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Kalaany NY. Glutamine analogs for pancreatic cancer therapy. Nat Cancer 2024; 5:2-4. [PMID: 38291252 DOI: 10.1038/s43018-023-00678-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- Nada Y Kalaany
- Division of Endocrinology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
- Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA.
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2
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Lee MS, Dennis C, Naqvi I, Dailey L, Lorzadeh A, Ye G, Zaytouni T, Adler A, Hitchcock DS, Lin L, Hoffman MT, Bhuiyan AM, Barth JL, Machacek ME, Mino-Kenudson M, Dougan SK, Jadhav U, Clish CB, Kalaany NY. Ornithine aminotransferase supports polyamine synthesis in pancreatic cancer. Nature 2023; 616:339-347. [PMID: 36991126 PMCID: PMC10929664 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-05891-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2022] [Accepted: 02/24/2023] [Indexed: 03/30/2023]
Abstract
There is a need to develop effective therapies for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA), a highly lethal malignancy with increasing incidence1 and poor prognosis2. Although targeting tumour metabolism has been the focus of intense investigation for more than a decade, tumour metabolic plasticity and high risk of toxicity have limited this anticancer strategy3,4. Here we use genetic and pharmacological approaches in human and mouse in vitro and in vivo models to show that PDA has a distinct dependence on de novo ornithine synthesis from glutamine. We find that this process, which is mediated through ornithine aminotransferase (OAT), supports polyamine synthesis and is required for tumour growth. This directional OAT activity is usually largely restricted to infancy and contrasts with the reliance of most adult normal tissues and other cancer types on arginine-derived ornithine for polyamine synthesis5,6. This dependency associates with arginine depletion in the PDA tumour microenvironment and is driven by mutant KRAS. Activated KRAS induces the expression of OAT and polyamine synthesis enzymes, leading to alterations in the transcriptome and open chromatin landscape in PDA tumour cells. The distinct dependence of PDA, but not normal tissue, on OAT-mediated de novo ornithine synthesis provides an attractive therapeutic window for treating patients with pancreatic cancer with minimal toxicity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min-Sik Lee
- Division of Endocrinology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Courtney Dennis
- Metabolomics Platform, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Insia Naqvi
- Division of Endocrinology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Lucas Dailey
- Metabolomics Platform, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Alireza Lorzadeh
- Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Broad-CIRM Center, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - George Ye
- Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Broad-CIRM Center, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Tamara Zaytouni
- Division of Endocrinology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Ashley Adler
- Division of Endocrinology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Daniel S Hitchcock
- Metabolomics Platform, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Lin Lin
- Division of Endocrinology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Megan T Hoffman
- Department of Cancer Immunology and Virology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Immunology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Aladdin M Bhuiyan
- Department of Cancer Immunology and Virology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Immunology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jaimie L Barth
- Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Miranda E Machacek
- Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Pathology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Mari Mino-Kenudson
- Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Pathology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Stephanie K Dougan
- Department of Cancer Immunology and Virology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Immunology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Unmesh Jadhav
- Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Broad-CIRM Center, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Clary B Clish
- Metabolomics Platform, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Nada Y Kalaany
- Division of Endocrinology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
- Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA.
