1
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Miyamoto R, Takigawa H, Yuge R, Shimizu D, Ariyoshi M, Otani R, Tsuboi A, Tanaka H, Yamashita K, Hiyama Y, Urabe Y, Ishikawa A, Sentani K, Oka S. Analysis of anti-tumor effect and mechanism of GLS1 inhibitor CB-839 in colorectal cancer using a stroma-abundant tumor model. Exp Mol Pathol 2024; 137:104896. [PMID: 38703552 DOI: 10.1016/j.yexmp.2024.104896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2023] [Revised: 03/01/2024] [Accepted: 04/18/2024] [Indexed: 05/06/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Glutaminase 1 (GLS1), a key enzyme in glutamine metabolism in cancer cells, acts as a tumor promoter and could be a potential therapeutic target. CB-839, a GLS1-specific inhibitor, was developed recently. Herein, we aimed to elucidate the anti-tumor effects and mechanism of action of CB-839 in colorectal cancer (CRC). METHODS Using the UCSC Xena public database, we evaluated GLS1 expression in various cancers. Immunostaining for GLS1 was performed on 154 surgically resected human CRC specimens. Subsequently, we examined the GLS1 mRNA expression levels in eight CRC cell lines and evaluated the association between GLS1 expression and CB-839 efficacy. To create a reproducible CRC model with abundant stroma and an allogeneic immune response, we co-transplanted CT26 and stem cells into BALB/c mice and treated them with CB-839. Finally, RNA sequencing of mouse tumors was performed. RESULTS Database analysis showed higher GLS1 expression in CRC tissues than in normal colon tissues. Clinical samples from 114 of the 154 patients with CRC showed positive GLS1 expression. GLS1 expression in clinical CRC tissues correlated with vascular invasion. CB-839 treatment inhibited cancer cell proliferation depending on GLS1 expression in vitro and inhibited tumor growth and metastasis in the CRC mouse model. RNA sequencing revealed that CB-839 treatment inhibited stromal activation, tumor growth, migration, and angiogenesis. These findings were validated through in vitro and in vivo experiments and clinical specimen analysis. CONCLUSIONS GLS1 expression in CRC plays important roles in tumor progression. CB-839 has inhibitory effects on cancer proliferation and the tumor microenvironment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryo Miyamoto
- Department of Gastroenterology, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Hidehiko Takigawa
- Department of Gastroenterology, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan.
| | - Ryo Yuge
- Department of Gastroenterology, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Daisuke Shimizu
- Department of Gastroenterology, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Misa Ariyoshi
- Department of Gastroenterology, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Rina Otani
- Department of Gastroenterology, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Akiyoshi Tsuboi
- Department of Gastroenterology, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Hidenori Tanaka
- Department of Gastroenterology, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Ken Yamashita
- Department of Gastroenterology, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Yuichi Hiyama
- Clinical Research Center in Hiroshima, Hiroshima University Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Yuji Urabe
- Department of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and Medicine, Hiroshima University Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Akira Ishikawa
- Department of Molecular Pathology, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Kazuhiro Sentani
- Department of Molecular Pathology, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Shiro Oka
- Department of Gastroenterology, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
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2
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Fan Y, Xue H, Li Z, Huo M, Gao H, Guan X. Exploiting the Achilles' heel of cancer: disrupting glutamine metabolism for effective cancer treatment. Front Pharmacol 2024; 15:1345522. [PMID: 38510646 PMCID: PMC10952006 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1345522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2023] [Accepted: 02/23/2024] [Indexed: 03/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Cancer cells have adapted to rapid tumor growth and evade immune attack by reprogramming their metabolic pathways. Glutamine is an important nitrogen resource for synthesizing amino acids and nucleotides and an important carbon source in the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle and lipid biosynthesis pathway. In this review, we summarize the significant role of glutamine metabolism in tumor development and highlight the vulnerabilities of targeting glutamine metabolism for effective therapy. In particular, we review the reported drugs targeting glutaminase and glutamine uptake for efficient cancer treatment. Moreover, we discuss the current clinical test about targeting glutamine metabolism and the prospective direction of drug development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuxin Fan
- Department of Clinical Laboratory Diagnostics, School of Medical Technology, Beihua University, Jilin City, China
- Department of Basic Medicine, Medical School, Taizhou University, Taizhou, Zhejiang Province, China
| | - Han Xue
- Department of Clinical Laboratory Diagnostics, School of Medical Technology, Beihua University, Jilin City, China
- Department of Basic Medicine, Medical School, Taizhou University, Taizhou, Zhejiang Province, China
| | - Zhimin Li
- Department of Clinical Laboratory Diagnostics, School of Medical Technology, Beihua University, Jilin City, China
- Department of Basic Medicine, Medical School, Taizhou University, Taizhou, Zhejiang Province, China
| | - Mingge Huo
- Department of Clinical Laboratory Diagnostics, School of Medical Technology, Beihua University, Jilin City, China
- Department of Basic Medicine, Medical School, Taizhou University, Taizhou, Zhejiang Province, China
| | - Hongxia Gao
- Department of Clinical Laboratory Diagnostics, School of Medical Technology, Beihua University, Jilin City, China
| | - Xingang Guan
- Department of Basic Medicine, Medical School, Taizhou University, Taizhou, Zhejiang Province, China
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3
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Feng S, Aplin C, Nguyen TTT, Milano SK, Cerione RA. Filament formation drives catalysis by glutaminase enzymes important in cancer progression. Nat Commun 2024; 15:1971. [PMID: 38438397 PMCID: PMC10912226 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-46351-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2023] [Accepted: 02/22/2024] [Indexed: 03/06/2024] Open
Abstract
The glutaminase enzymes GAC and GLS2 catalyze the hydrolysis of glutamine to glutamate, satisfying the 'glutamine addiction' of cancer cells. They are the targets of anti-cancer drugs; however, their mechanisms of activation and catalytic activity have been unclear. Here we demonstrate that the ability of GAC and GLS2 to form filaments is directly coupled to their catalytic activity and present their cryo-EM structures which provide a view of the conformational states essential for catalysis. Filament formation guides an 'activation loop' to assume a specific conformation that works together with a 'lid' to close over the active site and position glutamine for nucleophilic attack by an essential serine. Our findings highlight how ankyrin repeats on GLS2 regulate enzymatic activity, while allosteric activators stabilize, and clinically relevant inhibitors block, filament formation that enables glutaminases to catalyze glutaminolysis and support cancer progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shi Feng
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA
| | - Cody Aplin
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA
| | - Thuy-Tien T Nguyen
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA
| | - Shawn K Milano
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA
| | - Richard A Cerione
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA.
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA.
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4
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Li X, Peng X, Li Y, Wei S, He G, Liu J, Li X, Yang S, Li D, Lin W, Fang J, Yang L, Li H. Glutamine addiction in tumor cell: oncogene regulation and clinical treatment. Cell Commun Signal 2024; 22:12. [PMID: 38172980 PMCID: PMC10763057 DOI: 10.1186/s12964-023-01449-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2023] [Accepted: 12/19/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
After undergoing metabolic reprogramming, tumor cells consume additional glutamine to produce amino acids, nucleotides, fatty acids, and other substances to facilitate their unlimited proliferation. As such, the metabolism of glutamine is intricately linked to the survival and progression of cancer cells. Consequently, targeting the glutamine metabolism presents a promising strategy to inhibit growth of tumor cell and cancer development. This review describes glutamine uptake, metabolism, and transport in tumor cells and its pivotal role in biosynthesis of amino acids, fatty acids, nucleotides, and more. Furthermore, we have also summarized the impact of oncogenes like C-MYC, KRAS, HIF, and p53 on the regulation of glutamine metabolism and the mechanisms through which glutamine triggers mTORC1 activation. In addition, role of different anti-cancer agents in targeting glutamine metabolism has been described and their prospective applications are assessed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xian Li
- Department of General Surgery, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, 110032, China
| | - Xueqiang Peng
- Department of General Surgery, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, 110032, China
| | - Yan Li
- Department of General Surgery, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, 110032, China
| | - Shibo Wei
- Department of General Surgery, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, 110032, China
| | - Guangpeng He
- Department of General Surgery, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, 110032, China
| | - Jiaxing Liu
- Department of General Surgery, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, 110032, China
| | - Xinyu Li
- Department of General Surgery, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, 110032, China
| | - Shuo Yang
- Department of General Surgery, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, 110032, China
| | - Dai Li
- Department of General Surgery, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, 110032, China
| | - Weikai Lin
- Department of General Surgery, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, 110032, China
| | - Jianjun Fang
- Department of General Surgery, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, 110032, China
| | - Liang Yang
- Department of General Surgery, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, 110032, China.
| | - Hangyu Li
- Department of General Surgery, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, 110032, China.
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5
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Liu Z, Wang R, Wang Y, Duan Y, Zhan H. Targeting succinylation-mediated metabolic reprogramming as a potential approach for cancer therapy. Biomed Pharmacother 2023; 168:115713. [PMID: 37852104 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2023.115713] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2023] [Revised: 10/08/2023] [Accepted: 10/11/2023] [Indexed: 10/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Metabolic reprogramming is a common hallmark of cancers and involves alterations in many metabolic pathways during tumor initiation and progression. However, the cancer-specific modulation of metabolic reprogramming requires further elucidation. Succinylation, a newly identified protein posttranslational modification (PTM), participates in many cellular processes by transferring a succinyl group to a residue of the target protein, which is related to various pathological disorders including cancers. In recent years, there has been a gradual increase in the number of studies on the regulation of tumors by protein succinylation. Notably, accumulating evidence suggests that succinylation can mediate cancer cell metabolism by altering the structure or activity of metabolism-related proteins and plays vital roles in metabolic reprogramming. Furthermore, some antitumor drugs have been linked to succinylation-mediated tumor-associated metabolism. To better elucidate lysine succinylation mediated tumor metabolic reprogramming, this review mainly summarizes recent studies on the regulation and effects of protein succinylation in tumors, focusing on the metabolic regulation of tumorigenesis and development, which will provide new directions for cancer diagnosis as well as possible therapeutic targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhenya Liu
- Department of General Surgery, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250012, China
| | - Runxian Wang
- Department of General Surgery, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250012, China
| | - Yunshan Wang
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, Shandong 250012, China
| | - Yangmiao Duan
- Key Laboratory for Experimental Teratology of the Ministry of Education, Department of Cell Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250012, China.
| | - Hanxiang Zhan
- Department of General Surgery, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250012, China.
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6
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Greene KS, Choi A, Chen M, Yang N, Li R, Qiu Y, Lukey MJ, Rojas KS, Shen J, Wilson KF, Katt WP, Whittaker GR, Cerione RA. Inhibiting Glutamine Metabolism Blocks Coronavirus Replication in Mammalian Cells. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.09.27.559756. [PMID: 37808692 PMCID: PMC10557708 DOI: 10.1101/2023.09.27.559756] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/10/2023]
Abstract
Developing therapeutic strategies against COVID-19 has gained widespread interest given the likelihood that new viral variants will continue to emerge. Here we describe one potential therapeutic strategy which involves targeting members of the glutaminase family of mitochondrial metabolic enzymes (GLS and GLS2), which catalyze the first step in glutamine metabolism, the hydrolysis of glutamine to glutamate. We show three examples where GLS expression increases during coronavirus infection of host cells, and another in which GLS2 is upregulated. The viruses hijack the metabolic machinery responsible for glutamine metabolism to generate the building blocks for biosynthetic processes and satisfy the bioenergetic requirements demanded by the 'glutamine addiction' of virus-infected host cells. We demonstrate how genetic silencing of glutaminase enzymes reduces coronavirus infection and that newer members of two classes of small molecule allosteric inhibitors targeting these enzymes, designated as SU1, a pan-GLS/GLS2 inhibitor, and UP4, which is specific for GLS, block viral replication in mammalian epithelial cells. Overall, these findings highlight the importance of glutamine metabolism for coronavirus replication in human cells and show that glutaminase inhibitors can block coronavirus infection and thereby may represent a novel class of anti-viral drug candidates. Teaser Inhibitors targeting glutaminase enzymes block coronavirus replication and may represent a new class of anti-viral drugs.
