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Peters L, Venkatachalam A, Ben-Neriah Y. Tissue-Predisposition to Cancer Driver Mutations. Cells 2024; 13:106. [PMID: 38247798 PMCID: PMC10814991 DOI: 10.3390/cells13020106] [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: 12/08/2023] [Revised: 01/02/2024] [Accepted: 01/03/2024] [Indexed: 01/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Driver mutations are considered the cornerstone of cancer initiation. They are defined as mutations that convey a competitive fitness advantage, and hence, their mutation frequency in premalignant tissue is expected to exceed the basal mutation rate. In old terms, that translates to "the survival of the fittest" and implies that a selective process underlies the frequency of cancer driver mutations. In that sense, each tissue is its own niche that creates a molecular selective pressure that may favor the propagation of a mutation or not. At the heart of this stands one of the biggest riddles in cancer biology: the tissue-predisposition to cancer driver mutations. The frequency of cancer driver mutations among tissues is non-uniform: for instance, mutations in APC are particularly frequent in colorectal cancer, and 99% of chronic myeloid leukemia patients harbor the driver BCR-ABL1 fusion mutation, which is rarely found in solid tumors. Here, we provide a mechanistic framework that aims to explain how tissue-specific features, ranging from epigenetic underpinnings to the expression of viral transposable elements, establish a molecular basis for selecting cancer driver mutations in a tissue-specific manner.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Yinon Ben-Neriah
- Lautenberg Center for Immunology and Cancer Research, Institute for Medical Research (IMRIC), The Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, P.O. Box 12272, Jerusalem 91120, Israel; (L.P.); (A.V.)
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Zhang Y, Wu MJ, Lu WC, Li YC, Chang CJ, Yang JY. Metabolic switch regulates lineage plasticity and induces synthetic lethality in triple-negative breast cancer. Cell Metab 2024; 36:193-208.e8. [PMID: 38171333 DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2023.12.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2023] [Revised: 06/23/2023] [Accepted: 12/05/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
Metabolic reprogramming is key for cancer development, yet the mechanism that sustains triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell growth despite deficient pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) and tumor glycolysis remains to be determined. Here, we find that deficiency in tumor glycolysis activates a metabolic switch from glycolysis to fatty acid β-oxidation (FAO) to fuel TNBC growth. We show that, in TNBC cells, PKM2 directly interacts with histone methyltransferase EZH2 to coordinately mediate epigenetic silencing of a carnitine transporter, SLC16A9. Inhibition of PKM2 leads to impaired EZH2 recruitment to SLC16A9, and in turn de-represses SLC16A9 expression to increase intracellular carnitine influx, programming TNBC cells to an FAO-dependent and luminal-like cell state. Together, these findings reveal a new metabolic switch that drives TNBC from a metabolically heterogeneous-lineage plastic cell state to an FAO-dependent-lineage committed cell state, where dual targeting of EZH2 and FAO induces potent synthetic lethality in TNBC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yingsheng Zhang
- Department of Medicine and Biological Sciences, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA; Cedars-Sinai Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA.
| | - Meng-Ju Wu
- Center for Cancer Research, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA; Departments of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Wan-Chi Lu
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, China Medical University, Taichung 406040, Taiwan
| | - Yi-Chuan Li
- Cancer Biology and Precision Therapeutics Center, China Medical University, Taichung 406040, Taiwan; Department of Biological Science and Technology, China Medical University, Taichung 406040, Taiwan
| | - Chun Ju Chang
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, China Medical University, Taichung 406040, Taiwan; Cancer Biology and Precision Therapeutics Center, China Medical University, Taichung 406040, Taiwan.
| | - Jer-Yen Yang
- Cancer Biology and Precision Therapeutics Center, China Medical University, Taichung 406040, Taiwan; Department of Biological Science and Technology, China Medical University, Taichung 406040, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, China Medical University, Taichung 406040, Taiwan.
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