PKM2 methylation by CARM1 activates aerobic glycolysis to promote tumorigenesis.

ABSTRACT: Metabolic reprogramming is a hallmark of cancer. Herein we discover that the key glycolytic enzyme pyruvate kinase M2 isoform (PKM2), but not the related isoform PKM1, is methylated by co-activator-associated arginine methyltransferase 1 (CARM1). PKM2 methylation reversibly shifts the balance of metabolism from oxidative phosphorylation to aerobic glycolysis in breast cancer cells. Oxidative phosphorylation depends on mitochondrial calcium concentration, which becomes critical for cancer cell survival when PKM2 methylation is blocked. By interacting with and suppressing the expression of inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate receptors (InsP₃Rs), methylated PKM2 inhibits the influx of calcium from the endoplasmic reticulum to mitochondria. Inhibiting PKM2 methylation with a competitive pe

SUBMITTER: Liu F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5683091 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature