Edward M. Driggers

Cancer-associated IDH1 mutations produce 2-hydroxyglutarate

Mutations in the enzyme cytosolic isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) are a common feature of a major subset of primary human brain cancers. These mutations occur at a single amino acid residue of the IDH1 active site, resulting in loss of the enzyme’s ability to catalyse conversion of isocitrate to α-ketoglutarate. However, only a single copy of the gene is mutated in tumours, raising the possibility that the mutations do not result in a simple loss of function. Here we show that cancer-associated IDH1 mutations result in a new ability of the enzyme to catalyse the NADPH-dependent reduction of α-ketoglutarate to R(-)-2-hydroxyglutarate (2HG). Structural studies demonstrate that when arginine 132 is mutated to histidine, residues in the active site are shifted to produce structural changes consistent with reduced oxidative decarboxylation of isocitrate and acquisition of the ability to convert α-ketoglutarate to 2HG. Excess accumulation of 2HG has been shown to lead to an elevated risk of malignant brain tumours in patients with inborn errors of 2HG metabolism. Similarly, in human malignant gliomas harbouring IDH1 mutations, we find markedly elevated levels of 2HG. These data demonstrate that the IDH1 mutations result in production of the onco-metabolite 2HG, and indicate that the excess 2HG which accumulates in vivo contributes to the formation and malignant progression of gliomas.

Functional genomics reveal that the serine synthesis pathway is essential in breast cancer

Cancer cells adapt their metabolic processes to drive macromolecular biosynthesis for rapid cell growth and proliferation (1,2). RNAi-based loss of function screening has proven powerful for the identification of novel and interesting cancer targets, and recent studies have used this technology in vivo to identify novel tumor suppressor genes (3). Here, we developed a method for identifying novel cancer targets via negative selection RNAi screening in solid tumours. Using this method, we screened a set of metabolic genes associated with aggressive breast cancer and stemness to identify those required for in vivo tumourigenesis. Among the genes identified, phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase (PHGDH) is in a genomic region of recurrent copy number gain in breast cancer and PHGDH protein levels are elevated in 70% of ER-negative breast cancers. PHGDH catalyzes the first step in the serine biosynthesis pathway, and breast cancer cells with high PHGDH expression have elevations in serine synthesis flux. Suppression of PHGDH in cell lines with elevated PHGDH expression, but not those without, causes a strong decrease in cell proliferation and a reduction in serine synthesis. We find that PHGDH suppression does not affect intracellular serine levels, but causes a drop in the levels of alpha-ketoglutarate, another output of the pathway and a TCA cycle intermediate. In cells with high PHGDH expression, the serine synthesis pathway contributes approximately 50% of the total anaplerotic flux of glutamine into the TCA cycle. These results reveal that certain breast cancers are dependent upon increased serine pathway flux caused by PHGDH over-expression and demonstrate the utility of in vivo negative selection RNAi screens for finding potential anticancer targets.

Cancer-associated metabolite 2-hydroxyglutarate accumulates in acute myelogenous leukemia with isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 and 2 mutations

Mutations in isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 and 2 (IDH1/2), are present in most gliomas and secondary glioblastomas, but are rare in other neoplasms. IDH1/2 mutations are heterozygous, and affect a single arginine residue. Recently, IDH1 mutations were identified in 8% of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) patients. A glioma study revealed that IDH1 mutations cause a gain-of-function, resulting in the production and accumulation of 2-hydroxyglutarate (2-HG). Genotyping of 145 AML biopsies identified 11 IDH1 R132 mutant samples. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry metabolite screening revealed increased 2-HG levels in IDH1 R132 mutant cells and sera, and uncovered two IDH2 R172K mutations. IDH1/2 mutations were associated with normal karyotypes. Recombinant IDH1 R132C and IDH2 R172K proteins catalyze the novel nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH)–dependent reduction of α-ketoglutarate (α-KG) to 2-HG. The IDH1 R132C mutation commonly found in AML reduces the affinity for isocitrate, and increases the affinity for NADPH and α-KG. This prevents the oxidative decarboxylation of isocitrate to α-KG, and facilitates the conversion of α-KG to 2-HG. IDH1/2 mutations confer an enzymatic gain of function that dramatically increases 2-HG in AML. This provides an explanation for the heterozygous acquisition of these mutations during tumorigenesis. 2-HG is a tractable metabolic biomarker of mutant IDH1/2 enzyme activity.