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7
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Cooper AJL, Dorai T, Pinto JT, Denton TT. Metabolic Heterogeneity, Plasticity, and Adaptation to "Glutamine Addiction" in Cancer Cells: The Role of Glutaminase and the GTωA [Glutamine Transaminase-ω-Amidase (Glutaminase II)] Pathway. BIOLOGY 2023; 12:1131. [PMID: 37627015 PMCID: PMC10452834 DOI: 10.3390/biology12081131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2023] [Revised: 07/06/2023] [Accepted: 07/21/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023]
Abstract
Many cancers utilize l-glutamine as a major energy source. Often cited in the literature as "l-glutamine addiction", this well-characterized pathway involves hydrolysis of l-glutamine by a glutaminase to l-glutamate, followed by oxidative deamination, or transamination, to α-ketoglutarate, which enters the tricarboxylic acid cycle. However, mammalian tissues/cancers possess a rarely mentioned, alternative pathway (the glutaminase II pathway): l-glutamine is transaminated to α-ketoglutaramate (KGM), followed by ω-amidase (ωA)-catalyzed hydrolysis of KGM to α-ketoglutarate. The name glutaminase II may be confused with the glutaminase 2 (GLS2) isozyme. Thus, we recently renamed the glutaminase II pathway the "glutamine transaminase-ω-amidase (GTωA)" pathway. Herein, we summarize the metabolic importance of the GTωA pathway, including its role in closing the methionine salvage pathway, and as a source of anaplerotic α-ketoglutarate. An advantage of the GTωA pathway is that there is no net change in redox status, permitting α-ketoglutarate production during hypoxia, diminishing cellular energy demands. We suggest that the ability to coordinate control of both pathways bestows a metabolic advantage to cancer cells. Finally, we discuss possible benefits of GTωA pathway inhibitors, not only as aids to studying the normal biological roles of the pathway but also as possible useful anticancer agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arthur J. L. Cooper
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, New York Medical College, 15 Dana Road, Valhalla, NY 10595, USA; (T.D.); (J.T.P.)
| | - Thambi Dorai
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, New York Medical College, 15 Dana Road, Valhalla, NY 10595, USA; (T.D.); (J.T.P.)
- Department of Urology, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY 10595, USA
| | - John T. Pinto
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, New York Medical College, 15 Dana Road, Valhalla, NY 10595, USA; (T.D.); (J.T.P.)
| | - Travis T. Denton
- Department Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, Washington State University Health Sciences Spokane, Spokane, WA 99202, USA
- Department of Translational Medicine and Physiology, Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, Washington State University Health Sciences Spokane, Spokane, WA 99164, USA
- Steve Gleason Institute for Neuroscience, Washington State University Health Sciences Spokane, Spokane, WA 99164, USA
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8
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Feng S, Aplin C, Nguyen TTT, Milano SK, Cerione RA. Filament formation drives catalysis by glutaminase enzymes important in cancer progression. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.02.16.528860. [PMID: 36824706 PMCID: PMC9949068 DOI: 10.1101/2023.02.16.528860] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/18/2023]
Abstract
The glutaminase enzymes GAC and GLS2 catalyze the hydrolysis of glutamine to glutamate, satisfying the 'glutamine addiction' of cancer cells. They are the targets of anti-cancer drugs; however, their mechanisms of activation and catalytic activity have been unclear. Here we demonstrate that the ability of GAC and GLS2 to form filaments is directly coupled to their catalytic activity and present their cryo-EM structures which provide an unprecedented view of the conformational states essential for catalysis. Filament formation guides an 'activation loop' to assume a specific conformation that works together with a 'lid' to close over the active site and position glutamine for nucleophilic attack by an essential serine. Our findings highlight how ankyrin repeats on GLS2 regulate enzymatic activity, while allosteric activators stabilize, and clinically relevant inhibitors block, filament formation that enables glutaminases to catalyze glutaminolysis and support cancer progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shi Feng
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University,
Ithaca, New York, 14853
| | - Cody Aplin
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University,
Ithaca, New York, 14853
| | - Thuy-Tien T. Nguyen
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University,
Ithaca, New York, 14853
| | - Shawn K. Milano
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University,
Ithaca, New York, 14853
| | - Richard A. Cerione
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University,
Ithaca, New York, 14853
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, New
York, 14853
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9
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Liu T, Ren S, Sun C, Zhao P, Wang H. Glutaminolysis and peripheral CD4 + T cell differentiation: from mechanism to intervention strategy. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1221530. [PMID: 37545506 PMCID: PMC10401425 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1221530] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2023] [Accepted: 06/29/2023] [Indexed: 08/08/2023] Open
Abstract
To maintain the body's regular immune system, CD4+ T cell homeostasis is crucial, particularly T helper (Th1, Th17) cells and T regulatory (Treg) cells. Abnormally differentiated peripheral CD4+ T cells are responsible for the occurrence and development of numerous diseases, including autoimmune diseases, transplantation rejection, and irritability. Searching for an effective interventional approach to control this abnormal differentiation is therefore especially important. As immunometabolism progressed, the inherent metabolic factors underlying the immune cell differentiation have gradually come to light. Mounting number of studies have revealed that glutaminolysis plays an indelible role in the differentiation of CD4+ T cells. Besides, alterations in the glutaminolysis can also lead to changes in the fate of peripheral CD4+ T cells. All of this indicate that the glutaminolysis pathway has excellent potential for interventional regulation of CD4+ T cells differentiation. Here, we summarized the process by which glutaminolysis regulates the fate of CD4+ T cells during differentiation and further investigated how to reshape abnormal CD4+ T cell differentiation by targeting glutaminolysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tong Liu
- Department of General Surgery, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
- Tianjin General Surgery Institute, Tianjin, China
| | - Shaohua Ren
- Department of General Surgery, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
- Tianjin General Surgery Institute, Tianjin, China
| | - Chenglu Sun
- Department of General Surgery, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
- Tianjin General Surgery Institute, Tianjin, China
| | - Pengyu Zhao
- Department of General Surgery, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
- Tianjin General Surgery Institute, Tianjin, China
| | - Hao Wang
- Department of General Surgery, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
- Tianjin General Surgery Institute, Tianjin, China
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10
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Chen Y, Tan L, Gao J, Lin C, Wu F, Li Y, Zhang J. Targeting glutaminase 1 (GLS1) by small molecules for anticancer therapeutics. Eur J Med Chem 2023; 252:115306. [PMID: 36996714 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2023.115306] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2023] [Revised: 03/16/2023] [Accepted: 03/22/2023] [Indexed: 03/29/2023]
Abstract
Glutaminase-1 (GLS1) is a critical enzyme involved in several cellular processes, and its overexpression has been linked to the development and progression of cancer. Based on existing research, GLS1 plays a crucial role in the metabolic activities of cancer cells, promoting rapid proliferation, cell survival, and immune evasion. Therefore, targeting GLS1 has been proposed as a promising cancer therapy strategy, with several GLS1 inhibitors currently under development. To date, several GLS1 inhibitors have been identified, which can be broadly classified into two types: active site and allosteric inhibitors. Despite their pre-clinical effectiveness, only a few number of these inhibitors have advanced to initial clinical trials. Hence, the present medical research emphasizes the need for developing small molecule inhibitors of GLS1 possessing significantly high potency and selectivity. In this manuscript, we aim to summarize the regulatory role of GLS1 in physiological and pathophysiological processes. We also provide a comprehensive overview of the development of GLS1 inhibitors, focusing on multiple aspects such as target selectivity, in vitro and in vivo potency and structure-activity relationships.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yangyang Chen
- Joint Research Institution of Altitude Health, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, China
| | - Lun Tan
- Joint Research Institution of Altitude Health, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, China
| | - Jing Gao
- Joint Research Institution of Altitude Health, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, China
| | - Congcong Lin
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Natural Medicine Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150081, China
| | - Fengbo Wu
- Department of Pharmacy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, China.
| | - Yang Li
- Joint Research Institution of Altitude Health, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, China.
| | - Jifa Zhang
- Joint Research Institution of Altitude Health, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, China.
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11
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Chuang HJ, Chiu L, Yan JJ, Chang CY, Tang YH, Chou MY, Yu HT, Hwang PP. Responses of medaka (Oryzias latipes) ammonia production and excretion to overcome acidified environments. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2023; 445:130539. [PMID: 36502720 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.130539] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2022] [Revised: 11/28/2022] [Accepted: 12/01/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Anthropogenic acidification of water is an on-going environmental disaster for freshwater fishes. Fishes rely on ammonia excretion to eliminate the excess acid and mitigate the harmful effects; however, it remains largely unknown how ammoniagenesis occurs and is coordinated with ammonia excretion upon acidic stress. Medaka (Oryzias latipes) was used to examine the effects of acidic stress on ammonia production and excretion. We reveal an undiscovered ammonia-producing cell type that is rich in glutaminase (GLS) and located adjacent to the ammonia-excreting ionocytes, Na+/H+ exchanger (NHE) cells, in the gills. The gills, comparing with other ammoniagenetic organs, is the quickest to respond to the acidic stress by triggering GLS-dependent ammonia production. The unique division of labor between GLS and NHE cells in the gills allows medaka to simultaneously upregulate GLS activity and ammonia excretion shortly after exposure to acidic environments. Pharmacological experiment with a GLS inhibitor abolished the activated ammonia excretion, further suggesting the essential role of the unique feature in the responses to acidic stress. Our study shades light on a novel physiological mechanism to timely and efficiently mitigate adverse effects of acidification, providing a new way to assess the impact of on-going environmental acidification on fish.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hsin-Ju Chuang
- Institute of Cellular and Organismic Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan; Department of Life Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
| | - Ling Chiu
- Institute of Cellular and Organismic Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan; Institute of Oceanography, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
| | - Jia-Jiun Yan
- Institute of Cellular and Organismic Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan
| | - Chun-Yung Chang
- Institute of Cellular and Organismic Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Hsin Tang
- Institute of Cellular and Organismic Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan
| | - Ming-Yi Chou
- Department of Life Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
| | - Hon-Tsen Yu
- Department of Life Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
| | - Pung-Pung Hwang
- Institute of Cellular and Organismic Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan.
