matched subgroup analysis. Moreover, there was no significant difference in other features between the methylated group and unmethylated group.

CONCLUSION

The histogram features (Skewness and Kurtosis) of MET PET/MRI may be two key indicators to detect MGMT methylation status in gliomas and valuable predictors for the clinical responses of patients scheduled to receive temozolomide chemotherapeutics.

Altered Methionine Metabolism in Cancer Cells

Many different types of cancer cells have been shown to be methionine (MET) dependent. Cancer cells, unlike normal cells, grow poorly or not at all when MET is restricted. Cancer cells have an elevated requirement for exogenous MET for growth, despite high levels of endogenous synthesis. This requirement reflects increased utilization of MET by cancer cells, analogous to increased utilization glucose by cancer cells (Warburg effect). To answer the critical question of whether MET-dependent cancer cells synthesize normal amounts of MET, we determined the levels of MET, S-adenosylmethionine (AdoMET), and S-adenosylhomocysteine (AdoHCY) that were synthesized by MET-dependent cancer cells under conditions of MET restriction. We demonstrated that MET-dependent cells synthesize a normal amount of endogenously synthesized MET but are still deficient in AdoMET. In contrast, exogenously supplied MET results in normal AdoMET levels. The ratio of AdoMET to AdoHCY is low in MET-dependent cells growing in MET-restricted medium but is normal when MET is supplied. Under conditions of MET restriction, the low AdoMET/AdoHCY ratio probably limits proliferation of MET-dependent cancer cells. The amount of free MET is also low in MET-dependent cancer cells under MET restriction. The elevated MET requirement for cancer cells may be due to enhanced overall rates of transmethylation compared to normal human cells. Thus, MET-dependent cancer cells have low levels of free MET, low levels of AdoMET, and elevated levels of AdoHCY under conditions of MET restriction probably due to overuse of MET for transmethylation reactions ("Hoffman effect"), thereby blocking cellular proliferation.

(11)C-methinine uptake correlates with MGMT promoter methylation in nonenhancing gliomas

OBJECTIVES

Several studies have aimed to detect biomarkers in glioma using noninvasive imaging techniques. However, few studies have been able to image 1p/19q deletion by (11)C-methionine positron emission tomography ((11)C-methionine PET) or 2-hydroxyglutarate (2HG) by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). This study examines the correlation between (11)C-methionine uptake and MGMT promoter methylation in grade II and grade III nonenhancing gliomas.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Data was collected from 20 patients with grade II and III nonenhancing gliomas who underwent both MRI and (11)C-methionine PET as part of their pre-surgical examination. We examined MGMT promoter methylation by quantitative methylation-specific PCR.

RESULTS

The mean MGMT promoter methylation for tumors with T/N ratios ≥1.6 was 28.0±26.3, and that for tumors with T/N ratios <1.6 was 0.68±0.89. The MGMT promoter methylation for tumors with T/N ratios ≥1.6 was significantly higher than that for tumors with T/N ratios <1.6 (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

A higher uptake in (11)C-methionine PET may reflect increased MGMT promoter methylation. (11)C-methionine PET could be a useful tool to detect MGMT promoter methylation in nonenhancing glioma.

Can dietary methionine restriction increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy in treatment of advanced cancer?

Most metastatic tumors, such as those originating in the prostate, lung, and gastrointestinal tract, respond poorly to conventional chemotherapy. Novel treatment strategies for advanced cancer are therefore desperately needed. Dietary restriction of the essential amino acid methionine offers promise as such a strategy, either alone or in combination with chemotherapy or other treatments. Numerous in vitro and animal studies demonstrate the effectiveness of dietary methionine restriction in inhibiting growth and eventually causing death of cancer cells. In contrast, normal host tissues are relatively resistant to methionine restriction. These preclinical observations led to a phase I clinical trial of dietary methionine restriction for adults with advanced cancer. Preliminary findings from this trial indicate that dietary methionine restriction is safe and feasible for the treatment of patients with advanced cancer. In addition, the trial has yielded some preliminary evidence of antitumor activity. One patient with hormone-independent prostate cancer experienced a 25% reduction in serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) after 12 weeks on the diet, and a second patient with renal cell cancer experienced an objective radiographic response. The possibility that methionine restriction may act synergistically with other cancer treatments such as chemotherapy is being explored. Findings to date support further investigation of dietary methionine restriction as a novel treatment strategy for advanced cancer.