Network Integration of Parallel Metabolic and Transcriptional Data Reveals Metabolic Modules that Regulate Macrophage Polarization

Macrophage polarization involves a coordinated metabolic and transcriptional rewiring that is only partially understood. By using an integrated high-throughput transcriptional-metabolic profiling and analysis pipeline, we characterized systemic changes during murine macrophage M1 and M2 polarization. M2 polarization was found to activate glutamine catabolism and UDP-GlcNAc-associated modules. Correspondingly, glutamine deprivation or inhibition of N-glycosylation decreased M2 polarization and production of chemokine CCL22. In M1 macrophages, we identified a metabolic break at Idh, the enzyme that converts isocitrate to alpha-ketoglutarate, providing mechanistic explanation for TCA cycle fragmentation. (13)C-tracer studies suggested the presence of an active variant of the aspartate-arginosuccinate shunt that compensated for this break. Consistently, inhibition of aspartate-aminotransferase, a key enzyme of the shunt, inhibited nitric oxide and interleukin-6 production in M1 macrophages, while promoting mitochondrial respiration. This systems approach provides a highly integrated picture of the physiological modules supporting macrophage polarization, identifying potential pharmacologic control points for both macrophage phenotypes.

Phosphofructokinase 1 Glycosylation Regulates Cell Growth and Metabolism

Metabolic Sensor The enzyme O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT) catalyzes the transfer of N-acetylglucosamine from uridine diphospho-N-acetylglucosamine (UDP-GlcNAc) to serine or threonine residues of intracellular proteins and responds to the metabolic status of the cell. Yi et al. (p. 975; see the Perspective by Mattaini and Vander Heiden) show that O-GlcNAcylation of phosphofructokinase 1 (PFK1) reduces its activity, thus influencing rates of glycolysis within cells. O-GlcNAcylation of PFK1 was increased in cells exposed to hypoxia, and was increased in several cell lines derived from human tumors. Thus, metabolic changes mediated by O-GlcNAcylation may benefit anabolism and growth of cancer cells. However, glycosylation of PFK1 was not detected in rapidly proliferating normal cells. Inhibition of a key metabolic enzyme reprograms metabolic flux toward pathways critical for cancer cell proliferation. Cancer cells must satisfy the metabolic demands of rapid cell growth within a continually changing microenvironment. We demonstrated that the dynamic posttranslational modification of proteins by O-linked β-N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAcylation) is a key metabolic regulator of glucose metabolism. O-GlcNAcylation was induced at serine 529 of phosphofructokinase 1 (PFK1) in response to hypoxia. Glycosylation inhibited PFK1 activity and redirected glucose flux through the pentose phosphate pathway, thereby conferring a selective growth advantage on cancer cells. Blocking glycosylation of PFK1 at serine 529 reduced cancer cell proliferation in vitro and impaired tumor formation in vivo. These studies reveal a previously uncharacterized mechanism for the regulation of metabolic pathways in cancer and a possible target for therapeutic intervention.