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3
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Lee MS, Naqvi I, Dennis C, Dailey L, Lorzadeh A, Zaytouni T, Adler A, Hitchcock DS, Lin L, Jadhav U, Clish CB, Kalaany NY. Abstract PO-028: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is dependent on an unconventional pathway for polyamine synthesis. Cancer Res 2021. [DOI: 10.1158/1538-7445.panca21-po-028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Targeting altered metabolism in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has been an area of extensive investigation for over a decade now. A major hurdle however, for most anti-tumor metabolic strategies, is the high risk for toxicity, given the essential roles of metabolic pathways in the maintenance of normal tissue homeostasis. Indeed, this has been the case for targeting polyamines in cancers. Polyamines are small, highly positively charged molecules involved in multiple fundamental processes of cell growth and survival, including the synthesis of nucleic acids, modifications of chromatin structure, gene transcription and mRNA translation. Polyamine levels are significantly increased in many cancers, including PDAC. Prior anti-tumor strategies focused on pharmacological inhibition of the rate-limiting enzyme of polyamine synthesis, ornithine decarboxylase (ODC1) with little success, partially due to risk of harming normal tissues at higher drug doses. In this project, using both in vitro and in vivo mouse models of PDAC, we identified a dependency of PDAC on an unconventional way for the synthesis of the polyamine precursor ornithine, specifically from glutamine via ornithine aminotransferase (OAT); this is in contrast to its synthesis in most adult normal tissues from arginine via arginase (ARG) activity. We also identified potential key players mediating the induction of this metabolic pathway via KRAS, the main oncogenic driver in PDAC and are currently characterizing the downstream effects of polyamines on pancreatic tumor cells. The high dependency of PDAC, compared to normal tissue, on de novo ornithine synthesis via OAT provides an attractive therapeutic window for treating pancreatic cancer patients with minimal toxicity.
Citation Format: Min-Sik Lee, Insia Naqvi, Courtney Dennis, Lucas Dailey, Alireza Lorzadeh, Tamara Zaytouni, Ashley Adler, Daniel S. Hitchcock, Lin Lin, Unmesh Jadhav, Clary B. Clish, Nada Y. Kalaany. Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is dependent on an unconventional pathway for polyamine synthesis [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Special Conference on Pancreatic Cancer; 2021 Sep 29-30. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(22 Suppl):Abstract nr PO-028.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min-Sik Lee
- 1Division of Endocrinology, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA,
- 2Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston,
- 3Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA,
| | - Insia Naqvi
- 1Division of Endocrinology, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA,
| | - Courtney Dennis
- 4Metabolomics Platform, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA,
| | - Lucas Dailey
- 4Metabolomics Platform, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA,
| | - Alireza Lorzadeh
- 5Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA,
| | - Tamara Zaytouni
- 1Division of Endocrinology, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA,
| | - Ashley Adler
- 1Division of Endocrinology, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA,
- 3Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA,
| | | | - Lin Lin
- 1Division of Endocrinology, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA,
| | - Unmesh Jadhav
- 5Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA,
- 6Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
| | - Clary B. Clish
- 4Metabolomics Platform, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA,
| | - Nada Y. Kalaany
- 1Division of Endocrinology, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA,
- 2Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston,
- 3Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA,
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Tsai PY, Lee MS, Jadhav U, Naqvi I, Madha S, Adler A, Mistry M, Naumenko S, Lewis CA, Hitchcock DS, Roberts FR, DelNero P, Hank T, Honselmann KC, Morales Oyarvide V, Mino-Kenudson M, Clish CB, Shivdasani RA, Kalaany NY. Adaptation of pancreatic cancer cells to nutrient deprivation is reversible and requires glutamine synthetase stabilization by mTORC1. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:e2003014118. [PMID: 33653947 PMCID: PMC7958225 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2003014118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) is a lethal, therapy-resistant cancer that thrives in a highly desmoplastic, nutrient-deprived microenvironment. Several studies investigated the effects of depriving PDA of either glucose or glutamine alone. However, the consequences on PDA growth and metabolism of limiting both preferred nutrients have remained largely unknown. Here, we report the selection for clonal human PDA cells that survive and adapt to limiting levels of both glucose and glutamine. We find that adapted clones exhibit increased growth in vitro and enhanced tumor-forming capacity in vivo. Mechanistically, adapted clones share common transcriptional and metabolic programs, including amino acid use for de novo glutamine and nucleotide synthesis. They also display enhanced mTORC1 activity that prevents the proteasomal degradation of glutamine synthetase (GS), the rate-limiting enzyme for glutamine synthesis. This phenotype is notably reversible, with PDA cells acquiring alterations in open chromatin upon adaptation. Silencing of GS suppresses the enhanced growth of adapted cells and mitigates tumor growth. These findings identify nongenetic adaptations to nutrient deprivation in PDA and highlight GS as a dependency that could be targeted therapeutically in pancreatic cancer patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pei-Yun Tsai
- Division of Endocrinology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115
- Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Min-Sik Lee
- Division of Endocrinology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115
- Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142
| | - Unmesh Jadhav
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215
- Center for Functional Cancer Epigenetics, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215
- Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115
- Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Insia Naqvi
