scholarly journals Protein Acetylation at the Interface of Genetics, Epigenetics and Environment in Cancer

Metabolites ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 216
Author(s):  
Mio Harachi ◽  
Kenta Masui ◽  
Webster K. Cavenee ◽  
Paul S. Mischel ◽  
Noriyuki Shibata

Metabolic reprogramming is an emerging hallmark of cancer and is driven by abnormalities of oncogenes and tumor suppressors. Accelerated metabolism causes cancer cell aggression through the dysregulation of rate-limiting metabolic enzymes as well as by facilitating the production of intermediary metabolites. However, the mechanisms by which a shift in the metabolic landscape reshapes the intracellular signaling to promote the survival of cancer cells remain to be clarified. Recent high-resolution mass spectrometry-based proteomic analyses have spotlighted that, unexpectedly, lysine residues of numerous cytosolic as well as nuclear proteins are acetylated and that this modification modulates protein activity, sublocalization and stability, with profound impact on cellular function. More importantly, cancer cells exploit acetylation as a post-translational protein for microenvironmental adaptation, nominating it as a means for dynamic modulation of the phenotypes of cancer cells at the interface between genetics and environments. The objectives of this review were to describe the functional implications of protein lysine acetylation in cancer biology by examining recent evidence that implicates oncogenic signaling as a strong driver of protein acetylation, which might be exploitable for novel therapeutic strategies against cancer.

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 292
Author(s):  
Barbara Guerra ◽  
Olaf-Georg Issinger

Uncontrolled proliferation is a feature defining cancer and it is linked to the ability of cancer cells to effectively adapt their metabolic needs in response to a harsh tumor environment. Metabolic reprogramming is considered a hallmark of cancer and includes increased glucose uptake and processing, and increased glutamine utilization, but also the deregulation of lipid and cholesterol-associated signal transduction, as highlighted in recent years. In the first part of the review, we will (i) provide an overview of the major types of lipids found in eukaryotic cells and their importance as mediators of intracellular signaling pathways (ii) analyze the main metabolic changes occurring in cancer development and the role of oncogenic signaling in supporting aberrant lipid metabolism and (iii) discuss combination strategies as powerful new approaches to cancer treatment. The second part of the review will address the emerging role of CK2, a conserved serine/threonine protein kinase, in lipid homeostasis with an emphasis regarding its function in lipogenesis and adipogenesis. Evidence will be provided that CK2 regulates these processes at multiple levels. This suggests that its pharmacological inhibition combined with dietary restrictions and/or inhibitors of metabolic targets could represent an effective way to undermine the dependency of cancer cells on lipids to interfere with tumor progression.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 2719
Author(s):  
Alba Loras ◽  
Cristina Segovia ◽  
José Luis Ruiz-Cerdá

Bladder cancer (BC) represents a clinical, social, and economic challenge due to tumor-intrinsic characteristics, limitations of diagnostic techniques and a lack of personalized treatments. In the last decade, the use of liquid biopsy has grown as a non-invasive approach to characterize tumors. Moreover, the emergence of omics has increased our knowledge of cancer biology and identified critical BC biomarkers. The rewiring between epigenetics and metabolism has been closely linked to tumor phenotype. Chromatin remodelers interact with each other to control gene silencing in BC, but also with stress-inducible factors or oncogenic signaling cascades to regulate metabolic reprogramming towards glycolysis, the pentose phosphate pathway, and lipogenesis. Concurrently, one-carbon metabolism supplies methyl groups to histone and DNA methyltransferases, leading to the hypermethylation and silencing of suppressor genes in BC. Conversely, α-KG and acetyl-CoA enhance the activity of histone demethylases and acetyl transferases, increasing gene expression, while succinate and fumarate have an inhibitory role. This review is the first to analyze the interplay between epigenome, metabolome and cell signaling pathways in BC, and shows how their regulation contributes to tumor development and progression. Moreover, it summarizes non-invasive biomarkers that could be applied in clinical practice to improve diagnosis, monitoring, prognosis and the therapeutic options in BC.