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12
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Kao TW, Chuang YC, Lee HL, Kuo CC, Shen YA. Therapeutic Targeting of Glutaminolysis as a Novel Strategy to Combat Cancer Stem Cells. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms232315296. [PMID: 36499623 PMCID: PMC9737183 DOI: 10.3390/ijms232315296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2022] [Revised: 11/26/2022] [Accepted: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Rare subpopulations of cancer stem cells (CSCs) have the ability to self-renew and are the primary driving force behind cancer metastatic dissemination and the preeminent hurdle to cancer treatment. As opposed to differentiated, non-malignant tumor offspring, CSCs have sophisticated metabolic patterns that, depending on the kind of cancer, rely mostly on the oxidation of major fuel substrates such as glucose, glutamine, and fatty acids for survival. Glutaminolysis is a series of metabolic reactions that convert glutamine to glutamate and, eventually, α-ketoglutarate, an intermediate in the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle that provides biosynthetic building blocks. These building blocks are mostly utilized in the synthesis of macromolecules and antioxidants for redox homeostasis. A recent study revealed the cellular and molecular interconnections between glutamine and cancer stemness in the cell. Researchers have increasingly focused on glutamine catabolism in their attempt to discover an effective therapy for cancer stem cells. Targeting catalytic enzymes in glutaminolysis, such as glutaminase (GLS), is achievable with small molecule inhibitors, some of which are in early-phase clinical trials and have promising safety profiles. This review summarizes the current findings in glutaminolysis of CSCs and focuses on novel cancer therapies that target glutaminolysis in CSCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ting-Wan Kao
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110301, Taiwan
- Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110301, Taiwan
| | - Yao-Chen Chuang
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei 110301, Taiwan
| | - Hsin-Lun Lee
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei 110301, Taiwan
- Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110301, Taiwan
- Taipei Cancer Center, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110301, Taiwan
| | - Chia-Chun Kuo
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei 110301, Taiwan
- School of Health Care Administration, College of Management, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110301, Taiwan
- Ph.D. Program for Cancer Molecular Biology and Drug Discovery, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University and Academia Sinica, Taipei 11031, Taiwan
| | - Yao-An Shen
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110301, Taiwan
- Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110301, Taiwan
- International Master/Ph.D. Program in Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110301, Taiwan
- Correspondence:
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13
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Yang T, Tian Y, Yang Y, Tang M, Shi M, Chen Y, Yang Z, Chen L. Design, synthesis, and pharmacological evaluation of 2-(1-(1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-yl)piperidin-4-yl)ethan-1-ol analogs as novel glutaminase 1 inhibitors. Eur J Med Chem 2022; 243:114686. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2022.114686] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2022] [Revised: 08/12/2022] [Accepted: 08/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
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14
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Fang B, Shen Y, Peng B, Bai H, Wang L, Zhang J, Hu W, Fu L, Zhang W, Li L, Huang W. Small‐Molecule Quenchers for Förster Resonance Energy Transfer: Structure, Mechanism, and Applications. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2022; 61:e202207188. [DOI: 10.1002/anie.202207188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Bin Fang
- Frontiers Science Center for Flexible Electronics Xi'an Institute of Flexible Electronics (IFE) and Xi'an Institute of Biomedical Materials & Engineering (IBME) Northwestern Polytechnical University Xi'an 710072 China
- State Key Laboratory of Solidification Processing School of Materials Science and Engineering Northwestern Polytechnical University 127 West Youyi Road Xi'an 710072 China
| | - Yu Shen
- Frontiers Science Center for Flexible Electronics Xi'an Institute of Flexible Electronics (IFE) and Xi'an Institute of Biomedical Materials & Engineering (IBME) Northwestern Polytechnical University Xi'an 710072 China
| | - Bo Peng
- Frontiers Science Center for Flexible Electronics Xi'an Institute of Flexible Electronics (IFE) and Xi'an Institute of Biomedical Materials & Engineering (IBME) Northwestern Polytechnical University Xi'an 710072 China
| | - Hua Bai
- Frontiers Science Center for Flexible Electronics Xi'an Institute of Flexible Electronics (IFE) and Xi'an Institute of Biomedical Materials & Engineering (IBME) Northwestern Polytechnical University Xi'an 710072 China
| | - Limin Wang
- Frontiers Science Center for Flexible Electronics Xi'an Institute of Flexible Electronics (IFE) and Xi'an Institute of Biomedical Materials & Engineering (IBME) Northwestern Polytechnical University Xi'an 710072 China
| | - Jiaxin Zhang
- Frontiers Science Center for Flexible Electronics Xi'an Institute of Flexible Electronics (IFE) and Xi'an Institute of Biomedical Materials & Engineering (IBME) Northwestern Polytechnical University Xi'an 710072 China
| | - Wenbo Hu
- Frontiers Science Center for Flexible Electronics Xi'an Institute of Flexible Electronics (IFE) and Xi'an Institute of Biomedical Materials & Engineering (IBME) Northwestern Polytechnical University Xi'an 710072 China
| | - Li Fu
- Frontiers Science Center for Flexible Electronics Xi'an Institute of Flexible Electronics (IFE) and Xi'an Institute of Biomedical Materials & Engineering (IBME) Northwestern Polytechnical University Xi'an 710072 China
- State Key Laboratory of Solidification Processing School of Materials Science and Engineering Northwestern Polytechnical University 127 West Youyi Road Xi'an 710072 China
| | - Wei Zhang
- Teaching and Evaluation Center of Air Force Medical University Xi'an 710032 China
| | - Lin Li
- Frontiers Science Center for Flexible Electronics Xi'an Institute of Flexible Electronics (IFE) and Xi'an Institute of Biomedical Materials & Engineering (IBME) Northwestern Polytechnical University Xi'an 710072 China
- The Institute of Flexible Electronics (IFE, Future Technologies) Xiamen University Xiamen 361005, Fujian China
| | - Wei Huang
- Frontiers Science Center for Flexible Electronics Xi'an Institute of Flexible Electronics (IFE) and Xi'an Institute of Biomedical Materials & Engineering (IBME) Northwestern Polytechnical University Xi'an 710072 China
- The Institute of Flexible Electronics (IFE, Future Technologies) Xiamen University Xiamen 361005, Fujian China
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15
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Structure-based virtual screening discovers novel kidney-type glutaminase inhibitors. Biomed Pharmacother 2022; 154:113585. [PMID: 36029536 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2022.113585] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2022] [Revised: 08/15/2022] [Accepted: 08/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Glutaminase (GLS) serves a critical bioenergetic role for malignant tumor growth and has become a valuable therapeutic target for cancer treatment. Herein, we performed a structure-based virtual screening to discover novel GLS inhibitors and provide information for developing new GLS inhibitors. We identified critical pharmacological interactions in the GLS1 binding site by analyzing the known GLS1 inhibitors and selected potential inhibitors based on their docking score and pharmacological interactions. The inhibitory effects of compounds were further confirmed by enzymatic and cell viability assays. We treated colorectal cancer and triple-negative breast cancer cells with the selected candidates and measured the inhibitory efficacy of hit compounds on cell viability. In total, we identified three GLS1 inhibitors. The compounds identified from our structure-based virtual screening methodology exhibited great anticancer potential as a lead targeting glutamine metabolism.
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16
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Fang B, Shen Y, Peng B, Bai H, Wang L, Zhang J, Hu W, Fu L, Zhang W, Li L, Huang W. Small Molecule Quenchers for Förster Resonance Energy Transfer: Structure, Mechanism and Applications. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/ange.202207188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Bin Fang
- Northwestern Polytechnical University Frontiers Science Center for Flexible Electronics CHINA
| | - Yu Shen
- Northwestern Polytechnical University Frontiers Science Center for Flexible Electronics CHINA
| | - Bo Peng
- Northwestern Polytechnical University Frontiers Science Center for Flexible Electronics CHINA
| | - Hua Bai
- Northwestern Polytechnical University Frontiers Science Center for Flexible Electronics CHINA
| | - Limin Wang
- Northwestern Polytechnical University Frontiers Science Center for Flexible Electronics CHINA
| | - Jiaxin Zhang
- Northwestern Polytechnical University Frontiers Science Center for Flexible Electronics CHINA
| | - Wenbo Hu
- Northwestern Polytechnical University Frontiers Science Center for Flexible Electronics CHINA
| | - Li Fu
- Northwestern Polytechnical University Frontiers Science Center for Flexible Electronics CHINA
| | - Wei Zhang
- Air Force Medical University Teaching and Evaluation Center CHINA
| | - Lin Li
- Nanjing Tech University Institute of Advanced Materials 30 South Puzhu Road 210008 Nanjing CHINA
| | - Wei Huang
- Northwestern Polytechnical University Frontiers Science Center for Flexible Electronics CHINA
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17
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Sharma S, Agnihotri N, Kumar S. Targeting fuel pocket of cancer cell metabolism: A focus on glutaminolysis. Biochem Pharmacol 2022; 198:114943. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bcp.2022.114943] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2021] [Revised: 01/28/2022] [Accepted: 01/31/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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High-resolution structures of mitochondrial glutaminase C tetramers indicate conformational changes upon phosphate binding. J Biol Chem 2022; 298:101564. [PMID: 34999118 PMCID: PMC8800119 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2022.101564] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2021] [Revised: 12/28/2021] [Accepted: 01/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
The mitochondrial enzyme glutaminase C (GAC) is upregulated in many cancer cells to catalyze the first step in glutamine metabolism, the hydrolysis of glutamine to glutamate. The dependence of cancer cells on this transformed metabolic pathway highlights GAC as a potentially important therapeutic target. GAC acquires maximal catalytic activity upon binding to anionic activators such as inorganic phosphate. To delineate the mechanism of GAC activation, we used the tryptophan substitution of tyrosine 466 in the catalytic site of the enzyme as a fluorescent reporter for glutamine binding in the presence and absence of phosphate. We show that in the absence of phosphate, glutamine binding to the Y466W GAC tetramer exhibits positive cooperativity. A high-resolution X-ray structure of tetrameric Y466W GAC bound to glutamine suggests that cooperativity in substrate binding is coupled to tyrosine 249, located at the edge of the catalytic site (i.e., the “lid”), adopting two distinct conformations. In one dimer within the GAC tetramer, the lids are open and glutamine binds weakly, whereas, in the adjoining dimer, the lids are closed over the substrates, resulting in higher affinity interactions. When crystallized in the presence of glutamine and phosphate, all four subunits of the Y466W GAC tetramer exhibited bound glutamine with closed lids. Glutamine can bind with high affinity to each subunit, which subsequently undergo simultaneous catalysis. These findings explain how the regulated transitioning of GAC between different conformational states ensures that maximal catalytic activity is reached in cancer cells only when an allosteric activator is available.
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19
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Milano SK, Huang Q, Nguyen TTT, Ramachandran S, Finke A, Kriksunov I, Schuller D, Szebenyi M, Arenholz E, McDermott LA, Sukumar N, Cerione RA, Katt WP. New insights into the molecular mechanisms of glutaminase C inhibitors in cancer cells using serial room temperature crystallography. J Biol Chem 2021; 298:101535. [PMID: 34954143 PMCID: PMC8784640 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2021.101535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2021] [Revised: 12/19/2021] [Accepted: 12/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Cancer cells frequently exhibit uncoupling of the glycolytic pathway from the TCA cycle (i.e. the "Warburg effect"), and as a result, often become dependent on their ability to increase glutamine catabolism. The mitochondrial enzyme Glutaminase C (GAC) helps to satisfy this 'glutamine addiction' of cancer cells by catalyzing the hydrolysis of glutamine to glutamate, which is then converted to the TCA-cycle intermediate α-ketoglutarate. This makes GAC an intriguing drug target, and spurred the molecules derived from bis-2-(5-phenylacetamido-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-yl)ethyl sulfide (the so-called BPTES-class of allosteric GAC inhibitors), including CB-839, which is currently in clinal trials. However, none of the drugs targeting GAC are yet approved for cancer treatment and their mechanism of action is not well understood. Here, we shed new light on the underlying basis for the differential potencies exhibited by members of the BPTES/CB-839 family of compounds, which could not previously be explained with standard cryo-cooled X-ray crystal structures of GAC bound to CB-839 or its analogs. Using an emerging technique known as serial room temperature crystallography, we were able to observe clear differences between the binding conformations of inhibitors with significantly different potencies. We also developed a computational model to further elucidate the molecular basis of differential inhibitor potency. We then corroborated the results from our modeling efforts using recently established fluorescence assays that directly read out inhibitor binding to GAC. Together, these findings should aid in future design of more potent GAC inhibitors with better clinical outlook.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shawn K Milano
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, United States
| | - Qingqiu Huang
- Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS), Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, United States
| | - Thuy-Tien T Nguyen
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, United States
| | - Sekar Ramachandran
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, United States
| | - Aaron Finke
- Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS), Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, United States
| | - Irina Kriksunov
- Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS), Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, United States
| | - David Schuller
- Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS), Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, United States
| | - Marian Szebenyi
- Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS), Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, United States
| | - Elke Arenholz
- Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS), Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, United States
| | - Lee A McDermott
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, United States; Drug Discovery Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, United States
| | - N Sukumar
- Department of Chemistry and Center for Informatics, Shiv Nadar University, India
| | - Richard A Cerione
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, United States; Department of Molecular Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, United States.
| | - William P Katt
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, United States
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20
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Cederkvist H, Kolan SS, Wik JA, Sener Z, Skålhegg BS. Identification and characterization of a novel glutaminase inhibitor. FEBS Open Bio 2021; 12:163-174. [PMID: 34698439 PMCID: PMC8727943 DOI: 10.1002/2211-5463.13319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2021] [Revised: 09/20/2021] [Accepted: 10/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
In humans, there are two forms of glutaminase (GLS), designated GLS1 and GLS2. These enzymes catalyse the conversion of glutamine to glutamate. GLS1 exists as two isozymes: kidney glutaminase (KGA) and glutaminase C (GAC). Several GLS inhibitors have been identified, of which DON (6‐diazo‐5‐oxonorleucine), BPTES (bis‐2‐(5‐phenylacetamido‐1, 3, 4‐thiadiazol‐2‐yl) ethyl sulphide), 968 (5‐(3‐Bromo‐4‐(dimethylamino)phenyl)‐2,2‐dimethyl‐2,3,5,6‐tetrahydrobenzo[a]phenanthridin‐4(1H)‐one) and CB839 (Telaglenastat) are the most widely used. However, these inhibitors have variable efficacy, specificity and bioavailability in research and clinical settings, implying the need for novel and improved GLS inhibitors. Based on this need, a diverse library of 28,000 compounds from Enamine was screened for inhibition of recombinant, purified GAC. From this library, one inhibitor designated compound 19 (C19) was identified with kinetic features revealing allosteric inhibition of GAC in the µm range. Moreover, C19 inhibits anti‐CD3/CD28‐induced CD4+ T‐cell proliferation and cytokine production with similar or greater potency as compared to BPTES. Taken together, our data suggest that C19 has the potential to modulate GLS1 activity and alter metabolic activity of T cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Henning Cederkvist
- Division of Molecular Nutrition, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Oslo, Norway
| | - Shrikant S Kolan
- Division of Molecular Nutrition, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Oslo, Norway
| | - Jonas Aakre Wik
- Division of Molecular Nutrition, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Oslo, Norway.,Department of Pathology, Oslo University Hospital-Rikshospitalet, Norway
| | - Zeynep Sener
- Division of Molecular Nutrition, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Oslo, Norway
| | - Bjørn Steen Skålhegg
- Division of Molecular Nutrition, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Oslo, Norway
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21
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Han S, Zhu L, Zhu Y, Meng Y, Li J, Song P, Yousafzai NA, Feng L, Chen M, Wang Y, Jin H, Wang X. Targeting ATF4-dependent pro-survival autophagy to synergize glutaminolysis inhibition. Am J Cancer Res 2021; 11:8464-8479. [PMID: 34373753 PMCID: PMC8343999 DOI: 10.7150/thno.60028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2021] [Accepted: 07/11/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
As glutamine plays a central role in cancer metabolism, inhibition of glutaminolysis has become an ideal anticancer therapeutic target. However, glutaminolysis inhibition leads to activation of autophagy, which compromises its antitumor effect. Hence, we investigated the mechanism underlying glutaminolysis inhibition-induced pro-survival autophagy. Methods: High-throughput sequencing was performed on colorectal cancer (CRC) cells before and after glutaminolysis inhibition to identify differentially expressed genes. Activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4) pathway enrichment in glutaminolysis inhibited cells was identified through gene set enrichment analysis. ATF4 expression was assessed by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and western blotting. The function of ATF4 on mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) regulation was assessed by western blotting. Luciferase reporter assays and chromatin immunoprecipitation were used to confirm the regulation of DNA damage inducible transcript 4 (DDIT4) by ATF4. mRNA half-life assays, RNA immunoprecipitation, qRT-PCR and western blotting were performed to determine the relationship between FTO alpha-ketoglutarate dependent dioxygenase (FTO), YTH N6-methyladenosine RNA binding protein 2 (YTHDF2), and ATF4. ATF4 regulation of pro-survival autophagy was measured by tandem monomeric red fluorescent protein-green fluorescent protein fluorescence microscopy. Finally, the synergistic effect of autophagy and glutaminolysis inhibition was analyzed in an azoxymethane/dextran sodium sulfate mouse model. Results: The ATF4 pathway was activated in CRC cells upon glutaminolysis inhibition. Functionally, ATF4 transcriptionally upregulated DDIT4 to suppress mTOR, which induced pro-survival autophagy during glutaminolysis inhibition. Interestingly, glutaminolysis inhibition promoted ATF4 mRNA expression by abrogating N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification and YTHDF2-mediated RNA decay. Finally, inhibition of ATF4-induced autophagy enhanced the antitumor efficacy of glutaminolysis inhibition. Conclusion: Glutaminolysis inhibition upregulated ATF4 expression in an m6A-dependent manner to activate pro-survival autophagy through transcriptional activation of the mTOR inhibitor DDIT4. Targeting ATF4-induced autophagy is a new strategy to synergize glutaminolysis-targeting therapies for cancer treatment.