- Division of Endocrinology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Shariq Madha
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215
- Center for Functional Cancer Epigenetics, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215
| | - Ashley Adler
- Division of Endocrinology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142
| | - Meeta Mistry
- Bioinformatics Core, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Sergey Naumenko
- Bioinformatics Core, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Caroline A Lewis
- Metabolite Profiling Core Facility, Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA 02142
| | - Daniel S Hitchcock
- Metabolomics Platform, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142
| | | | - Peter DelNero
- Division of Endocrinology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115
- Cancer Prevention Fellowship Program, Division of Cancer Prevention, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD 20892
| | - Thomas Hank
- Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114
| | - Kim C Honselmann
- Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114
| | | | - Mari Mino-Kenudson
- Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114
| | - Clary B Clish
- Metabolomics Platform, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142
| | - Ramesh A Shivdasani
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215
- Center for Functional Cancer Epigenetics, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215
- Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115
- Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115
- Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Cambridge, MA 02138
| | - Nada Y Kalaany
- Division of Endocrinology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115;
- Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142
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5
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Kalaany NY, Sabatini DM. Author Correction: Tumours with PI3K activation are resistant to dietary restriction. Nature 2020; 581:E2. [PMID: 32405003 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2215-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nada Y Kalaany
- Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Nine Cambridge Center, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02142, USA.,Department of Biology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02139, USA.,Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02139, USA
| | - David M Sabatini
- Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Nine Cambridge Center, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02142, USA. .,Department of Biology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02139, USA. .,Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02139, USA. .,Broad Institute, Seven Cambridge Center, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02142, USA.
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6
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Zaytouni T, Tsai PY, Hitchcock DS, DuBois CD, Freinkman E, Lin L, Morales-Oyarvide V, Lenehan PJ, Wolpin BM, Mino-Kenudson M, Torres EM, Stylopoulos N, Clish CB, Kalaany NY. Critical role for arginase 2 in obesity-associated pancreatic cancer. Nat Commun 2017; 8:242. [PMID: 28808255 PMCID: PMC5556090 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-00331-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2017] [Accepted: 06/21/2017] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Obesity is an established risk factor for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA). Despite recent identification of metabolic alterations in this lethal malignancy, the metabolic dependencies of obesity-associated PDA remain unknown. Here we show that obesity-driven PDA exhibits accelerated growth and a striking transcriptional enrichment for pathways regulating nitrogen metabolism. We find that the mitochondrial form of arginase (ARG2), which hydrolyzes arginine into ornithine and urea, is induced upon obesity, and silencing or loss of ARG2 markedly suppresses PDA. In vivo infusion of 15N-glutamine in obese mouse models of PDA demonstrates enhanced nitrogen flux into the urea cycle and infusion of 15N-arginine shows that Arg2 loss causes significant ammonia accumulation that results from the shunting of arginine catabolism into alternative nitrogen repositories. Furthermore, analysis of PDA patient tumors indicates that ARG2 levels correlate with body mass index (BMI). The specific dependency of PDA on ARG2 rather than the principal hepatic enzyme ARG1 opens a therapeutic window for obesity-associated pancreatic cancer.Obesity is an established risk factor for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA). Here the authors show that obesity induces the expression of the mitochondrial form of arginase ARG2 in PDA and that ARG2 silencing or loss results in ammonia accumulation and suppression of obesity-driven PDA tumor growth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tamara Zaytouni
- Division of Endocrinology, Center for Basic and Translational Obesity Research, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA
| | - Pei-Yun Tsai
- Division of Endocrinology, Center for Basic and Translational Obesity Research, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | | | - Cory D DuBois
- Division of Endocrinology, Center for Basic and Translational Obesity Research, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA
| | - Elizaveta Freinkman
- Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA
- Metabolon Inc, Research Triangle Park, Durham, NC, 27709, USA
| | - Lin Lin
- Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Vicente Morales-Oyarvide
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02215, USA
| | - Patrick J Lenehan
- Division of Endocrinology, Center for Basic and Translational Obesity Research, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Brian M Wolpin
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02215, USA
| | - Mari Mino-Kenudson
- Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02114, USA
| | - Eduardo M Torres
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Cancer Biology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, 01605, USA
| | - Nicholas Stylopoulos
- Division of Endocrinology, Center for Basic and Translational Obesity Research, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA
| | - Clary B Clish
- Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA
| | - Nada Y Kalaany
- Division of Endocrinology, Center for Basic and Translational Obesity Research, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
- Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
- Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA.
