bims-meprid 2022-08-07 papers

Issue of 2022‒08‒07
four papers selected by
Alessandro Carrer
Veneto Institute of Molecular Medicine

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2022 Aug 09. 119(32): e2114758119

Targeting acetyl-CoA metabolism attenuates the formation of fear memories through reduced activity-dependent histone acetylation.

Desi C Alexander, Tanya Corman, Mariel Mendoza, Andrew Glass, Tal Belity, Ranran Wu, Rianne R Campbell, Joseph Han, Ashley A Keiser, Jeffrey Winkler, Marcelo A Wood, Thomas Kim, Benjamin A Garcia, Hagit Cohen, Philipp Mews, Gabor Egervari, Shelley L Berger.

Histone acetylation is a key component in the consolidation of long-term fear memories. Histone acetylation is fueled by acetyl-coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA), and recently, nuclear-localized metabolic enzymes that produce this metabolite have emerged as direct and local regulators of chromatin. In particular, acetyl-CoA synthetase 2 (ACSS2) mediates histone acetylation in the mouse hippocampus. However, whether ACSS2 regulates long-term fear memory remains to be determined. Here, we show that Acss2 knockout is well tolerated in mice, yet the Acss2-null mouse exhibits reduced acquisition of long-term fear memory. Loss of Acss2 leads to reductions in both histone acetylation and expression of critical learning and memory-related genes in the dorsal hippocampus, specifically following fear conditioning. Furthermore, systemic administration of blood-brain barrier-permeable Acss2 inhibitors during the consolidation window reduces fear-memory formation in mice and rats and reduces anxiety in a predator-scent stress paradigm. Our findings suggest that nuclear acetyl-CoA metabolism via ACSS2 plays a critical, previously unappreciated, role in the formation of fear memories.

Keywords: epigenetics; fear conditioning; histone acetylation; learning and memory; mass spectrometry

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2114758119

Cancer Discov. 2022 Aug 05. OF1

PI3K-AKT Inhibits PANK4 to Promote De Novo Synthesis of Coenzyme A.

AKT inhibits the metabolic enzyme PANK4 to promote the de novo synthesis of coenzyme A (CoA).

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1158/2159-8290.CD-RW2022-140

Front Immunol. 2022 ;13 885685

Involvement of Histone Lysine Crotonylation in the Regulation of Nerve-Injury-Induced Neuropathic Pain.

Yu Zou, Xue-Hui Bai, Ling-Chi Kong, Fei-Fei Xu, Ting-Yu Ding, Peng-Fei Zhang, Fu-Lu Dong, Yue-Juan Ling, Bao-Chun Jiang.

Histone lysine crotonylation (KCR), a novel epigenetic modification, is important in regulating a broad spectrum of biological processes and various diseases. However, whether KCR is involved in neuropathic pain remains to be elucidated. We found KCR occurs in macrophages, sensory neurons, and satellite glial cells of trigeminal ganglia (TG), neurons, astrocytes, and microglia of the medulla oblongata. KCR in TG was detected mainly in small and medium sensory neurons, to a lesser extent in large neurons. Peripheral nerve injury elevated KCR levels in macrophages in the trigeminal and dorsal root ganglia and microglia in the medulla oblongata but reduced KCR levels in sensory neurons. Inhibition of histone crotonyltransferases (p300) by intra-TG or intrathecal administration of C646 significantly alleviated partial infraorbital nerve transection (pIONT)- or spinal nerve ligation (SNL)-induced mechanical allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia. Intra-TG or intrathecal administration of Crotonyl coenzyme A trilithium salt to upregulate KCR dose-dependently induced mechanical allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia in mice. Mechanismly, inhibition of p300 alleviated pIONT-induced macrophage activation and reduced the expression of pain-related inflammatory cytokines Tnfα, Il1β and chemokines Ccl2 and Cxcl10. Correspondingly, exogenous crotonyl-CoA induced macrophage activation and the expression of Tnfα, Il1β, Il6, Ccl2 and Ccl7 in TG, which C646 can repress. These findings suggest that histone crotonylation might be functionally involved in neuropathic pain and neuroinflammation regulation.

Keywords: chemokine; histone crotonylation; inflammatory cytokines; macrophage; neuropathic pain; partial infraorbital nerve transection

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2022.885685

J Biol Chem. 2022 Aug 02. pii: S0021-9258(22)00782-7. [Epub ahead of print] 102340

EGF promotes PKM2 O-GlcNAcylation by stimulating O-GlcNAc transferase phosphorylation at Y976 and their subsequent association.

Yang Wang, Hengyao Shu, Jia Liu, Xin Jin, Lihua Wang, Yanzhao Qu, Mingjie Xia, Pinghui Peng, Yunpeng Feng, Min Wei.

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) is one of the most well-characterized growth factors and plays a crucial role in cell proliferation and differentiation. Its receptor EGFR has been extensively explored as a therapeutic target against multiple types of cancers, such as lung cancer and glioblastoma. Recent studies have established a connection between deregulated EGF signaling and metabolic reprogramming, especially rewiring in aerobic glycolysis, which is also known as the Warburg effect and recognized as a hallmark in cancer. Pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) is a rate-limiting enzyme controlling the final step of glycolysis and serves as a major regulator of the Warburg effect. We previously showed that PKM2 T405/S406 O-GlcNAcylation, a critical mark important for PKM2 de-tetramerization and activity, was markedly upregulated by EGF. However, the mechanism by which EGF regulates PKM2 O-GlcNAcylation still remains uncharacterized. Here, we demonstrated that EGF promoted O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT) binding to PKM2 by stimulating OGT Y976 phosphorylation. As a consequence, we found PKM2 O-GlcNAcylation and de-tetramerization were upregulated, leading to a significant decrease in PKM2 activity. Moreover, distinct from PKM2, we observed that the association of additional phosphotyrosine binding proteins with OGT was also enhanced when Y976 was phosphorylated. These proteins included STAT1, STAT3, STAT5, PKCδ, and p85, which are reported to be O-GlcNAcylated. Together, we show EGF-dependent Y976 phosphorylation is critical for OGT-PKM2 interaction and propose that this post-translational modification might be important for substrate selection by OGT.

Keywords: O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT); O-GlcNAcylation; epidermal growth factor (EGF); phosphorylation; phosphotyrosine binding protein; pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbc.2022.102340