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22
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Shen YA, Chen CL, Huang YH, Evans EE, Cheng CC, Chuang YJ, Zhang C, Le A. Inhibition of glutaminolysis in combination with other therapies to improve cancer treatment. Curr Opin Chem Biol 2021; 62:64-81. [PMID: 33721588 PMCID: PMC8570367 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2021.01.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2020] [Revised: 01/19/2021] [Accepted: 01/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Targeting glutamine catabolism has been attracting more research attention on the development of successful cancer therapy. Catalytic enzymes such as glutaminase (GLS) in glutaminolysis, a series of biochemical reactions by which glutamine is converted to glutamate and then alpha-ketoglutarate, an intermediate of the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, can be targeted by small molecule inhibitors, some of which are undergoing early phase clinical trials and exhibiting promising safety profiles. However, resistance to glutaminolysis targeting treatments has been observed, necessitating the development of treatments to combat this resistance. One option is to use synergy drug combinations, which improve tumor chemotherapy's effectiveness and diminish drug resistance and side effects. This review will focus on studies involving the glutaminolysis pathway and diverse combination therapies with therapeutic implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yao-An Shen
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan; International Master/Ph.D. Program in Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan
| | - Chi-Long Chen
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan; International Master/Ph.D. Program in Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan; Department of Pathology, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan
| | - Yi-Hsuan Huang
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan
| | - Emily Elizabeth Evans
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan
| | - Chun-Chia Cheng
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan
| | - Ya-Jie Chuang
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan
| | - Cissy Zhang
- Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Anne Le
- Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University Whiting School of Engineering Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
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Yu W, Yang X, Zhang Q, Sun L, Yuan S, Xin Y. Targeting GLS1 to cancer therapy through glutamine metabolism. Clin Transl Oncol 2021; 23:2253-2268. [PMID: 34023970 DOI: 10.1007/s12094-021-02645-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2021] [Accepted: 05/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Glutamine metabolism is one of the hallmarks of cancers which is described as an essential role in serving as a major energy and building blocks supply to cell proliferation in cancer cells. Many malignant tumor cells always display glutamine addiction. The "kidney-type" glutaminase (GLS1) is a metabolism enzyme which plays a significant part in glutaminolysis. Interestingly, GLS1 is often overexpressed in highly proliferative cancer cells to fulfill enhanced glutamine demand. So far, GLS1 has been proved to be a significant target during the carcinogenesis process, and emerging evidence reveals that its inhibitors could provide a benefit strategy for cancer therapy. Herein, we summarize the prognostic value of GLS1 in multiple cancer type and its related regulatory factors which are associated with antitumor activity. Moreover, this review article highlights the remarkable reform of discovery and development for GLS1 inhibitors. On the basis of case studies, our perspectives for targeting GLS1 and development of GLS1 antagonist are discussed in the final part.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Yu
- China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 21000, Jiangsu, China
- Zhuhai Interventional Medical Center, Zhuhai Precision Medical Center, Zhuhai People's Hospital, Zhuhai Hospital Affiliated With Jinan University, Jinan University, Zhuhai, 519000, Guangdong, China
| | - XiangYu Yang
- Zhuhai Interventional Medical Center, Zhuhai Precision Medical Center, Zhuhai People's Hospital, Zhuhai Hospital Affiliated With Jinan University, Jinan University, Zhuhai, 519000, Guangdong, China
| | - Qian Zhang
- China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 21000, Jiangsu, China
| | - Li Sun
- China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 21000, Jiangsu, China
| | - ShengTao Yuan
- China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 21000, Jiangsu, China.
| | - YongJie Xin
- Zhuhai Interventional Medical Center, Zhuhai Precision Medical Center, Zhuhai People's Hospital, Zhuhai Hospital Affiliated With Jinan University, Jinan University, Zhuhai, 519000, Guangdong, China.
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24
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Tong Y, Guo D, Lin SH, Liang J, Yang D, Ma C, Shao F, Li M, Yu Q, Jiang Y, Li L, Fang J, Yu R, Lu Z. SUCLA2-coupled regulation of GLS succinylation and activity counteracts oxidative stress in tumor cells. Mol Cell 2021; 81:2303-2316.e8. [PMID: 33991485 DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2021.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 30.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2019] [Revised: 01/15/2021] [Accepted: 04/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Glutaminase regulates glutaminolysis to promote cancer cell proliferation. However, the mechanism underlying glutaminase activity regulation is largely unknown. Here, we demonstrate that kidney-type glutaminase (GLS) is highly expressed in human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) specimens with correspondingly upregulated glutamine dependence for PDAC cell proliferation. Upon oxidative stress, the succinyl-coenzyme A (CoA) synthetase ADP-forming subunit β (SUCLA2) phosphorylated by p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) at S79 dissociates from GLS, resulting in enhanced GLS K311 succinylation, oligomerization, and activity. Activated GLS increases glutaminolysis and the production of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) and glutathione, thereby counteracting oxidative stress and promoting tumor cell survival and tumor growth in mice. In addition, the levels of SUCLA2 pS79 and GLS K311 succinylation, which were mutually correlated, were positively associated with advanced stages of PDAC and poor prognosis for patients. Our findings reveal critical regulation of GLS by SUCLA2-coupled GLS succinylation regulation and underscore the regulatory role of metabolites in glutaminolysis and PDAC development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yingying Tong
- The Institute of Cell Metabolism and Diseases, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Pancreatic Disease, Shanghai General Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200080, China; Cancer Center, Beijing Luhe Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 101149, China
| | - Dong Guo
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery and Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Pancreatic Disease of The First Affiliated Hospital, Institute of Translational Medicine, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310029, China; Zhejiang University Cancer Center, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310029, China
| | - Shu-Hai Lin
- State Key Laboratory for Cellular Stress Biology, Innovation Center for Cell Signaling Network, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361102, China
| | - Jiazhen Liang
- Key Laboratory of Marine Drugs, Chinese Ministry of Education, School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, Shandong 266003, China
| | - Dianqiang Yang
- State Key Laboratory for Cellular Stress Biology, Innovation Center for Cell Signaling Network, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361102, China
| | - Chunmin Ma
- The Institute of Cell Metabolism and Diseases, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Pancreatic Disease, Shanghai General Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200080, China
| | - Fei Shao
- The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao Cancer Institute, Qingdao, Shandong 266071, China
| | - Min Li
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery and Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Pancreatic Disease of The First Affiliated Hospital, Institute of Translational Medicine, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310029, China; Zhejiang University Cancer Center, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310029, China
| | - Qiujing Yu
- The Institute of Cell Metabolism and Diseases, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Pancreatic Disease, Shanghai General Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200080, China; Key Laboratory of Immune Microenvironment and Disease (Ministry of Education), Department of Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin 300070, China
| | - Yuhui Jiang
- The Institute of Cell Metabolism and Diseases, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Pancreatic Disease, Shanghai General Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200080, China
| | - Lei Li
- The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao Cancer Institute, Qingdao, Shandong 266071, China
| | - Jing Fang
- The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao Cancer Institute, Qingdao, Shandong 266071, China
| | - Rilei Yu
- Key Laboratory of Marine Drugs, Chinese Ministry of Education, School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, Shandong 266003, China.
| | - Zhimin Lu
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery and Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Pancreatic Disease of The First Affiliated Hospital, Institute of Translational Medicine, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310029, China; Zhejiang University Cancer Center, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310029, China.