Betaine:Homocysteine methyltransferase from rat liver: Purification and inhibition by a boronic acid substrate analog

Betaine:homocysteine methyltransferase (BHMT) from rat liver has been highly purified by an efficient procedure requiring only two chromatographic steps: Sephadex G-100 chromatography and fast protein liquid chromatography chromatofocusing. A 170-fold purification and 7.5% overall yield were achieved. Chromatofocusing yielded three active forms of BHMT with pI values near 8.0, 7.6, and 7.0. The subunit molecular weight of each active form is 45,000 Da as determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and the native enzyme has a molecular weight of 270,000 as determined by exclusion chromatography. The stability of the purified enzyme was found to be potentiated by the presence of 1 mM dimethylglycine and 1 mM homocysteine. Boronate analogs of betaine (pinanyl N,N,N-trimethylaminomethaneboronate) (4) and dimethylglycine (pinanyl N,N-dimethylaminomethaneboronate) were synthesized from pinanyl iodomethaneboronate (3) and trimethylamine or dimethylamine, respectively. The free acid of the betaine analog (5) was reversibly generated from (4). The inhibition of BHMT by (5) appears competitive with a Ki = 45 microM. Since the Km for betaine measured with the purified enzyme is near 0.1 mM, the boronic acid analog of betaine appears to function effectively as a substrate analog inhibitor of BHMT. The analog does not appear to act as a methyl donor to homocysteine when (5) is substituted for betaine in the enzyme reaction. In addition, an enzyme assay based upon C3-cyano reverse phase HPLC detection of the o-phthalaldehyde derivative of methionine was developed as an alternative to the standard radiochemical assay. Betaine:homocysteine methyltransferase in the picomole range can be quantitated using this assay as indicated by a linear response of enzyme activity to protein concentration.

Methionine dependence of virus-infected cells

Mouse embryo cells nonproductively infected with human cytomegalovirus differed from noninfected cells by the impaired ability to grow in the medium containing homocysteine instead of methionine. Virus infection of mouse embryo cells grown in both kinds of media resulted in the increase of protein synthesis. In the infected cells grown on homocysteine this increase was followed by a quick decrease. The effects of homocysteine substitution could be abolished by the addition of low amounts of methionine (0.1 mM). Methionine uptake in the infected cells grown on homocysteine for 48 h was significantly higher than that in the noninfected cells.

Regional coupling of blood flow and methionine uptake in an experimental tumor assessed with autoradiography

Regional distribution of L-[methyl-14C] methionine (14C-MET) and 4-[18F] fluoro-antipyrine was compared using experimental rat tumors (AH109A) and a computerized autoradiogram image processor. Tissue distributions of the two tracers were found to be inhomogeneous in the tumor with nearly identical image patterns. Analysis of tissue radioactivities revealed that 82% of 14C-MET was derived from the acid insoluble fraction at 60 min after injection. The present study showed that 14C-MET uptake closely relates to tissue blood flow and may depend on its blood to tissue transport. Rapid incorporation of MET in the acid insoluble fraction implies that it is rapidly metabolized after transport into tumor tissue.

Association of SIBA treatment and a Met-depleted diet inhibits in vitro growth and in vivo metastatic spread of experimental tumor cell lines

We have used 5'-deoxy-5'-S isobutyl-thioadenosine (SIBA), an analog of S-adenosylhomocysteine, alone or in association with a methionine-depleted diet in order to obtain an antitumoral effect in two different tumor models: a transplantable rat rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS-J1) induced by i.m. injection of nickel and the well-known Lewis lung carcinoma (3LL) of C57BL/6 mice. Since SIBA has been reported to inhibit the methyl group transfer from methionine to S-adenosylhomocysteine, among other activities, its association with a reduction of methyl donors, achieved by methionine depletion of the diet (in vivo) or the culture medium (in vitro), should logically lead to an additive effect. In vitro, 3LL and RMS-J1 were sensitive to the cytotoxic effect of SIBA and were methionine-dependent for their proliferation. Fibroblast proliferation was not affected by these two treatments alone or in association. In vivo, either SIBA treatment or a low methionine diet led to a significant decrease in the metastatic character of these two tumors; however, local tumor growth was not significantly affected. The median number of 3LL metastases counted in the lungs was reduced from 100 to 18 by SIBA treatment, and to 27 by the low methionine diet. No additive effect could be detected when the treatments were given simultaneously. RMS-J1-bearing rats treated with SIBA and fed a low Met diet underwent primary tumor excision. The median numbers of lung metastatic nodules were 27, 26, 14 and 8 for the control, SIBA-treated rats, methionine-deprived rats and rats receiving the combined therapy. Expressed as percentages 20 per cent were cured, 23 per cent showed a low number of lung metastases (P less than 10), whereas all the rats in the control group developed more than 10 pulmonary nodules. No cytotoxic effect could be observed on the treated rats. The role of SIBA and methionine depletion, as agents interfering with transmethylation processes, in regard to the control of tumor development, namely metastatic invasiveness, is discussed.