2020 ◽  
Vol 07 (01) ◽  
pp. 001-002
Author(s):  
Liyi Zhang

AbstractMetabolic reprogramming, such as enhanced aerobic glycolysis, allows cancer cells to maintain viability and promote proliferation. It is one of the major consequences of oncogenic mutations. KRAS is the most frequently mutated oncogene in human cancer. It is thought to be closely related to metabolic reprogramming. However, it is not clear whether it can participate in metabolic reprogramming by directly regulating metabolic enzymes. Additionally, the functional differences among the splice variants of KRAS have not been determined. In a study, recently published in Nature, Amendola et al reported a unique interaction between one of the KRAS splice variants (KRAS4A) and the major glycolytic enzyme (hexokinase 1) in cancer cells. Their findings indicated that a better understanding on the regulation of hexokinase 1 by KRAS may reveal novel therapeutic strategies.


Cancers ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 452 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie Albaret ◽  
Claudine Vermot-Desroches ◽  
Arnaud Paré ◽  
Jean-Xavier Roca-Martinez ◽  
Lucie Malet ◽  
...  

Accumulating evidence supports the remarkable presence at the membrane surface of cancer cells of proteins, which are normally expressed in the intracellular compartment. Although these proteins, referred to as externalized proteins, represent a highly promising source of accessible and druggable targets for cancer therapy, the mechanisms via which they impact cancer biology remain largely unexplored. The aim of this study was to expose an externalized form of cytokeratin 8 (eK8) as a key player of colorectal tumorigenesis and characterize its mode of action. To achieve this, we generated a unique antagonist monoclonal antibody (D-A10 MAb) targeting an eight-amino-acid-long domain of eK8, which enabled us to ascertain the pro-tumoral activity of eK8 in both KRAS-mutant and wild-type colorectal cancers (CRC). We showed that this pro-tumoral activity involves a bidirectional eK8-dependent control of caspase-mediated apoptosis in vivo and of the plasminogen-induced invasion process in cellulo. Furthermore, we demonstrated that eK8 is anchored at the plasma membrane supporting this dual function. We, therefore, identified eK8 as an innovative therapeutic target in CRC and provided a unique MAb targeting eK8 that displays anti-neoplastic activities that could be useful to treat CRC, including those harboring KRAS mutations.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (8) ◽  
pp. 1933 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bárbara Sousa ◽  
Joana Pereira ◽  
Joana Paredes

Cancer cells preferentially use aerobic glycolysis over mitochondria oxidative phosphorylation for energy production, and this metabolic reprogramming is currently recognized as a hallmark of cancer. Oncogenic signaling frequently converges with this metabolic shift, increasing cancer cells’ ability to produce building blocks and energy, as well as to maintain redox homeostasis. Alterations in cell–cell and cell–extracellular matrix (ECM) adhesion promote cancer cell invasion, intravasation, anchorage-independent survival in circulation, and extravasation, as well as homing in a distant organ. Importantly, during this multi-step metastatic process, cells need to induce metabolic rewiring, in order to produce the energy needed, as well as to impair oxidative stress. Although the individual implications of adhesion molecules and metabolic reprogramming in cancer have been widely explored over the years, the crosstalk between cell adhesion molecular machinery and metabolic pathways is far from being clearly understood, in both normal and cancer contexts. This review summarizes our understanding about the influence of cell–cell and cell–matrix adhesion in the metabolic behavior of cancer cells, with a special focus concerning the role of classical cadherins, such as Epithelial (E)-cadherin and Placental (P)-cadherin.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tania Fiaschi ◽  
Paola Chiarugi

Conversely to normal cells, where deregulated oxidative stress drives the activation of death pathways, malignant cells exploit oxidative milieu for its advantage. Cancer cells are located in a very complex microenvironment together with stromal components that participate to enhance oxidative stress to promote tumor progression. Indeed, convincing experimental and clinical evidence underline the key role of oxidative stress in several tumor aspects thus affecting several characteristics of cancer cells. Oxidants influence the DNA mutational potential, intracellular signaling pathways controlling cell proliferation and survival and cell motility and invasiveness as well as control the reactivity of stromal components that is fundamental for cancer development and dissemination, inflammation, tissue repair, andde novoangiogenesis. This paper is focused on the role of oxidant species in the acquisition of two mandatory features for aggressive neoplastic cells, recently defined by Hanahan and Weinberg as new “hallmarks of cancer”: tumor microenvironment and metabolic reprogramming of cancer cells.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 254-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khandan Ilkhani ◽  
Milad Bastami ◽  
Soheila Delgir ◽  
Asma Safi ◽  
Shahrzad Talebian ◽  
...  