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25
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Xu X, Wang J, Wang M, Yuan X, Li L, Zhang C, Huang H, Jing T, Wang C, Tong C, Zhou L, Meng Y, Xu P, Kou J, Qiu Z, Li Z, Bian J. Structure-Enabled Discovery of Novel Macrocyclic Inhibitors Targeting Glutaminase 1 Allosteric Binding Site. J Med Chem 2021; 64:4588-4611. [PMID: 33792311 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.0c02044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
The inhibition of glutaminase 1 (GLS1) represents a potential treatment of malignant tumors. Structural analysis led to the design of a novel series of macrocyclic GLS1 allosteric inhibitors. Through extensive structure-activity relationship studies, a promising candidate molecule 13b (LL202) was identified with robust GLS1 inhibitory activity (IC50 = 6 nM) and high GLS1 binding affinity (SPR, Kd = 24 nM; ITC, Kd = 37 nM). The X-ray crystal structure of the 13b-GLS1 complex was resolved, revealing a unique binding mode and providing a novel structural scaffold for GLS1 allosteric inhibitors. Importantly, 13b clearly adjusted the cellular metabolites and induced an increase in the ROS level by blocking glutamine metabolism. Furthermore, 13b exhibited a similar in vivo antitumor activity as CB839. This study adds to the growing body of evidence that macrocyclization provides an alternative and complementary approach for the design of small-molecule inhibitors, with the potential to improve the binding affinity to the targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xi Xu
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, 24 Tongjiaxiang, Nanjing 210009, P. R. China
| | - Jubo Wang
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, 24 Tongjiaxiang, Nanjing 210009, P. R. China
| | - Min Wang
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, 24 Tongjiaxiang, Nanjing 210009, P. R. China
| | - Xinyu Yuan
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, 24 Tongjiaxiang, Nanjing 210009, P. R. China
| | - Lei Li
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, 24 Tongjiaxiang, Nanjing 210009, P. R. China
| | - Chao Zhang
- School of Pharmacy, Wannan Medical College, Wuhu 241002, P. R. China
| | - Huidan Huang
- School of Pharmacy, Wannan Medical College, Wuhu 241002, P. R. China
| | - Tian Jing
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, 24 Tongjiaxiang, Nanjing 210009, P. R. China
| | - Chenchen Wang
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, 24 Tongjiaxiang, Nanjing 210009, P. R. China
| | - Chao Tong
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, 24 Tongjiaxiang, Nanjing 210009, P. R. China
| | - Liwen Zhou
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, 24 Tongjiaxiang, Nanjing 210009, P. R. China
| | - Ying Meng
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, 24 Tongjiaxiang, Nanjing 210009, P. R. China
| | - Pengfei Xu
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, 24 Tongjiaxiang, Nanjing 210009, P. R. China
| | - Junping Kou
- State Key Laboratory of Natural Products, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of TCM Evaluation and Translational Research, Department of Pharmacology of Chinese Material Medical, School of Traditional Chinese Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 211198, P. R. China
| | - Zhixia Qiu
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, 24 Tongjiaxiang, Nanjing 210009, P. R. China
| | - Zhiyu Li
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, 24 Tongjiaxiang, Nanjing 210009, P. R. China
| | - Jinlei Bian
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, 24 Tongjiaxiang, Nanjing 210009, P. R. China
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26
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Matés JM, Campos-Sandoval JA, de Los Santos-Jiménez J, Segura JA, Alonso FJ, Márquez J. Metabolic Reprogramming of Cancer by Chemicals that Target Glutaminase Isoenzymes. Curr Med Chem 2020; 27:5317-5339. [PMID: 31038055 DOI: 10.2174/0929867326666190416165004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2018] [Revised: 03/19/2019] [Accepted: 03/31/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Metabolic reprogramming of tumours is a hallmark of cancer. Among the changes in the metabolic network of cancer cells, glutaminolysis is a key reaction altered in neoplasms. Glutaminase proteins control the first step in glutamine metabolism and their expression correlates with malignancy and growth rate of a great variety of cancers. The two types of glutaminase isoenzymes, GLS and GLS2, differ in their expression patterns and functional roles: GLS has oncogenic properties and GLS2 has been described as a tumour suppressor factor. RESULTS We have focused on glutaminase connections with key oncogenes and tumour suppressor genes. Targeting glutaminase isoenzymes includes different strategies aimed at deactivating the rewiring of cancer metabolism. In addition, we found a long list of metabolic enzymes, transcription factors and signalling pathways dealing with glutaminase. On the other hand, a number of chemicals have been described as isoenzyme-specific inhibitors of GLS and/or GLS2 isoforms. These molecules are being characterized as synergic and therapeutic agents in many types of tumours. CONCLUSION This review states the metabolic pathways that are rewired in cancer, the roles of glutaminase isoforms in cancer, as well as the metabolic circuits regulated by glutaminases. We also show the plethora of anticancer drugs that specifically inhibit glutaminase isoenzymes for treating several sets of cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- José M Matés
- Instituto de Investigacion Biomedica de Malaga (IBIMA), Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Canceromics Lab, Faculty of Sciences, Campus de Teatinos, University of Malaga, 29071 Malaga, Spain
| | - José A Campos-Sandoval
- Instituto de Investigacion Biomedica de Malaga (IBIMA), Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Canceromics Lab, Faculty of Sciences, Campus de Teatinos, University of Malaga, 29071 Malaga, Spain
| | - Juan de Los Santos-Jiménez
- Instituto de Investigacion Biomedica de Malaga (IBIMA), Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Canceromics Lab, Faculty of Sciences, Campus de Teatinos, University of Malaga, 29071 Malaga, Spain
| | - Juan A Segura
- Instituto de Investigacion Biomedica de Malaga (IBIMA), Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Canceromics Lab, Faculty of Sciences, Campus de Teatinos, University of Malaga, 29071 Malaga, Spain
| | - Francisco J Alonso
- Instituto de Investigacion Biomedica de Malaga (IBIMA), Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Canceromics Lab, Faculty of Sciences, Campus de Teatinos, University of Malaga, 29071 Malaga, Spain
| | - Javier Márquez
- Instituto de Investigacion Biomedica de Malaga (IBIMA), Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Canceromics Lab, Faculty of Sciences, Campus de Teatinos, University of Malaga, 29071 Malaga, Spain
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27
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Soth MJ, Le K, Di Francesco ME, Hamilton MM, Liu G, Burke JP, Carroll CL, Kovacs JJ, Bardenhagen JP, Bristow CA, Cardozo M, Czako B, de Stanchina E, Feng N, Garvey JR, Gay JP, Do MKG, Greer J, Han M, Harris A, Herrera Z, Huang S, Giuliani V, Jiang Y, Johnson SB, Johnson TA, Kang Z, Leonard PG, Liu Z, McAfoos T, Miller M, Morlacchi P, Mullinax RA, Palmer WS, Pang J, Rogers N, Rudin CM, Shepard HE, Spencer ND, Theroff J, Wu Q, Xu A, Yau JA, Draetta G, Toniatti C, Heffernan TP, Jones P. Discovery of IPN60090, a Clinical Stage Selective Glutaminase-1 (GLS-1) Inhibitor with Excellent Pharmacokinetic and Physicochemical Properties. J Med Chem 2020; 63:12957-12977. [PMID: 33118821 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.0c01398] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Inhibition of glutaminase-1 (GLS-1) hampers the proliferation of tumor cells reliant on glutamine. Known glutaminase inhibitors have potential limitations, and in vivo exposures are potentially limited due to poor physicochemical properties. We initiated a GLS-1 inhibitor discovery program focused on optimizing physicochemical and pharmacokinetic properties, and have developed a new selective inhibitor, compound 27 (IPN60090), which is currently in phase 1 clinical trials. Compound 27 attains high oral exposures in preclinical species, with strong in vivo target engagement, and should robustly inhibit glutaminase in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Soth
- Institute for Applied Cancer Science (IACS), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Kang Le
- Institute for Applied Cancer Science (IACS), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Maria Emilia Di Francesco
- Institute for Applied Cancer Science (IACS), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Matthew M Hamilton
- Institute for Applied Cancer Science (IACS), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Gang Liu
- Institute for Applied Cancer Science (IACS), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Jason P Burke
- Institute for Applied Cancer Science (IACS), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Chris L Carroll
- Institute for Applied Cancer Science (IACS), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Jeffrey J Kovacs
- Translational Research to Advance Therapeutics and Innovation in Oncology (TRACTION), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Jennifer P Bardenhagen
- Institute for Applied Cancer Science (IACS), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Christopher A Bristow
- Translational Research to Advance Therapeutics and Innovation in Oncology (TRACTION), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Mario Cardozo
- Institute for Applied Cancer Science (IACS), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Barbara Czako
- Institute for Applied Cancer Science (IACS), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Elisa de Stanchina
- Antitumor Assessment Core Facility-Molecular Pharmacology Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York 10065, United States
| | - Ningping Feng
- Translational Research to Advance Therapeutics and Innovation in Oncology (TRACTION), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Jill R Garvey
- Translational Research to Advance Therapeutics and Innovation in Oncology (TRACTION), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Jason P Gay
- Translational Research to Advance Therapeutics and Innovation in Oncology (TRACTION), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Mary K Geck Do
- Institute for Applied Cancer Science (IACS), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Jennifer Greer
- Translational Research to Advance Therapeutics and Innovation in Oncology (TRACTION), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Michelle Han
- Institute for Applied Cancer Science (IACS), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Angela Harris
- Translational Research to Advance Therapeutics and Innovation in Oncology (TRACTION), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Zachary Herrera
- Institute for Applied Cancer Science (IACS), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Sha Huang
- Institute for Applied Cancer Science (IACS), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Virginia Giuliani
- Translational Research to Advance Therapeutics and Innovation in Oncology (TRACTION), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Yongying Jiang
- Institute for Applied Cancer Science (IACS), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Sarah B Johnson
- Translational Research to Advance Therapeutics and Innovation in Oncology (TRACTION), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Troy A Johnson
- Institute for Applied Cancer Science (IACS), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Zhijun Kang
- Institute for Applied Cancer Science (IACS), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Paul G Leonard
- Institute for Applied Cancer Science (IACS), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Zhen Liu
- Institute for Applied Cancer Science (IACS), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Timothy McAfoos
- Institute for Applied Cancer Science (IACS), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Meredith Miller
- Translational Research to Advance Therapeutics and Innovation in Oncology (TRACTION), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Pietro Morlacchi
- Institute for Applied Cancer Science (IACS), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Robert A Mullinax
- Translational Research to Advance Therapeutics and Innovation in Oncology (TRACTION), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Wylie S Palmer
- Institute for Applied Cancer Science (IACS), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Jihai Pang
- Institute for Applied Cancer Science (IACS), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Norma Rogers
- Institute for Applied Cancer Science (IACS), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Charles M Rudin
- Drunkenmiller Center for Lung Cancer Research, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York New York 10065, United States
| | - Hannah E Shepard
- Institute for Applied Cancer Science (IACS), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Nakia D Spencer
- Translational Research to Advance Therapeutics and Innovation in Oncology (TRACTION), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Jay Theroff
- Institute for Applied Cancer Science (IACS), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Qi Wu
- Institute for Applied Cancer Science (IACS), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Alan Xu
- Institute for Applied Cancer Science (IACS), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Ju Anne Yau
- Institute for Applied Cancer Science (IACS), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Giulio Draetta
- Institute for Applied Cancer Science (IACS), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, United States.,Translational Research to Advance Therapeutics and Innovation in Oncology (TRACTION), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Carlo Toniatti
- Translational Research to Advance Therapeutics and Innovation in Oncology (TRACTION), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Timothy P Heffernan
- Translational Research to Advance Therapeutics and Innovation in Oncology (TRACTION), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Philip Jones
- Institute for Applied Cancer Science (IACS), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
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28
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Benavides-Rivas C, Tovar LM, Zúñiga N, Pinto-Borguero I, Retamal C, Yévenes GE, Moraga-Cid G, Fuentealba J, Guzmán L, Coddou C, Bascuñán-Godoy L, Castro PA. Altered Glutaminase 1 Activity During Neurulation and Its Potential Implications in Neural Tube Defects. Front Pharmacol 2020; 11:900. [PMID: 32636743 PMCID: PMC7316894 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2020.00900] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2019] [Accepted: 06/02/2020] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The neurulation process is regulated by a large amount of genetic and environmental factors that determine the establishment, folding, and fusion of the neural plate to form the neural tube, which develops into the main structure of the central nervous system. A recently described factor involved in this process is glutamate. Through NMDA ionotropic receptor, glutamate modifies intracellular Ca2+ dynamics allowing the oriented cell migration and proliferation, essentials processes in neurulation. Glutamate synthesis depends on the mitochondrial enzyme known as glutaminase 1 (GLS1) that is widely expressed in brain and kidney. The participation of GLS 1 in prenatal neurogenic processes and in the adult brain has been experimentally established, however, its participation in early stages of embryonic development has not been described. The present investigation describes for the first time the presence and functionality of GLS1 in Xenopus laevis embryos during neurulation. Although protein expression levels remains constant, the catalytic activity of GLS1 increases significantly (~66%) between early (stage 12) and middle to late (stages 14-19) neurulation process. Additionally, the use of 6-diazo-5-oxo-L-norleucine (L-DON, competitive inhibitor of glutamine-depend enzymes), reduced significantly the GLS1 specific activity during neurulation (~36%) and induce the occurrence of neural tube defects involving its possible participation in the neural tube closure in Xenopus laevis embryos.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camila Benavides-Rivas
- Laboratory of Physiology and Pharmacology for Neural Development, LAND, Departamento de Fisiología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile
| | - Lina Mariana Tovar
- Laboratory of Physiology and Pharmacology for Neural Development, LAND, Departamento de Fisiología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile
| | - Nicolás Zúñiga
- Laboratory of Physiology and Pharmacology for Neural Development, LAND, Departamento de Fisiología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile
| | - Ingrid Pinto-Borguero
- Laboratory of Physiology and Pharmacology for Neural Development, LAND, Departamento de Fisiología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile
| | - Claudio Retamal
- Laboratory of Physiology and Pharmacology for Neural Development, LAND, Departamento de Fisiología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile
| | - Gonzalo E. Yévenes
- Departamento de Fisiología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile
| | - Gustavo Moraga-Cid
- Departamento de Fisiología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile
| | - Jorge Fuentealba
- Departamento de Fisiología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile
| | - Leonardo Guzmán
- Departamento de Fisiología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile
| | - Claudio Coddou
- Departamento de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Católica del Norte, Coquimbo, Chile
| | - Luisa Bascuñán-Godoy
- Departamento de Botánica, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Oceanográficas, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile
| | - Patricio A. Castro
- Laboratory of Physiology and Pharmacology for Neural Development, LAND, Departamento de Fisiología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile
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29
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Li Y, Ramachandran S, Nguyen TTT, Stalnecker CA, Cerione RA, Erickson JW. The activation loop and substrate-binding cleft of glutaminase C are allosterically coupled. J Biol Chem 2020; 295:1328-1337. [PMID: 31871054 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.ra119.010314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2019] [Revised: 12/12/2019] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
The glutaminase C (GAC) isoform of mitochondrial glutaminase is overexpressed in many cancer cells and therefore represents a potential therapeutic target. Understanding the regulation of GAC activity has been guided by the development of spectroscopic approaches that measure glutaminase activity in real time. Previously, we engineered a GAC protein (GAC(F327W)) in which a tryptophan residue is substituted for phenylalanine in an activation loop to explore the role of this loop in enzyme activity. We showed that the fluorescence emission of Trp-327 is enhanced in response to activator binding, but quenched by inhibitors of the BPTES class that bind to the GAC tetramer and contact the activation loop, thereby constraining it in an inactive conformation. In the present work, we took advantage of a tryptophan substitution at position 471, proximal to the GAC catalytic site, to examine the conformational coupling between the activation loop and the substrate-binding cleft, separated by ∼16 Å. Comparison of glutamine binding in the presence or absence of the BPTES analog CB-839 revealed a reciprocal relationship between the constraints imposed on the activation loop position and the affinity of GAC for substrate. Binding of the inhibitor weakened the affinity of GAC for glutamine, whereas activating anions such as Pi increased this affinity. These results indicate that the conformations of the activation loop and the substrate-binding cleft in GAC are allosterically coupled and that this coupling determines substrate affinity and enzymatic activity and explains the activities of CB-839, which is currently in clinical trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yunxing Li
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853
| | - Sekar Ramachandran
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853.,Department of Molecular Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853
| | - Thuy-Tien T Nguyen
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853
| | - Clint A Stalnecker
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853
| | - Richard A Cerione
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853 .,Department of Molecular Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853
| | - Jon W Erickson
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853.,Department of Molecular Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853
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30
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The activation loop and substrate-binding cleft of glutaminase C are allosterically coupled. J Biol Chem 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/s0021-9258(17)49889-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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31
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SIRT5 stabilizes mitochondrial glutaminase and supports breast cancer tumorigenesis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019; 116:26625-26632. [PMID: 31843902 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1911954116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The mitochondrial enzyme glutaminase (GLS) is frequently up-regulated during tumorigenesis and is being evaluated as a target for cancer therapy. GLS catalyzes the hydrolysis of glutamine to glutamate, which then supplies diverse metabolic pathways with carbon and/or nitrogen. Here, we report that SIRT5, a mitochondrial NAD+-dependent lysine deacylase, plays a key role in stabilizing GLS. In transformed cells, SIRT5 regulates glutamine metabolism by desuccinylating GLS and thereby protecting it from ubiquitin-mediated degradation. Moreover, we show that SIRT5 is up-regulated during cellular transformation and supports proliferation and tumorigenesis. Elevated SIRT5 expression in human breast tumors correlates with poor patient prognosis. These findings reveal a mechanism for increasing GLS expression in cancer cells and establish a role for SIRT5 in metabolic reprogramming and mammary tumorigenesis.