Age- and tumour-related changes in methionine biosynthesis in mice

Two routes for the methylation of homocysteine to methionine, depending either on betaine or folate cofactor as methyl donor, were studied in liver and kidneys of normal and Ehrlich ascites carcinoma-bearing mice at various stages of their postnatal development. Distinct age-dependence in the activities of betaine methyltransferase, methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase and methionine synthase were found both in normal and tumour-bearing mice. Independent of the levels of enzyme activity in healthy mice, the tumour activated one route of methionine formation only, namely that utilizing methyltetrahydrofolate as the methyl donor. This effect was observed in host liver exclusively. No host age-related changes were found in Ehrlich ascites carcinoma growth.

Methionine metabolism and cancer

This paper summarizes recent developments linking methionine metabolism and S-adenosylmethionine to DNA methylation and gene expression in relation to cancer. Methionine, obtained in the diet and synthesized by several reactions in the body, is the sole precursor of S-adenosylmethionine, the primary methyl donor in the body. Disruptions in methionine metabolism and methylation reactions may be involved in cancer processes. S-Adenosylmethionine is involved in, inter alia, the methylation of a small percentage of cytosine bases of DNA. Recent evidence suggests that enzymatic DNA methylation is an important component of gene control and may serve as a silencing mechanism for gene function. Some carcinogens interfere with enzymatic DNA methylation, and thus may allow oncogene activation. Demethylation may be a necessary, but not always sufficient, condition for enhanced transcription. DNA hypomethylation has been observed in many cancer cells and tumors. The hypothesis that oncogenic transformation may be prevented or even reversed by a diet containing excess methionine and/or choline needs to be further investigated.

Elevated overall rates of transmethylation in cell lines from diverse human tumors

In a study of a diverse set of human tumor cell lines previously shown to all have a defect in methionine metabolism (Stern, P. H., Wallace, C.D. and Hoffman, R.M., J. Cellular Physiology 119, 29-34, 1984), we demonstrate in this report that all have enhanced overall rates of transmethylation compared to normal human fibroblasts. Transmethylation rates were measured by blocking S-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase and measuring the AdoHcy which accumulates as a result of transmethylation. The enhanced transmethylation rates may be the basis of the above-mentioned defects in methionine metabolism previously reported in human tumor cells, including the basis of the inability of the majority of the tumor cells to grow when methionine is replaced by homocysteine. The excess and unbalanced tRNA methylation observed for the last 25 years in many types of cancer may be at least in part explained by our results of elevated rates of overall transmethylation in cancer cells. The alteration of such a fundamental process as transmethylation in cancer may be indicative of its importance in the oncogenic process.

Altered methionine metabolism occurs in all members of a set of diverse human tumor cell lines

Methionine dependence is a metabolic defect found thus far only in transformed and malignant cells. The defect is manifested as the inability of cells to grow in media in which methionine (Met) is replaced by its immediate precursor homocysteine (Hcy). We have termed this Met- Hcy+ media. We demonstrate here that methionine-dependent cells derived from human tumors, compared to normal methionine-independent cells, have low levels of free Met, low levels of S-adenosylmethionine (AdoMet) and elevated levels of S-adenosylhomocysteine (AdoHcy) when incubated in Met- Hcy+ medium. Methionine-independent human tumor cells also have very low levels of free Met compared to normal cells but generally have levels of AdoMet and AdoHcy comparable to normal cells in Met- Hcy+ medium. All tumor cell types incorporate amounts of Met into protein similar to normal methionine-independent human fibroblasts when incubated in Met- Hcy+ medium, thereby indicating apparently normal levels of Met synthesis in the tumor cells. The methionine-independent tumor cell lines in Met- Hcy+ medium seem able to regulate their AdoMet/AdoHcy ratios normally despite this defect in having very low levels of free Met. Thus, in a diverse set of human tumor cell lines, all are defective in at least one aspect of Met metabolism, giving rise to the possibility of a general metabolic defect in cancer.

