ABSTRACT: Kras is required for pancreatic tumor maintenance through regulation of hexosamine biosynthesis and the non-oxidative pentose phosphate pathway
Project description:Kras is required for pancreatic tumor maintenance through regulation of hexosamine biosynthesis and the non-oxidative pentose phosphate pathway
Project description:The maintenance of advanced malignancies relies on continued activity of driver oncogenes, although their rate-limiting role is highly context-dependent with respect to tumor types and associated genetic alterations. Oncogenic Kras mutation is the signature event in human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), serving a critical role in tumor initiation. Here, an inducible KrasG12D-driven p53 mutant PDAC mouse model establishes that advanced PDAC remains strictly dependent on continued KrasG12D expression and that KrasG12D serves a vital role in the control of tumor metabolism, through stimulation of glucose uptake and channeling of glucose intermediates through the hexosamine biosynthesis pathway (HBP) and the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP). Notably, these studies reveal that oncogenic Kras regulates ribose biogenesis. Unlike canonical models of PPP-mediated ribose biogenesis, we demonstrate that oncogenic Kras drives intermediates from enhanced glycolytic flux into the non-oxidative arm of the PPP, thereby decoupling ribose biogenesis from NADPNADPH-mediated redox control. Together, this work provides in vivo mechanistic insights into how oncogenic Kras promotes metabolic reprogramming in native tumors and illuminates potential metabolic targets that can be exploited for therapeutic benefit in Kras-driven PDAC. Primary pancreatic tumor lines were established from p48Cre tetO_LKrasG12D ROSA_rtTAL+ p53L+ mice. Five independent tumor lines (iKras1-5) were used for pancreatic injection into nude mice to generate orthotopic tumors. The mice were kept on doxycycline for 2 weeks until obvious tumor formation. Half of the animals were pulled off doxycycline for 24 hours. Tumors with over 75% cellularity were collected for total RNA prepartion. For in vitro expression profiles, the same five tumor lines were cultured in the presence or absence of doxycycline for 24 hours and total cellular RNA was prepared. For control samples, two independent tumor lines from LSL-KrasG12D p53L+ tumors were cultured in the presence or absence of doxycycline for 24 hours and total cellular RNA was prepared.
Project description:The maintenance of advanced malignancies relies on continued activity of driver oncogenes, although their rate-limiting role is highly context-dependent with respect to tumor types and associated genetic alterations. Oncogenic Kras mutation is the signature event in human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), serving a critical role in tumor initiation. Here, an inducible KrasG12D-driven p53 mutant PDAC mouse model establishes that advanced PDAC remains strictly dependent on continued KrasG12D expression and that KrasG12D serves a vital role in the control of tumor metabolism, through stimulation of glucose uptake and channeling of glucose intermediates through the hexosamine biosynthesis pathway (HBP) and the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP). Notably, these studies reveal that oncogenic Kras regulates ribose biogenesis. Unlike canonical models of PPP-mediated ribose biogenesis, we demonstrate that oncogenic Kras drives intermediates from enhanced glycolytic flux into the non-oxidative arm of the PPP, thereby decoupling ribose biogenesis from NADPNADPH-mediated redox control. Together, this work provides in vivo mechanistic insights into how oncogenic Kras promotes metabolic reprogramming in native tumors and illuminates potential metabolic targets that can be exploited for therapeutic benefit in Kras-driven PDAC.
Project description:Cancer cells heavily rely on nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) to counteract oxidative stress and facilitate reductive biosynthesis. One crucial route for NADPH production operates through the oxidative pentose phosphate pathway, with a pivotal step at glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD). This study delves into the repercussions of G6PD ablation on the development of lung tumors driven by the KRAS oncogene and deficient in LKB1 (KL). The research involved comparing the growth of KL lung tumors with or without G6PD, revealing a significant inhibition of KL lung tumor growth upon G6PD loss. Subsequently, RNA-seq analysis was employed to identify the alterations in gene expression following G6PD deletion, providing insights into the underlying mechanisms.