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7
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Karsli-Uzunbas G, Guo JY, Price S, Teng X, Laddha SV, Khor S, Kalaany NY, Jacks T, Chan CS, Rabinowitz JD, White E. Autophagy is required for glucose homeostasis and lung tumor maintenance. Cancer Discov 2014; 4:914-27. [PMID: 24875857 DOI: 10.1158/2159-8290.cd-14-0363] [Citation(s) in RCA: 397] [Impact Index Per Article: 39.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
UNLABELLED Macroautophagy (autophagy hereafter) recycles intracellular components to sustain mitochondrial metabolism that promotes the growth, stress tolerance, and malignancy of lung cancers, suggesting that autophagy inhibition may have antitumor activity. To assess the functional significance of autophagy in both normal and tumor tissue, we conditionally deleted the essential autophagy gene, autophagy related 7 (Atg7), throughout adult mice. Here, we report that systemic ATG7 ablation caused susceptibility to infection and neurodegeneration that limited survival to 2 to 3 months. Moreover, upon fasting, autophagy-deficient mice suffered fatal hypoglycemia. Prior autophagy ablation did not alter the efficiency of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) initiation by activation of oncogenic Kras(G12D) and deletion of the Trp53 tumor suppressor. Acute autophagy ablation in mice with preexisting NSCLC, however, blocked tumor growth, promoted tumor cell death, and generated more benign disease (oncocytomas). This antitumor activity occurred before destruction of normal tissues, suggesting that acute autophagy inhibition may be therapeutically beneficial in cancer. SIGNIFICANCE We systemically ablated cellular self-cannibalization by autophagy in adult mice and determined that it is dispensable for short-term survival, but required to prevent fatal hypoglycemia and cachexia during fasting, delineating a new role for autophagy in metabolism. Importantly, acute, systemic autophagy ablation was selectively destructive to established tumors compared with normal tissues, thereby providing the preclinical evidence that strategies to inhibit autophagy may be therapeutically advantageous for RAS-driven cancers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gizem Karsli-Uzunbas
- Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey. Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey
| | - Jessie Yanxiang Guo
- Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey. Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey
| | - Sandy Price
- Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey
| | - Xin Teng
- Department of Chemistry, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey
| | - Saurabh V Laddha
- Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey
| | - Sinan Khor
- Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey. Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey
| | - Nada Y Kalaany
- Division of Endocrinology, Center for Basic and Translational Obesity Research, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Tyler Jacks
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research and Department of Biology, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts
| | - Chang S Chan
- Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey. Deparment of Medicine, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey
| | - Joshua D Rabinowitz
- Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey. Department of Chemistry, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey
| | - Eileen White
- Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey. Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey.
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8
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Curry NL, Mino-Kenudson M, Oliver TG, Yilmaz OH, Yilmaz VO, Moon JY, Jacks T, Sabatini DM, Kalaany NY. Pten-null tumors cohabiting the same lung display differential AKT activation and sensitivity to dietary restriction. Cancer Discov 2013; 3:908-21. [PMID: 23719831 DOI: 10.1158/2159-8290.cd-12-0507] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
PTEN loss is considered a biomarker for activated phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT, a pathway frequently mutated in cancer, and was recently shown to confer resistance to dietary restriction. Here, we show that Pten loss is not sufficient to drive AKT activation and resistance to dietary restriction in tumors with low growth factor receptor levels. We describe a murine Pten-null Kras-driven lung cancer model that harbors both dietary restriction-resistant, higher-grade, bronchiolar tumors with high AKT activity, and dietary restriction-sensitive, lower-grade, alveolar tumors with low AKT activity. We find that this phenotype is cell autonomous and that normal bronchiolar cells express higher levels of insulin-like growth factor-I receptor (IGF-IR) and of ectonucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase 5 (ENTPD5), an endoplasmic reticulum enzyme known to modulate growth factor receptor levels. Suppression of ENTPD5 is sufficient to decrease IGF-IR levels and sensitize bronchiolar tumor cells to serum in vitro and to dietary restriction in vivo. Furthermore, we find that a significant percentage of human non-small cell lung carcinomas (NSCLC) have low AKT activity despite PTEN loss.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natasha L Curry
- Division of Endocrinology, Center for Basic and Translational Obesity Research, Boston , MA 02115, USA
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9
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Abstract
Dietary restriction (DR) delays the incidence and decreases the growth of various types of tumours, but the mechanisms underlying the sensitivity of tumours to food restriction remain unknown. We find that certain human cancer cell lines, when grown as tumour xenografts in mice, are highly sensitive to the anti-growth effects of DR, while others are resistant. Cancer cells that form DR-resistant tumours carry mutations that cause constitutive activation of the PI3K pathway and in culture proliferate in the absence of insulin or IGF1. Substitution of an activated mutant allele of PI3K with wild-type PI3K in otherwise isogenic cancer cells, or the restoration of PTEN expression in a PTEN-null cancer cell line, is sufficient to convert a DR-resistant tumour into one that is DR-sensitive. DR does not affect a PTEN-null mouse model of prostate cancer, but significantly decreases tumour burden in a mouse model of lung cancer lacking constitutive PI3K signaling. Thus, the PI3K pathway is a major determinant of the sensitivity of tumours to DR and activating mutations in the pathway may influence the response of cancers to DR-mimetic therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nada Y Kalaany
- Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Nine Cambridge Center, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA
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10
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Guertin DA, Stevens DM, Thoreen CC, Burds AA, Kalaany NY, Moffat J, Brown M, Fitzgerald KJ, Sabatini DM. Ablation in mice of the mTORC components raptor, rictor, or mLST8 reveals that mTORC2 is required for signaling to Akt-FOXO and PKCalpha, but not S6K1. Dev Cell 2007; 11:859-71. [PMID: 17141160 DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2006.10.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1117] [Impact Index Per Article: 65.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2006] [Revised: 09/15/2006] [Accepted: 10/18/2006] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The mTOR kinase controls cell growth, proliferation, and survival through two distinct multiprotein complexes, mTORC1 and mTORC2. mTOR and mLST8 are in both complexes, while raptor and rictor are part of only mTORC1 and mTORC2, respectively. To investigate mTORC1 and mTORC2 function in vivo, we generated mice deficient for raptor, rictor, or mLST8. Like mice null for mTOR, those lacking raptor die early in development. However, mLST8 null embryos survive until e10.5 and resemble embryos missing rictor. mLST8 is necessary to maintain the rictor-mTOR, but not the raptor-mTOR, interaction, and both mLST8 and rictor are required for the hydrophobic motif phosphorylation of Akt/PKB and PKCalpha, but not S6K1. Furthermore, insulin signaling to FOXO3, but not to TSC2 or GSK3beta, requires mLST8 and rictor. Thus, mTORC1 function is essential in early development, mLST8 is required only for mTORC2 signaling, and mTORC2 is a necessary component of the Akt-FOXO and PKCalpha pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- David A Guertin
- Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Biology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02141, USA
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11
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Abstract
Liver X receptors (LXRs) and farnesoid X receptor (FXR) are nuclear receptors that function as intracellular sensors for sterols and bile acids, respectively. In response to their ligands, these receptors induce transcriptional responses that maintain a balanced, finely tuned regulation of cholesterol and bile acid metabolism. LXRs also permit the efficient storage of carbohydrate- and fat-derived energy, whereas FXR activation results in an overall decrease in triglyceride levels and modulation of glucose metabolism. The elegant, dual interplay between these two receptor systems suggests that they coevolved to constitute a highly sensitive and efficient system for the maintenance of total body fat and cholesterol homeostasis. Emerging evidence suggests that the tissue-specific action of these receptors is also crucial for the proper function of the cardiovascular, immune, reproductive, endocrine pancreas, renal, and central nervous systems. Together, LXRs and FXR represent potential therapeutic targets for the treatment and prevention of numerous metabolic and lipid-related diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nada Y Kalaany
- Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA.
