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A MYC/GCN2/eIF2alpha negative feedback loop limits protein synthesis to prevent MYC-dependent apoptosis in colorectal cancer

ABSTRACT: Tumours depend on altered rates of protein synthesis for growth and survival, suggesting that mechanisms controlling mRNA translation may be exploitable for therapy. Here, we show that loss of APC, which occurs almost universally in colorectal tumours, strongly enhances the dependence on the translation initiation factor eIF2B5. Depletion of eIF2B5 induces an integrated stress response and enhances translation of MYC via an internal ribosomal entry site. This perturbs cellular amino acid and nucleotide pools and strains energy resources and causes MYC-dependent apoptosis. eIF2B5 limits MYC expression and prevents apoptosis in APC-deficient murine and patient-derived organoids and in APC-deficient murine intestinal epithelia in vivo. Conversely, the high MYC levels present in APC-deficient cells induce phosphorylation of eIF2alpha via the GCN2 and PKR kinases. Pharmacological inhibition of GCN2 phenocopies eIF2B5 depletion and has therapeutic efficacy in tumour organoids, demonstrating that a negative MYC/eIF2alpha feedback loop constitutes a targetable vulnerability of colorectal tumours.

ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens

PROVIDER: GSE106858 | GEO | 2019/11/04

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:In eukaryotes, regulation of mRNA translation enables a fast, localized and finely tuned expression of gene products. Within the translation process, the first stage of translation initiation is most rigorously modulated by the actions of eukaryotic initiation factors (eIFs) and their associated proteins. These 11 eIFs catalyze the joining of the tRNA, mRNA and rRNA into a functional translation complex. Their activity is influenced by a wide variety of extra- and intracellular signals, ranging from global, such as hormone signaling and unfolded proteins, to specific, such as single amino acid imbalance and iron deficiency. Their action is correspondingly comprehensive, in increasing or decreasing recruitment and translation of most cellular mRNAs, and specialized, in targeting translation of mRNAs with regulatory features such as a 5’ terminal oligopyrimidine tract (TOP), upstream open reading frames (uORFs), or an internal ribosomal entry site (IRES). In mammals, two major pathways are linked to targeted mRNA translation. The target of rapamycin (TOR) kinase induces translation of TOP and perhaps other subsets of mRNAs, whereas a family of eIF2 kinases does so with mRNAs containing uORFs or an IRES. TOR targets translation of mRNAs that code for proteins involved in translation, an action compatible with its widely accepted role in regulating cellular growth. The four members of the eIF2 kinase family increase translation of mRNAs coding for stress response proteins such as transcription factors and chaperones. Though all four kinases act on one main substrate, eIF2, published literature demonstrates both common and unique effects by each kinase in response to its specific activating stress. This suggests that the activated eIF2 kinases regulate the translation of both a global and a specific set of mRNAs. Up to now, few studies have attempted to test such a hypothesis; none has been done in mammals. We use array analysis to determine the global mRNA shift into polysomes following a stress response, and to compare the translational response following activation of GCN2 versus PERK, two of the four eIF2alpha kinases. Experiment Overall Design: Gcn2 wild-type or knockout mouse liver were perfused with complete amino acids media or media lacking methionine for RNA extraction and hybridization of Affymetrix microarrays. RNA was extracted from unfractionated liver samples and polysome fraction of samples separated on sucrose density gradient. To minimize biological variations, we pooled RNA from two perfused liver samples to use in each array analysis. The conditions were total and polysome fraction of Gcn2+/+, +Met or -Met; total and polysome fraction of Gcn2-/-, +Met or -Met. Each array analysis was done in duplicate.

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A MYC/GCN2/eIF2alpha negative feedback loop limits protein synthesis to prevent MYC-dependent apoptosis in colorectal cancer

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