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32
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Sun N, Liang Y, Chen Y, Wang L, Li D, Liang Z, Sun L, Wang Y, Niu H. Glutamine affects T24 bladder cancer cell proliferation by activating STAT3 through ROS and glutaminolysis. Int J Mol Med 2019; 44:2189-2200. [PMID: 31661119 PMCID: PMC6844601 DOI: 10.3892/ijmm.2019.4385] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2019] [Accepted: 09/24/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Changes in metabolism are common phenomena in tumors. Glutamine (Gln) has been documented to play a critical role in tumor growth. In this study, we aimed to to explore the mechanisms through which bladder cancer cells utilize Gln to fulfill their biosynthetic needs during proliferation. In addition, the roles of Gln in the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, reactive oxygen species (ROS) regulation, and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) expression were examined in vitro in the T24 bladder cancer cell line. The results revealed that the T24 cell line was markedly Gln-dependent and that Gln supplementation promoted T24 proliferation through the actions of Gln as a ROS moderator and as a metabolic fuel in the TCA cycle. Importantly, extracellular Gln deprivation deregulated the production of the transcription factor, STAT3. Additionally, STAT3 expression was affected by the degree of Gln metabolism, as regulated by Gln intermediates and ROS. Thus, on the whole, the findings of this study demonstrate that Gln promotes the proliferation of the Gln-dependent bladder cancer cell line, T24, by supplementing adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production and neutralizing ROS to activate the STAT3 pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ningchuan Sun
- Department of Urology, Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, Shandong 266003, P.R. China
| | - Ye Liang
- Key Laboratory of Urinary System Diseases, Qingdao, Shandong 266003, P.R. China
| | - Yuanbin Chen
- Key Laboratory of Urinary System Diseases, Qingdao, Shandong 266003, P.R. China
| | - Liping Wang
- Key Laboratory of Urinary System Diseases, Qingdao, Shandong 266003, P.R. China
| | - Dan Li
- Key Laboratory of Urinary System Diseases, Qingdao, Shandong 266003, P.R. China
| | - Zhijuan Liang
- Key Laboratory of Urinary System Diseases, Qingdao, Shandong 266003, P.R. China
| | - Lijiang Sun
- Department of Urology, Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, Shandong 266003, P.R. China
| | - Yonghua Wang
- Department of Urology, Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, Shandong 266003, P.R. China
| | - Haitao Niu
- Department of Urology, Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, Shandong 266003, P.R. China
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Lukey MJ, Cluntun AA, Katt WP, Lin MCJ, Druso JE, Ramachandran S, Erickson JW, Le HH, Wang ZE, Blank B, Greene KS, Cerione RA. Liver-Type Glutaminase GLS2 Is a Druggable Metabolic Node in Luminal-Subtype Breast Cancer. Cell Rep 2019; 29:76-88.e7. [PMID: 31577957 PMCID: PMC6939472 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2019.08.076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2018] [Revised: 03/19/2019] [Accepted: 08/22/2019] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Efforts to target glutamine metabolism for cancer therapy have focused on the glutaminase isozyme GLS. The importance of the other isozyme, GLS2, in cancer has remained unclear, and it has been described as a tumor suppressor in some contexts. Here, we report that GLS2 is upregulated and essential in luminal-subtype breast tumors, which account for >70% of breast cancer incidence. We show that GLS2 expression is elevated by GATA3 in luminal-subtype cells but suppressed by promoter methylation in basal-subtype cells. Although luminal breast cancers resist GLS-selective inhibitors, we find that they can be targeted with a dual-GLS/GLS2 inhibitor. These results establish a critical role for GLS2 in mammary tumorigenesis and advance our understanding of how to target glutamine metabolism in cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Lukey
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Ahmad A Cluntun
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA; Graduate Field of Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - William P Katt
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Miao-Chong J Lin
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Joseph E Druso
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Sekar Ramachandran
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Jon W Erickson
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Henry H Le
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA; Boyce Thompson Institute, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Zhihan-Emily Wang
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Bryant Blank
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Kai Su Greene
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Richard A Cerione
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA; Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
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Abstract
Warburg and coworkers' observation of altered glucose metabolism in tumours has been neglected for several decades, which, in part, was because of an initial misinterpretation of the basis of their finding. Following the realisation that genetic alterations are often linked to metabolism, and that the tumour micro-environment imposes different demands on cancer cells, has led to a reinvestigation of cancer metabolism in recent years. Increasing our understanding of the drivers and consequences of the Warburg effect in cancer and beyond will help to identify new therapeutic strategies as well as to identify new prognostic and therapeutic biomarkers. Here we discuss the initial findings of Warburg and coworkers regarding cancer cell glucose metabolism, how these studies came into focus again in recent years following the discovery of metabolic oncogenes, and the therapeutic potential that lies within targeting the altered metabolic phenotype in cancer. In addition, another essential nutrient in cancer metabolism, glutamine, will be discussed.
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Bertero T, Perk D, Chan SY. The molecular rationale for therapeutic targeting of glutamine metabolism in pulmonary hypertension. Expert Opin Ther Targets 2019; 23:511-524. [PMID: 31055988 DOI: 10.1080/14728222.2019.1615438] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a deadly enigmatic disease with increasing prevalence. Cellular pathologic hallmarks of PH are driven at least partly by metabolic rewiring, but details are just emerging. The discovery that vascular matrix stiffening can mechanically activate the glutaminase (GLS) enzyme and serve as a pathogenic mechanism of PH has advanced our understanding of the complex role of glutamine in PH. It has also offered a novel therapeutic target for development as a next-generation drug for this disease. Area covered: This review discusses the cellular contribution of glutamine metabolism to PH together with the possible therapeutic application of pharmacologic GLS inhibitors in this disease. Expert opinion: Despite advances in our understanding of glutamine metabolism in PH, questions remain unanswered regarding the development of therapies targeting glutamine in PH. The comprehensive mechanisms by which glutamine metabolism rewiring influences pulmonary vascular cell behavior to drive PH are incompletely understood. Because glutamine metabolism exhibits a variety of functions in organ repair and homeostasis, a better understanding of the overall risk-benefit ratio of these strategies with long-term follow-up is needed. This knowledge should pave the way for the design of new strategies to prevent and hopefully even regress PH.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Bertero
- a Institute of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology , Université Côte d'Azur , Valbonne , France
| | - Dror Perk
- b Center for Pulmonary Vascular Biology and Medicine, Pittsburgh Heart, Lung, Blood, and Vascular Medicine Institute, Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine , University of Pittsburgh Medical Center , Pittsburgh , PA , USA
| | - Stephen Y Chan
- b Center for Pulmonary Vascular Biology and Medicine, Pittsburgh Heart, Lung, Blood, and Vascular Medicine Institute, Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine , University of Pittsburgh Medical Center , Pittsburgh , PA , USA
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Hoerner CR, Chen VJ, Fan AC. The 'Achilles Heel' of Metabolism in Renal Cell Carcinoma: Glutaminase Inhibition as a Rational Treatment Strategy. KIDNEY CANCER 2019; 3:15-29. [PMID: 30854496 PMCID: PMC6400133 DOI: 10.3233/kca-180043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
An important hallmark of cancer is 'metabolic reprogramming' or the rewiring of cellular metabolism to support rapid cell proliferation [1-5]. Metabolic reprogramming through oncometabolite-mediated transformation or activation of oncogenes in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) globally impacts energy production as well as glucose and glutamine utilization in RCC cells, which can promote dependence on glutamine supply to support cell growth and proliferation [6, 7]. Novel inhibitors of glutaminase, a key enzyme in glutamine metabolism, target glutamine addiction as a viable treatment strategy in metastatic RCC (mRCC). Here, we review glutamine metabolic pathways and how changes in cellular glutamine utilization enable the progression of RCC. This overview provides scientific rationale for targeting this pathway in patients with mRCC. We will summarize the current understanding of cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying anti-tumor efficacy of glutaminase inhibitors in RCC, provide an overview of clinical efforts targeting glutaminase in mRCC, and review approaches for identifying biomarkers for patient stratification and detecting therapeutic response early on in patients treated with this novel class of anti-cancer drug. Ultimately, results of ongoing clinical trials will demonstrate whether glutaminase inhibition can be a worthy addition to the current armamentarium of drugs used for patients with mRCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian R Hoerner
- Division of Oncology, Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, CA, USA
| | - Viola J Chen
- Division of Oncology, Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, CA, USA
| | - Alice C Fan
- Division of Oncology, Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, CA, USA
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Ruan JJ, Yu Y, Hou W, Chen Z, Fang J, Zhang J, Ni M, Li D, Lu S, Rui J, Wu R, Zhang W, Ruan BH. Kidney-Type Glutaminase Inhibitor Hexylselen Selectively Kills Cancer Cells via a Three-Pronged Mechanism. ACS Pharmacol Transl Sci 2019; 2:18-30. [PMID: 32219214 DOI: 10.1021/acsptsci.8b00047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2018] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Tumor metabolism has been deeply investigated for cancer therapeutics. Here, we demonstrate that glutamine deficiency alone could not completely inhibit cancer cell growth and that many potent kidney-type glutaminase (KGA) inhibitors did not show satisfying in vivo efficacy. The potent KGA allosteric inhibitor, CB-839, resulted in up to 80% growth inhibition of all tested cell lines, whereas Hexylselen (CPD-3B), a KGA/glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) inhibitor, showed essentially no toxicity to normal cells up to a 10 μM concentration and could completely inhibit the growth of many aggressive cell lines. Further analyses showed that CPD-3B targets not only KGA and GDH but also thioredoxin reductase (TrxR) and amidotransferase (GatCAB), which results in corresponding regulation of Akt/Erk/caspase-9 signaling pathways. In an aggressive liver cancer xenograft model, CPD-3B significantly reduced tumor size, caused massive tumor tissue damage, and prolonged survival rate. These provide important information for furthering the drug design of an effective anticancer KGA allosteric inhibitor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Jin Ruan
- College of Pharmaceutical Science, Collaborative Innovation Center of Yangtza River Delta Region Green Pharmaceuticals, IDD & CB, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China
| | - Yan Yu
- College of Pharmaceutical Science, Collaborative Innovation Center of Yangtza River Delta Region Green Pharmaceuticals, IDD & CB, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China
| | - Wei Hou
- College of Pharmaceutical Science, Collaborative Innovation Center of Yangtza River Delta Region Green Pharmaceuticals, IDD & CB, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China
| | - Zhao Chen
- College of Pharmaceutical Science, Collaborative Innovation Center of Yangtza River Delta Region Green Pharmaceuticals, IDD & CB, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China
| | - Jinzhang Fang
- College of Pharmaceutical Science, Collaborative Innovation Center of Yangtza River Delta Region Green Pharmaceuticals, IDD & CB, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China
| | - Jingjing Zhang
- College of Pharmaceutical Science, Collaborative Innovation Center of Yangtza River Delta Region Green Pharmaceuticals, IDD & CB, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China
| | - Muowei Ni
- Center for Cancer Research, Zhejiang Cancer Hospital, Hangzhou 310022, PR China
| | - Di Li
- College of Pharmaceutical Science, Collaborative Innovation Center of Yangtza River Delta Region Green Pharmaceuticals, IDD & CB, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China
| | - Shiying Lu
- College of Pharmaceutical Science, Collaborative Innovation Center of Yangtza River Delta Region Green Pharmaceuticals, IDD & CB, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China
| | - Jingjing Rui
- College of Pharmaceutical Science, Collaborative Innovation Center of Yangtza River Delta Region Green Pharmaceuticals, IDD & CB, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China
| | - Rui Wu
- College of Pharmaceutical Science, Collaborative Innovation Center of Yangtza River Delta Region Green Pharmaceuticals, IDD & CB, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China
| | - Wei Zhang
- Department of Urology, Tongde Hospital of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou 310012, China
| | - Benfang Helen Ruan
- College of Pharmaceutical Science, Collaborative Innovation Center of Yangtza River Delta Region Green Pharmaceuticals, IDD & CB, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China