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Kalaany NY, Gauthier KC, Zavacki AM, Mammen PPA, Kitazume T, Peterson JA, Horton JD, Garry DJ, Bianco AC, Mangelsdorf DJ. LXRs regulate the balance between fat storage and oxidation. Cell Metab 2005; 1:231-44. [PMID: 16054068 DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2005.03.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 228] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2004] [Revised: 02/09/2005] [Accepted: 03/02/2005] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Despite the well-established role of liver X receptors (LXRs) in regulating cholesterol homeostasis, their contribution to lipid homeostasis remains unclear. Here we show that LXR null mice are defective in hepatic lipid metabolism and are resistant to obesity when challenged with a diet containing both high fat and cholesterol. This phenotype is dependent on the presence of dietary cholesterol and is accompanied by the aberrant production of thyroid hormone in liver. Interestingly, the inability of LXR-/- mice to induce SREBP-1c-dependent lipogenesis does not explain the LXR-/- phenotype, since SREBP-1c null mice are not obesity resistant. Instead, the LXR-/- response is due to abnormal energy dissipation resulting from uncoupled oxidative phosphorylation and ectopic expression of uncoupling proteins in muscle and white adipose. These studies suggest that, by selectively sensing the cholesterol component of a lipid-rich diet, LXRs govern the balance between storage and oxidation of dietary fat.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nada Y Kalaany
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Pharmacology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, Texas 75390, USA
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El-Sabban ME, Sfeir AJ, Daher MH, Kalaany NY, Bassam RA, Talhouk RS. ECM-induced gap junctional communication enhances mammary epithelial cell differentiation. J Cell Sci 2003; 116:3531-41. [PMID: 12893812 DOI: 10.1242/jcs.00656] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
The relationship between gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC) and mammary cell (CID-9) differentiation in vitro was explored. CID-9 cells differentiate and express beta-casein in an extracellular matrix (ECM)- and hormone-dependent manner. In response to interaction with the ECM, cells in culture modulated the expression of their gap junction proteins at the transcriptional and post-translational levels. In the presence of EHS-matrix, connexins (Cx)26, 32 and 43 localized predominantly to the plasma membrane, and enhanced GJIC [as measured by Lucifer Yellow (LY) dye transfer assays] was noted. Inhibition of GJIC of cells on EHS-matrix with 18 alpha glycyrrhetinic acid (GA) resulted in reversible downregulation of beta-casein expression. In the presence of cAMP, cells cultured on plastic expressed beta-casein, upregulated Cx43 and Cx26 protein levels and enhanced GJIC. This was reversed in the presence of 18 alpha GA. cAMP-treated cells plated either on a non-adhesive PolyHEMA substratum or on plastic supplemented with function-blocking anti-beta 1 integrin antibodies, maintained beta-casein expression. These studies suggest that cell-ECM interaction alone may induce differentiation through changes in cAMP levels and formation of functional gap junctions. That these events are downstream of ECM signalling was underscored by the fact that enhanced GJIC induced partial differentiation in mammary epithelial cells in the absence of an exogenously provided basement membrane and in a beta 1-integrin- and adhesion-independent manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marwan E El-Sabban
- Department of Human Morphology, Faculty of Medicine, American University of Beirut, PO Box 11-0236, Beirut, Lebanon.
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