: Metabolic reprogramming is a significant property of various cancer cells, which most commonly arises from the Tumor Microenvironment (TME). The events of metabolic pathways include the Warburg effect, shifting in Krebs cycle metabolites, and the rate of oxidative phosphorylation, potentially providing energy and structural requirements for the development and invasiveness of cancer cells. TME and tumor metabolism shifting have a close relationship through bidirectional signaling pathways between stromal and tumor cells. Cancer- Associated Fibroblasts (CAFs), as the most dominant cells of TME, play a crucial role in the aberrant metabolism of cancer. Furthermore, the stated relationship can affect survival, progression, and metastasis in cancer development. Recently, exosomes are considered one of the most prominent factors in cellular communications considering effective content and bidirectional mediatory effect between tumor and stromal cells. In this regard, CAF-Derived Exosomes (CDE) exhibit an efficient obligation to induce metabolic reprogramming for promoting growth and metastasis of cancer cells. The understanding of cancer metabolism, including factors related to TME, could lead to the discovery of a potential biomarker for diagnostic and therapeutic approaches in cancer management. This review focuses on the association between metabolic reprogramming and engaged microenvironmental, factors such as CAFs, and the associated derived exosomes.


2018 ◽  
Vol 1870 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linchong Sun ◽  
Caixia Suo ◽  
Shi-ting Li ◽  
Huafeng Zhang ◽  
Ping Gao

Metabolites ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 432
Author(s):  
Iván Ponce ◽  
Nelson Garrido ◽  
Nicolás Tobar ◽  
Francisco Melo ◽  
Patricio C. Smith ◽  
...  

Breast tumors belong to the type of desmoplastic lesion in which a stiffer tissue structure is a determinant of breast cancer progression and constitutes a risk factor for breast cancer development. It has been proposed that cancer-associated stromal cells (responsible for this fibrotic phenomenon) are able to metabolize glucose via lactate production, which supports the catabolic metabolism of cancer cells. The aim of this work was to investigate the possible functional link between these two processes. To measure the effect of matrix rigidity on metabolic determinations, we used compliant elastic polyacrylamide gels as a substrate material, to which matrix molecules were covalently linked. We evaluated metabolite transport in stromal cells using two different FRET (Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer) nanosensors specific for glucose and lactate. Cell migration/invasion was evaluated using Transwell devices. We show that increased stiffness stimulates lactate production and glucose uptake by mammary fibroblasts. This response was correlated with the expression of stromal glucose transporter Glut1 and monocarboxylate transporters MCT4. Moreover, mammary stromal cells cultured on stiff matrices generated soluble factors that stimulated epithelial breast migration in a stiffness-dependent manner. Using a normal breast stromal cell line, we found that a stiffer extracellular matrix favors the acquisition mechanistical properties that promote metabolic reprograming and also constitute a stimulus for epithelial motility. This new knowledge will help us to better understand the complex relationship between fibrosis, metabolic reprogramming, and cancer malignancy.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 3645
Author(s):  
Isabel Theresa Schobert ◽  
Lynn Jeanette Savic

With the increasing understanding of resistance mechanisms mediated by the metabolic reprogramming in cancer cells, there is a growing clinical interest in imaging technologies that allow for the non-invasive characterization of tumor metabolism and the interactions of cancer cells with the tumor microenvironment (TME) mediated through tumor metabolism. Specifically, tumor glycolysis and subsequent tissue acidosis in the realms of the Warburg effect may promote an immunosuppressive TME, causing a substantial barrier to the clinical efficacy of numerous immuno-oncologic treatments. Thus, imaging the varying individual compositions of the TME may provide a more accurate characterization of the individual tumor. This approach can help to identify the most suitable therapy for each individual patient and design new targeted treatment strategies that disable resistance mechanisms in liver cancer. This review article focuses on non-invasive positron-emission tomography (PET)- and MR-based imaging techniques that aim to visualize the crosstalk between tumor cells and their microenvironment in liver cancer mediated by tumor metabolism.


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