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Matés JM, Campos-Sandoval JA, Márquez J. Glutaminase isoenzymes in the metabolic therapy of cancer. Biochim Biophys Acta Rev Cancer 2018; 1870:158-164. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbcan.2018.07.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2018] [Revised: 07/14/2018] [Accepted: 07/15/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
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Meijer TWH, Peeters WJM, Dubois LJ, van Gisbergen MW, Biemans R, Venhuizen JH, Span PN, Bussink J. Targeting glucose and glutamine metabolism combined with radiation therapy in non-small cell lung cancer. Lung Cancer 2018; 126:32-40. [PMID: 30527190 DOI: 10.1016/j.lungcan.2018.10.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2018] [Revised: 09/18/2018] [Accepted: 10/13/2018] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Metabolic inhibition might sensitize tumors to irradiation. Here, we examined the effect of lonidamine (several metabolic effects, inhibiting hexokinase amongst others) and/or 968 (glutaminase inhibitor) on tumor cell metabolism, cell growth, cytotoxicity and radiosensitivity in NSCLC cell lines in vitro in relation to histology. MATERIALS AND METHODS Adeno- (H23, HCC827, H1975) and squamous cell carcinoma (H520, H292, SW900) NSCLC cells were treated with lonidamine and/or 968 for 72 h under physiological levels of glucose (1.5 mM). Cells were irradiated with 0, 4 or 8 Gy. Cell growth of H2B-mCherry transduced cells and cytotoxicity (CellTox™ Green Cytotoxicity Assay) were measured using live cell imaging (IncuCyte). Inhibitory effects on metabolic profiles was determined using the Seahorse XF96 extracellular Flux analyzer. RESULTS NSCLC cell lines responded differently to glycolysis (lonidamine) and/or glutaminase (968) inhibition, largely corresponding with changes in glycolytic and mitochondrial metabolism upon treatment. Response patterns were not related to histology. 968 was cytotoxic in cell lines with high glutaminase C expression (H1975 and H520), whereas combination treatment was cytotoxic in KRAS mutated cell lines SW900 and H23. H292 and HCC827 were resistant to combination treatment. Treatment with 968 and especially lonidamine resulted in radiosensitization of H292 and HCC827 in terms of decreased relative cell growth and increased cytotoxicity. CONCLUSION NSCLC is a heterogeneous disease, which is reflected in the response of different cell lines to the treatment (combinations) reported here. Only a part of NSCLC patients may benefit from the combination of radiation therapy and metabolic inhibition, making stratification necessary.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tineke W H Meijer
- Radiotherapy and OncoImmunology Laboratory, Department of Radiation Oncology, Radboud university medical center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
| | - Wenny J M Peeters
- Radiotherapy and OncoImmunology Laboratory, Department of Radiation Oncology, Radboud university medical center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Ludwig J Dubois
- Department of Precision Medicine, The M-Lab, GROW - School for Oncology and Developmental Biology, Maastricht Comprehensive Cancer Centre, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Marike W van Gisbergen
- Department of Precision Medicine, The M-Lab, GROW - School for Oncology and Developmental Biology, Maastricht Comprehensive Cancer Centre, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Rianne Biemans
- Department of Precision Medicine, The M-Lab, GROW - School for Oncology and Developmental Biology, Maastricht Comprehensive Cancer Centre, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Jan-Hendrik Venhuizen
- Department of Cell Biology, Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud university medical center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Paul N Span
- Radiotherapy and OncoImmunology Laboratory, Department of Radiation Oncology, Radboud university medical center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Johan Bussink
- Radiotherapy and OncoImmunology Laboratory, Department of Radiation Oncology, Radboud university medical center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
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Abstract
INTRODUCTION The kidney-type glutaminase (GLS) controlling the first step of glutamine metabolism is overexpressed in many cancer cells. Targeting inhibition of GLS shows obvious inhibitory effects on cancer cell proliferation. Therefore, extensive research and development of GLS inhibitors have been carried out in industrial and academic institutions over the past decade to address this unmet medical need. AREAS COVERED This review covers researches and patent literatures in the field of discovery and development of small molecule inhibitors of GLS for cancer therapy over the past 16 years. EXPERT OPINION The detailed ligand-receptor interaction information from their complex structure not only guides the rational drug design, but also facilitates in silico structure-based virtual ligand screening of novel GLS inhibitors. Multi-drug combination administration is of great significance both in terms of safety and efficacy.
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Affiliation(s)
- CanRong Wu
- a Hubei Key Laboratory of Natural Medicinal Chemistry and Resource Evaluation, School of Pharmacy, Tongji Medical College , Huazhong University of Science and Technology , Wuhan , China
| | - LiXia Chen
- b Wuya College of Innovation, Key Laboratory of Structure-Based Drug Design and Discovery, Ministry of Education , Shenyang Pharmaceutical University , Shenyang , China
| | - Sanshan Jin
- c Maternal and Child Health Hospital of Hubei Province , Wuhan , China
| | - Hua Li
- a Hubei Key Laboratory of Natural Medicinal Chemistry and Resource Evaluation, School of Pharmacy, Tongji Medical College , Huazhong University of Science and Technology , Wuhan , China.,b Wuya College of Innovation, Key Laboratory of Structure-Based Drug Design and Discovery, Ministry of Education , Shenyang Pharmaceutical University , Shenyang , China
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Katt WP, Blobel NJ, Komarova S, Antonyak MA, Nakano I, Cerione RA. A small molecule regulator of tissue transglutaminase conformation inhibits the malignant phenotype of cancer cells. Oncotarget 2018; 9:34379-34397. [PMID: 30344949 PMCID: PMC6188150 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.26193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2018] [Accepted: 09/15/2018] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The protein crosslinking enzyme tissue transglutaminase (tTG) is an acyltransferase which catalyzes transamidation reactions between two proteins, or between a protein and a polyamine. It is frequently overexpressed in several different types of human cancer cells, where it has been shown to contribute to their growth, survival, and invasiveness. tTG is capable of adopting two distinct conformational states: a protein crosslinking active (“open”) state, and a GTP-bound, crosslinking inactive (“closed”) state. We have previously shown that the ectopic expression of mutant forms of tTG, which constitutively adopt the open conformation, are toxic to cells. This raises the possibility that strategies directed toward causing tTG to maintain an open state could potentially provide a therapeutic benefit for cancers in which tTG is highly expressed. Here, we report the identification of a small molecule, TTGM 5826, which stabilizes the open conformation of tTG. Treatment of breast and brain cancer cell lines, as well as glioma stem cells, with this molecule broadly inhibits their transformed phenotypes. Thus, TTGM 5826 represents the lead compound for a new class of small molecules that promote the toxicity of cancer cells by stabilizing the open state of tTG.
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Affiliation(s)
- William P Katt
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Nicolas J Blobel
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Svetlana Komarova
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Marc A Antonyak
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Ichiro Nakano
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Richard A Cerione
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.,Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
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Xu X, Meng Y, Li L, Xu P, Wang J, Li Z, Bian J. Overview of the Development of Glutaminase Inhibitors: Achievements and Future Directions. J Med Chem 2018; 62:1096-1115. [PMID: 30148361 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.8b00961] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
It has been demonstrated that glutamine metabolism has become the main energy and building blocks supply for the growth and viability of a potentially large subset of malignant tumors. The glutamine metabolism often depends upon mitochondrial glutaminase (GLS) activity, which converts glutamine to glutamate and serves as a significant role for bioenergetic processes. Thus, recently, the GLS has become a key target for small molecule therapeutic intervention. Numerous medicinal chemistry studies are currently aimed at the design of novel and potent inhibitors for GLS, however, to date, only one compound (named CB-839) have entered clinical trials for the treatment of advanced solid tumors and hematological malignancies. The perspective summarizes the progress in the discovery and development of GLS inhibitors, including the potential binding site, biochemical techniques for inhibitor identification, and approaches for identifying small-molecule inhibitors, as well as future therapeutic perspectives in glutamine metabolism are also put forward in order to provide reference and rational for the drug discovery of novel and potent glutamine metabolism modulators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xi Xu
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry , China Pharmaceutical University , 24 Tongjiaxiang , Nanjing 210009 , P. R. China
| | - Ying Meng
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry , China Pharmaceutical University , 24 Tongjiaxiang , Nanjing 210009 , P. R. China
| | - Lei Li
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry , China Pharmaceutical University , 24 Tongjiaxiang , Nanjing 210009 , P. R. China
| | - Pengfei Xu
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry , China Pharmaceutical University , 24 Tongjiaxiang , Nanjing 210009 , P. R. China
| | - Jubo Wang
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry , China Pharmaceutical University , 24 Tongjiaxiang , Nanjing 210009 , P. R. China
| | - Zhiyu Li
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry , China Pharmaceutical University , 24 Tongjiaxiang , Nanjing 210009 , P. R. China.,Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Drug Design and Optimization , China Pharmaceutical University , Nanjing 21009 , P. R. China
| | - Jinlei Bian
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry , China Pharmaceutical University , 24 Tongjiaxiang , Nanjing 210009 , P. R. China.,Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Drug Design and Optimization , China Pharmaceutical University , Nanjing 21009 , P. R. China
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Halama A, Kulinski M, Dib SS, Zaghlool SB, Siveen KS, Iskandarani A, Zierer J, Prabhu KS, Satheesh NJ, Bhagwat AM, Uddin S, Kastenmüller G, Elemento O, Gross SS, Suhre K. Accelerated lipid catabolism and autophagy are cancer survival mechanisms under inhibited glutaminolysis. Cancer Lett 2018; 430:133-147. [PMID: 29777783 DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2018.05.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2018] [Revised: 04/25/2018] [Accepted: 05/12/2018] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
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Huang Q, Stalnecker C, Zhang C, McDermott LA, Iyer P, O'Neill J, Reimer S, Cerione RA, Katt WP. Characterization of the interactions of potent allosteric inhibitors with glutaminase C, a key enzyme in cancer cell glutamine metabolism. J Biol Chem 2018; 293:3535-3545. [PMID: 29317493 PMCID: PMC5846160 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m117.810101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2017] [Revised: 12/12/2017] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Altered glycolytic flux in cancer cells (the "Warburg effect") causes their proliferation to rely upon elevated glutamine metabolism ("glutamine addiction"). This requirement is met by the overexpression of glutaminase C (GAC), which catalyzes the first step in glutamine metabolism and therefore represents a potential therapeutic target. The small molecule CB-839 was reported to be more potent than other allosteric GAC inhibitors, including the parent compound bis-2-(5-phenylacetamido-1,2,4-thiadiazol-2-yl)ethyl (BPTES), and is in clinical trials. Recently, we described the synthesis of BPTES analogs having distinct saturated heterocyclic cores as a replacement for the flexible chain moiety, with improved microsomal stability relative to CB-839 and BPTES. Here, we show that one of these new compounds, UPGL00004, like CB-839, more potently inhibits the enzymatic activity of GAC, compared with BPTES. We also compare the abilities of UPGL00004, CB-839, and BPTES to directly bind to recombinant GAC and demonstrate that UPGL00004 has a similar binding affinity as CB-839 for GAC. We also show that UPGL00004 potently inhibits the growth of triple-negative breast cancer cells, as well as tumor growth when combined with the anti-vascular endothelial growth factor antibody bevacizumab. Finally, we compare the X-ray crystal structures for UPGL00004 and CB-839 bound to GAC, verifying that UPGL00004 occupies the same binding site as CB-839 or BPTES and that all three inhibitors regulate the enzymatic activity of GAC via a similar allosteric mechanism. These results provide insights regarding the potency of these inhibitors that will be useful in designing novel small-molecules that target a key enzyme in cancer cell metabolism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qingqiu Huang
- From the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS) and
| | | | - Chengliang Zhang
- Molecular Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853 and
| | - Lee A. McDermott
- the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and ,Drug Discovery Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261
| | - Prema Iyer
- the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and ,Drug Discovery Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261
| | | | | | - Richard A. Cerione
- From the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS) and ,Departments of Chemistry and Chemical Biology and ,Molecular Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853 and , To whom correspondence should be addressed:
Dept. of Molecular Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853-6401. Tel:
607-253-3888; Fax:
607-253-3659; E-mail:
| | - William P. Katt
- Molecular Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853 and
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Hatem E, El Banna N, Huang ME. Multifaceted Roles of Glutathione and Glutathione-Based Systems in Carcinogenesis and Anticancer Drug Resistance. Antioxid Redox Signal 2017; 27:1217-1234. [PMID: 28537430 DOI: 10.1089/ars.2017.7134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
SIGNIFICANCE Glutathione is the most abundant antioxidant molecule in living organisms and has multiple functions. Intracellular glutathione homeostasis, through its synthesis, consumption, and degradation, is an intricately balanced process. Glutathione levels are often high in tumor cells before treatment, and there is a strong correlation between elevated levels of intracellular glutathione/sustained glutathione-mediated redox activity and resistance to pro-oxidant anticancer therapy. Recent Advances: Ample evidence demonstrates that glutathione and glutathione-based systems are particularly relevant in cancer initiation, progression, and the development of anticancer drug resistance. CRITICAL ISSUES This review highlights the multifaceted roles of glutathione and glutathione-based systems in carcinogenesis, anticancer drug resistance, and clinical applications. FUTURE DIRECTIONS The evidence summarized here underscores the important role played by glutathione and the glutathione-based systems in carcinogenesis and anticancer drug resistance. Future studies should address mechanistic questions regarding the distinct roles of glutathione in different stages of cancer development and cancer cell death. It will be important to study how metabolic alterations in cancer cells can influence glutathione homeostasis. Sensitive approaches to monitor glutathione dynamics in subcellular compartments will be an indispensible step. Therapeutic perspectives should focus on mechanism-based rational drug combinations that are directed against multiple redox targets using effective, specific, and clinically safe inhibitors. This new strategy is expected to produce a synergistic effect, prevent drug resistance, and diminish doses of single drugs. Antioxid. Redox Signal. 27, 1217-1234.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elie Hatem
- 1 CNRS UMR3348, Institut Curie, PSL Research University , Orsay, France .,2 CNRS UMR3348, Université Paris Sud, Université Paris-Saclay , Orsay, France
| | - Nadine El Banna
- 1 CNRS UMR3348, Institut Curie, PSL Research University , Orsay, France .,2 CNRS UMR3348, Université Paris Sud, Université Paris-Saclay , Orsay, France
| | - Meng-Er Huang
- 1 CNRS UMR3348, Institut Curie, PSL Research University , Orsay, France .,2 CNRS UMR3348, Université Paris Sud, Université Paris-Saclay , Orsay, France
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Lampa M, Arlt H, He T, Ospina B, Reeves J, Zhang B, Murtie J, Deng G, Barberis C, Hoffmann D, Cheng H, Pollard J, Winter C, Richon V, Garcia-Escheverria C, Adrian F, Wiederschain D, Srinivasan L. Glutaminase is essential for the growth of triple-negative breast cancer cells with a deregulated glutamine metabolism pathway and its suppression synergizes with mTOR inhibition. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0185092. [PMID: 28950000 PMCID: PMC5614427 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0185092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 99] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2017] [Accepted: 09/06/2017] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Tumor cells display fundamental changes in metabolism and nutrient uptake in order to utilize additional nutrient sources to meet their enhanced bioenergetic requirements. Glutamine (Gln) is one such nutrient that is rapidly taken up by tumor cells to fulfill this increased metabolic demand. A vital step in the catabolism of glutamine is its conversion to glutamate by the mitochondrial enzyme glutaminase (GLS). This study has identified GLS a potential therapeutic target in breast cancer, specifically in the basal subtype that exhibits a deregulated glutaminolysis pathway. Using inducible shRNA mediated gene knockdown, we discovered that loss of GLS function in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell lines with a deregulated glutaminolysis pathway led to profound tumor growth inhibition in vitro and in vivo. GLS knockdown had no effect on growth and metabolite levels in non-TNBC cell lines. We rescued the anti-tumor effect of GLS knockdown using shRNA resistant cDNAs encoding both GLS isoforms and by addition of an α-ketoglutarate (αKG) analog thus confirming the critical role of GLS in TNBC. Pharmacological inhibition of GLS with the small molecule inhibitor CB-839 reduced cell growth and led to a decrease in mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) activity and an increase in the stress response pathway driven by activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4). Finally, we found that GLS inhibition synergizes with mTOR inhibition, which introduces the possibility of a novel therapeutic strategy for TNBC. Our study revealed that GLS is essential for the survival of TNBC with a deregulated glutaminolysis pathway. The synergistic activity of GLS and mTOR inhibitors in TNBC cell lines suggests therapeutic potential of this combination for the treatment of vulnerable subpopulations of TNBC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Lampa
- Oncology, Sanofi, Cambridge, MA, United States of America
| | - Heike Arlt
- Oncology, Sanofi, Cambridge, MA, United States of America
| | - Timothy He
- Oncology, Sanofi, Cambridge, MA, United States of America
| | - Beatriz Ospina
- Oncology, Sanofi, Cambridge, MA, United States of America
| | - Jason Reeves
- Oncology, Sanofi, Cambridge, MA, United States of America
| | - Bailin Zhang
- Oncology, Sanofi, Cambridge, MA, United States of America
| | - Joshua Murtie
- Oncology, Sanofi, Cambridge, MA, United States of America
| | - Gejing Deng
- Oncology, Sanofi, Cambridge, MA, United States of America
| | - Claude Barberis
- Integrated Drug Discovery Platform, Sanofi, Waltham, MA, United States of America
| | | | - Hong Cheng
- Oncology, Sanofi, Cambridge, MA, United States of America
| | - Jack Pollard
- Oncology, Sanofi, Cambridge, MA, United States of America
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First report on the structural exploration and prediction of new BPTES analogs as glutaminase inhibitors. J Mol Struct 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molstruc.2017.04.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
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48
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Effenberger M, Bommert KS, Kunz V, Kruk J, Leich E, Rudelius M, Bargou R, Bommert K. Glutaminase inhibition in multiple myeloma induces apoptosis via MYC degradation. Oncotarget 2017; 8:85858-85867. [PMID: 29156762 PMCID: PMC5689652 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.20691] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2017] [Accepted: 05/04/2017] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Multiple Myeloma (MM) is an incurable hematological malignancy affecting millions of people worldwide. As in all tumor cells both glucose and more recently glutamine have been identified as important for MM cellular metabolism, however there is some dispute as to the role of glutamine in MM cell survival. Here we show that the small molecule inhibitor compound 968 effectively inhibits glutaminase and that this inhibition induces apoptosis in both human multiple myeloma cell lines (HMCLs) and primary patient material. The HMCL U266 which does not express MYC was insensitive to both glutamine removal and compound 968, but ectopic expression of MYC imparted sensitivity. Finally, we show that glutamine depletion is reflected by rapid loss of MYC protein which is independent of MYC transcription and post translational modifications. However, MYC loss is dependent on proteasomal activity, and this loss was paralleled by an equally rapid induction of apoptosis. These findings are in contrast to those of glucose depletion which largely affected rates of proliferation in HMCLs, but had no effects on either MYC expression or viability. Therefore, inhibition of glutaminolysis is effective at inducing apoptosis and thus serves as a possible therapeutic target in MM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madlen Effenberger
- Comprehensive Cancer Center Mainfranken University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Kathryn S Bommert
- Comprehensive Cancer Center Mainfranken University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Viktoria Kunz
- Comprehensive Cancer Center Mainfranken University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Jessica Kruk
- Comprehensive Cancer Center Mainfranken University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Ellen Leich
- Institute of Pathology and Comprehensive Cancer Center Mainfranken University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Martina Rudelius
- Institute of Pathology and Comprehensive Cancer Center Mainfranken University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Ralf Bargou
- Comprehensive Cancer Center Mainfranken University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Kurt Bommert
- Comprehensive Cancer Center Mainfranken University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
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Fung MKL, Chan GCF. Drug-induced amino acid deprivation as strategy for cancer therapy. J Hematol Oncol 2017; 10:144. [PMID: 28750681 PMCID: PMC5530962 DOI: 10.1186/s13045-017-0509-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 108] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2017] [Accepted: 07/10/2017] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Cancer is caused by uncontrollable growth of neoplastic cells, leading to invasion of adjacent and distant tissues resulting in death. Cancer cells have specific nutrient(s) auxotrophy and have a much higher nutrient demand compared to normal tissues. Therefore, different metabolic inhibitors or nutrient-depleting enzymes have been tested for their anti-cancer activities. We review recent available laboratory and clinical data on using various specific amino acid metabolic pathways inhibitors in treating cancers. Our focus is on glutamine, asparagine, and arginine starvation. These three amino acids are chosen due to their better scientific evidence compared to other related approaches in cancer treatment. Amino acid-specific depleting enzymes have been adopted in different standard chemotherapy protocols. Glutamine starvation by glutaminase inhibitior, transporter inhibitor, or glutamine depletion has shown to have significant anti-cancer effect in pre-clinical studies. Currently, glutaminase inhibitor is under clinical trial for testing anti-cancer efficacy. Clinical data suggests that asparagine depletion is effective in treating hematologic malignancies even as a single agent. On the other hand, arginine depletion has lower toxicity profile and can effectively reduce the level of pro-cancer biochemicals in patients as shown by ours and others’ data. This supports the clinical use of arginine depletion as anti-cancer therapy but its exact efficacy in various cancers requires further investigation. However, clinical application of these enzymes is usually hindered by common problems including allergy to these foreign proteins, off-target cytotoxicity, short half-life and rapidly emerging chemoresistance. There have been efforts to overcome these problems by modifying the drugs in different ways to circumvent these hindrance such as (1) isolate human native enzymes to reduce allergy, (2) isolate enzyme isoforms with higher specificities and efficiencies, (3) pegylate the enzymes to reduce allergy and prolong the half-lives, and (4) design drug combinations protocols to enhance the efficacy of chemotherapy by drug synergy and minimizing resistance. These improvements can potentially lead to the development of more effective anti-cancer treatment with less adverse effects and higher therapeutic efficacy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcus Kwong Lam Fung
- Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong
| | - Godfrey Chi-Fung Chan
- Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong.
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Song Z, Wei B, Lu C, Li P, Chen L. Glutaminase sustains cell survival via the regulation of glycolysis and glutaminolysis in colorectal cancer. Oncol Lett 2017; 14:3117-3123. [PMID: 28928849 DOI: 10.3892/ol.2017.6538] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2016] [Accepted: 05/04/2017] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Cancer cells remodel their metabolic programs towards aerobic glycolysis and elevated glutaminolysis to meet the requirement s of rapid proliferation. Understanding how cells sense and adapt to these changes may provide new targets for therapeutic intervention. Deamination of glutamine to glutamate by glutaminase (GLS1) is an essential step in glutaminolysis. The present study revealed that the loss of GLS1 expression by RNA interference or inhibitor decreased the proliferation and viability of colorectal cancer (CRC) cells. The abrogation of GLS1 function notably inhibited glutaminolysis and aerobic glycolysis, which resulted in the decrease of internal ATP levels and an increase in cell death. In addition, GLS1 expression was significantly elevated in CRC tissues in comparison with adjacent normal tissues (P<0.001), which is associated with the cell differentiation status and tumor node metastasis stage. In conclusion, the present study defined a key role of GLS1 in coupling glutaminolysis with elevated glucose uptake and consequently the growth of colon cancer cells. Due to the functional importance of GLS1 in regulating cell metabolism, it was proposed that GLS1 may serve as a target for colorectal cancer therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhou Song
- Department of General Surgery, General Hospital of Chinese People's Liberation Army, Beijing 100853, P.R. China
| | - Bo Wei
- Department of General Surgery, General Hospital of Chinese People's Liberation Army, Beijing 100853, P.R. China
| | - Canrong Lu
- Department of General Surgery, General Hospital of Chinese People's Liberation Army, Beijing 100853, P.R. China
| | - Peiyu Li
- Department of General Surgery, General Hospital of Chinese People's Liberation Army, Beijing 100853, P.R. China
| | - Lin Chen
- Department of General Surgery, General Hospital of Chinese People's Liberation Army, Beijing 100853, P.R. China
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