Differential sensitivity of normal and leukaemic haemopoietic cells to methionine deprivation by L-methioninase

The in vitro sensitivity of bone marrow cells from patients with leukaemia and from patients with non-malignant diseases to L-methionine removal by L-methioninase (L-methionine-alpha-deamino-gamma-mercaptomethane-lyase, EC 4.4.1.11) was determined using the incorporation of [methyl-3H]thymidine into acid-insoluble material as an index of survival. When compared with controls growing in medium containing 10 micrograms/ml of L-methionine, leukaemic cells showed a lower incorporation of [methyl-3H]thymidine after 24 h in the presence of 0.1 (normal 78 +/- 24%; leukaemic 26 +/- 18%, p less than 0.01) or 0.05 (normal 84 +/- 15%; leukaemic 50 +/- 21%, p less than 0.01) units of L-methioninase per ml. A similar differential sensitivity of leukaemic cells to L-methioninase was seen after 48 h of incubation. There was little effect on [methyl-3H]thymidine incorporation in the presence of boiled enzyme. Attempts to reverse L-methioninase toxicity with D-homocystine did not result in a differential effect on the normal cell population. The effects of L-methionine removal with L-methioninase were similar to those observed in L-methionine-depleted culture medium supplemented with 0.1 mM L-homocysteine. After 24 h in such depleted media leukaemic cells showed a lower incorporation of [methyl-3H]thymidine into acid-insoluble material (normal 88 +/- 17%; leukaemic 35 +/- 14%, p less than 0.01) and there was an elevation of the L-methionine-dependent enzymes: methionine adenosyltransferase, tRNA methyltransferase and S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase. These results suggest the possibility of trying L-methioninase in the treatment of suitable leukaemias.

Reduced availability of endogenously synthesized methionine for S-adenosylmethionine formation in methionine-dependent cancer cells

Methionine (Met) dependence--i.e., the inability of cultured cells to grow when Met is replaced by its immediate precursor homocysteine (Met-Hcy+ medium)--is a frequent component of the oncogenically transformed phenotype. Normal cells, on the other hand, grow in this medium. There have been reports [Hoffman, R. M. & Erbe, R. W. (1976) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 73, 1523-1527; Hoffman, R. M., Jacobsen, S. J. & Erbe, R. W. (1978) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 82, 228-234] of normal or higher rats of Met biosynthesis in Met-dependent cells and a postulation that Met-dependent cells are deficient in utilization of endogenously synthesized Met as opposed to exogenously supplied Met. To answer the critical question of what biochemical reaction(s) requires preformed Met in Met-dependent cels, we labeled cells with Met-free [35S]Hcy or [35S]Met and determined the levels of Met, S-adenosylmethionine (AdoMet), and S-adenosylhomocysteine (AdoHcy). We report here experiments that demonstrate that Met-dependent cells synthesize a normal amount of endogenously synthesized Met and are deficient in utilizing this Met for AdoMet synthesis. In contrast, exogenously supplied Met is utilized normally for AdoMet biosynthesis. The ratio of AdoMet to AdoHcy is low in Met-dependent cells growing in Met-Hcy+ medium but is normal in Met+Hcy- medium. We determined that the low AdoMet/AdoHcy ratio probably limits growth of Met-dependent cells in Met-Hcy+ medium.

Effect of methionine deprivation on S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase of tumour cells

Transference of Walker carcinoma and TLX5 lymphoma from normal L-methionine-containing medium to medium containing limiting amounts of L-methionine, or L-homocysteine only, caused a 2-fold increase of S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase activity. Kinetic analysis showed an increase in the V value of the enzyme from 22 to 53 pmol/min per mg protein in media containing only 0.1 mM L-homocysteine, without any alteration in the Km value (0.1 mM). The increase in enzyme activity does not result from (a) a reduction of the intracellular level of S-adenosylmethionine, since cycloleucine, an inhibitor of methionine adenosyltransferase, had no effect on enzyme activity; (b) an increase in intracellular adenosine 3',5' monophosphate (cyclic AMP), since high extracellular concentrations of N6-monobutyryl cyclic AMP had no effect on enzyme activity; (c) an alteration of polyamine levels, since addition of micromolar concentrations of exogenous putrescine, spermidine and spermine did not prevent the induction of S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase activity in methionine-free media containing 0.1 mM L-homocysteine. The increased enzyme activity appears to be mainly due to enhanced stabilization, since the half-life was increased from 2.45 to 5.0 h in media containing only 0.1 mM L-homocysteine. Induction of enzyme activity is specific to the removal of L-methionine, since no increase occurred in the absence of L-serine or L-glycine, or both, or by reduction of the serum concentrations in the medium.