Project description:The glycolytic inhibitor 2-deoxy-d-glucose (2DG) causes energy starvation, affecting cell viability in a wide range of cancer cell lines. To determine the action of 2DG in pancreatic cancer, we performed proteomic analysis of pancreatic cancer cell line after 2DG treatment. Up-regulation of glutamine: fructose 6-phosphate aminotransferase 1 (GFAT1), which belongs to the hexosamine biosynthesis pathway (HBP) that produces uridine diphosphate N-acetylglucosamine (UDP-GlcNAc) to maintain glycoprotein, was validated by evaluation of mRNA and protein levels.
Project description:Stomatin-like protein 2 (SLP-2) is associated with poor prognosis in several types of cancer, including pancreatic cancer; however, the molecular mechanism of its involvement remains elusive. This study aimed to elucidate the role of this protein in the development of pancreatic cancer. Human pancreatic cancer cell lines AsPC-1 and PANC-1 were transfected by a vector expressing SLP-2 shRNA. Analyses of cell proliferation, migration, invasion, chemosensitivity, and glucose uptake were performed, while a mouse xenograft model was used to evaluate the functional role of SLP-2 in pancreatic cancer. Immunohistochemical analysis was retrospectively performed on human tissue samples to compare expression between the primary site (n=279) and the liver metastatic site (n=22). Furthermore, microarray analysis was conducted to identify genes correlated with SLP-2. In vitro analysis demonstrated that cells in which SLP-2 was suppressed showed reduced cell motility and glucose uptake, while in vivo analysis showed a dramatic decrease in the number of liver metastases. Immunohistochemistry revealed that SLP-2 was elevated in liver metastatic sites. Microarray analysis indicated this protein regulated the expression of glutamine-fructose-6-phosphate transaminase 2 (GFPT2), a rate-limiting enzyme of the hexosamine biosynthesis pathway. SLP-2 contributes to the malignant character of pancreatic cancer by inducing liver metastasis. Cell motility and glucose uptake may be induced via the hexosamine biosynthesis pathway, through the expression of GFPT2. This reveals a new mechanism of liver metastasis and implies that SLP-2 and its downstream pathway could provide novel therapeutic targets for pancreatic cancer.
Project description:The initiation of heartbeat is an essential step in cardiogenesis in the heart primordium, but it remains unclear how intracellular metabolism responds to increased energy demands after heartbeat initiation. In this study, embryos in Wistar rats at embryonic day 10, at which heartbeat begins in rats, were divided into two groups by the heart primordium before and after heartbeat initiation and their metabolic characteristics were assessed. Metabolome analysis revealed that increased levels of ATP, a main product of glucose catabolism, and reduced glutathione, a by-product of the pentose phosphate pathway, were the major determinants in the heart primordium after heartbeat initiation. Glycolytic capacity and ATP synthesis-linked mitochondrial respiration were significantly increased, but subunits in complexes of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation were not upregulated in the heart primordium after heartbeat initiation. Hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α was activated and a glucose transporter and rate-limiting enzymes of the glycolytic and pentose phosphate pathways, which are HIF-1α-downstream targets, were upregulated in the heart primordium after heartbeat initiation. These results suggest that the HIF-1α-mediated enhancement of glycolysis with activation of the pentose phosphate pathway, potentially leading to antioxidant defense and nucleotide biosynthesis, covers the increased energy demand in the beating and developing heart primordium.
Project description:Transaldolase (TALDO1), is a key enzyme in the non-oxidative pentose phosphate pathway. However, the impact of Taldo1 disruption on CD8+ T cell differentiation and function remains undefined. Here, we found that knockdown of Taldo1 in CD8+ T cells impairs NADPH production, causes ribose-5-phosphate accumulation, elevates oxidative stress, reduces lipid synthesis, induces mitochondrial dysfunction, and compromises effector cell proliferation, cytokine production, and antitumor efficacy, whereas enhancing Taldo1 promotes memory T cell differentiation, persistence, and recall responses during immune challenges.
Project description:Transketolase (TKT) is a key enzyme in the non-oxidative pentose phosphate pathway. However, the impact of Taldo1 disruption on CD8+ T cell differentiation and function remains undefined. Here, we found that knockdown of Taldo1 in CD8+ T cells impairs NADPH production, causes ribose-5-phosphate accumulation, elevates oxidative stress, reduces lipid synthesis, induces mitochondrial dysfunction, and compromises effector cell proliferation, cytokine production, and antitumor efficacy, whereas enhancing Taldo1 promotes memory T cell differentiation, persistence, and recall responses during immune challenges.