bims-meprid 2024-05-05 papers

Issue of 2024‒05‒05
three papers selected by
Alessandro Carrer, Veneto Institute of Molecular Medicine

Nat Metab. 2024 May 03.

Acetate reprogrammes tumour metabolism and promotes PD-L1 expression and immune evasion by upregulating c-Myc.

Juhong Wang, Yannan Yang, Fei Shao, Ying Meng, Dong Guo, Jie He, Zhimin Lu.

Acetate, a precursor of acetyl-CoA, is instrumental in energy production, lipid synthesis and protein acetylation. However, whether acetate reprogrammes tumour metabolism and plays a role in tumour immune evasion remains unclear. Here, we show that acetate is the most abundant short-chain fatty acid in human non-small cell lung cancer tissues, with increased tumour-enriched acetate uptake. Acetate-derived acetyl-CoA induces c-Myc acetylation, which is mediated by the moonlighting function of the metabolic enzyme dihydrolipoamide S-acetyltransferase. Acetylated c-Myc increases its stability and subsequent transcription of the genes encoding programmed death-ligand 1, glycolytic enzymes, monocarboxylate transporter 1 and cell cycle accelerators. Dietary acetate supplementation promotes tumour growth and inhibits CD8+ T cell infiltration, whereas disruption of acetate uptake inhibits immune evasion, which increases the efficacy of anti-PD-1-based therapy. These findings highlight a critical role of acetate promoting tumour growth beyond its metabolic role as a carbon source by reprogramming tumour metabolism and immune evasion, and underscore the potential of controlling acetate metabolism to curb tumour growth and improve the response to immune checkpoint blockade therapy.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-024-01037-4

Cell Rep. 2024 Apr 30. pii: S2211-1247(24)00504-7. [Epub ahead of print]43(5): 114176

PRMT1 promotes epigenetic reprogramming associated with acquired chemoresistance in pancreatic cancer.

Chan D K Nguyen, Benjamín A Colón-Emeric, Shigekazu Murakami, Mia N Y Shujath, Chunling Yi.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) carries a dismal prognosis due to therapeutic resistance. We show that PDAC cells undergo global epigenetic reprogramming to acquire chemoresistance, a process that is driven at least in part by protein arginine methyltransferase 1 (PRMT1). Genetic or pharmacological PRMT1 inhibition impairs adaptive epigenetic reprogramming and delays acquired resistance to gemcitabine and other common chemo drugs. Mechanistically, gemcitabine treatment induces translocation of PRMT1 into the nucleus, where its enzymatic activity limits the assembly of chromatin-bound MAFF/BACH1 transcriptional complexes. Cut&Tag chromatin profiling of H3K27Ac, MAFF, and BACH1 suggests a pivotal role for MAFF/BACH1 in global epigenetic response to gemcitabine, which is confirmed by genetically silencing MAFF. PRMT1 and MAFF/BACH1 signature genes identified by Cut&Tag analysis distinguish gemcitabine-resistant from gemcitabine-sensitive patient-derived xenografts of PDAC, supporting the PRMT1-MAFF/BACH1 epigenetic regulatory axis as a potential therapeutic avenue for improving the efficacy and durability of chemotherapies in patients of PDAC.

Keywords: BACH1; CP: Cancer; MAFF; PRMT1; chemoresistance; epigenetic reprogramming; pancreatic cancer

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114176

J Cell Physiol. 2024 Apr 30.

Lactate-induced metabolic remodeling and myofiber type transitions via activation of the Ca2+-NFATC1 signaling pathway.

Yu Zhou, Xi Liu, Zhen Qi, Caihua Huang, Longhe Yang, Donghai Lin.

Lactate can serve as both an energy substrate and a signaling molecule, exerting diverse effects on skeletal muscle physiology. Due to the apparently positive effects, it would be interesting to consider it as a sports supplement. However, the mechanism behind these effects are yet to be comprehensively understood. In this study, we observed that lactate administration could improve the ability of antifatigue, and we further found that lactate upregulated the expression of myosin heavy chain (MYHC I) and MYHC IIa, while downregulating the expression of MYHC IIb. Besides, transcriptomics and metabolomics revealed significant changes in the metabolic profile of gastrocnemius muscle following lactate administration. Furthermore, lactate enhanced the activities of metabolic enzymes, including HK, LDHB, IDH, SDM, and MDH, and promoted the expression of lactate transport-related proteins MCT1 and CD147, thereby improving the transport and utilization of lactate in both vivo and vitro. More importantly, lactate administration increased cellular Ca2+ concentration and facilitated nuclear translocation of nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFATC1) in myotubes, whereas inhibition of NFATC1 significantly attenuated the effects of lactate treatment on NFATC1 nuclear translocation and MyHC expression. Our results elucidate the ability of lactate to induce metabolic remodeling in skeletal muscle and promote myofiber-type transitions by activating the Ca2+-NFATC1 signaling pathway. This study is useful in exploring the potential of lactate as a nutritional supplement for skeletal muscle adaptation and contributing to a mechanistic understanding of the central role of lactate in exercise physiology.

Keywords: Ca2+‐NAFTC1 signaling pathway; lactate; metabolic remodeling; myofiber type transitions

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jcp.31290