Metabolic and Functional Genomic Studies Identify Deoxythymidylate Kinase as a target in LKB1 Mutant Lung Cancer

The LKB1/STK11 tumor suppressor encodes a serine/threonine kinase, which coordinates cell growth, polarity, motility, and metabolism. In non-small cell lung carcinoma, LKB1 is somatically inactivated in 25% to 30% of cases, often concurrently with activating KRAS mutations. Here, we used an integrative approach to define novel therapeutic targets in KRAS-driven LKB1-mutant lung cancers. High-throughput RNA interference screens in lung cancer cell lines from genetically engineered mouse models driven by activated KRAS with or without coincident Lkb1 deletion led to the identification of Dtymk, encoding deoxythymidylate kinase (DTYMK), which catalyzes dTTP biosynthesis, as synthetically lethal with Lkb1 deficiency in mouse and human lung cancer lines. Global metabolite profiling showed that Lkb1-null cells had a striking decrease in multiple nucleotide metabolites as compared with the Lkb1-wild-type cells. Thus, LKB1-mutant lung cancers have deficits in nucleotide metabolism that confer hypersensitivity to DTYMK inhibition, suggesting that DTYMK is a potential therapeutic target in this aggressive subset of tumors.

Integration of omics: more than the sum of its parts

Genome scale data on biological systems has increasingly become available by sequencing of DNA and RNA, and by mass spectrometric quantification of proteins and metabolites. The cellular components from which these -omics regimes are derived act as one integrated system in vivo; thus, there is a natural instinct to integrate -omics data types. Statistical analyses, the use of previous knowledge in the form of networks, and the use of time-resolved measurements are three key design elements for life scientists to consider in planning integrated -omics studies. These design elements are reviewed in the context of multiple recent systems biology studies that leverage data from different types of -omics analyses. While most of these studies rely on well-established model organisms, the concepts for integrating -omics data that were developed in these studies can help to enable systems research in the field of cancer biology.

GAM: a web-service for integrated transcriptional and metabolic network analysis

Novel techniques for high-throughput steady-state metabolomic profiling yield information about changes of nearly thousands of metabolites. Such metabolomic profiles, when analyzed together with transcriptional profiles, can reveal novel insights about underlying biological processes. While a number of conceptual approaches have been developed for data integration, easily accessible tools for integrated analysis of mammalian steady-state metabolomic and transcriptional data are lacking. Here we present GAM (‘genes and metabolites’): a web-service for integrated network analysis of transcriptional and steady-state metabolomic data focused on identification of the most changing metabolic subnetworks between two conditions of interest. In the web-service, we have pre-assembled metabolic networks for humans, mice, Arabidopsis and yeast and adapted exact solvers for an optimal subgraph search to work in the context of these metabolic networks. The output is the most regulated metabolic subnetwork of size controlled by false discovery rate parameters. The subnetworks are then visualized online and also can be downloaded in Cytoscape format for subsequent processing. The web-service is available at: https://artyomovlab.wustl.edu/shiny/gam/

Abstract 33: Cancer-associated IDH1 mutations produce 2-hydroxyglutarate

Proceedings: AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010‐‐ Apr 17‐21, 2010; Washington, DC Mutations in the enzyme isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) are a common feature of most gliomas and secondary glioblastomas, as well as approx 10% acute myeloid leukemias. This event results in loss of the enzymes ability to catalyze conversion of isocitrate to α -ketoglutarate. However, these mutations are all heterozygous and occur at a single amino acid residue of the IDH1 active site consistent with an enzymatic gain of function rather than a simple loss of function. To test this hypothesis we characterized mutant IDH1 (IDH1m) biochemically. We have shown that cancer-associated IDH1 mutations result in a new ability of the enzyme to catalyze the NADPH-dependent reduction of α-ketoglutarate to R(-)-2-hydroxyglutarate (2-HG). Patients with an inherited, neurometabolic disorders called 2-hydroxyglutaric aciduria exhibit an accumulation of 2-HG in their CNS, and an increased risk of developing malignant brain tumors. Similarly, in human malignant gliomas harboring IDH1 mutations, we find elevated levels of 2-HG. Altogether our data demonstrate that the IDH1 mutations result in production of 2-HG, and suggest that the excess 2HG which accumulates in vivo contributes to the formation and malignant progression of gliomas. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 33.

Abstract LB-129: Evidence from expression profiling, proteomics, metabolomics and FDG-PET of an estrogen-dependent metabolic switch in tuberin-null cells.

Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) is a female predominant lung disease characterized by widely-distributed nodules of ‘LAM’ cells and progressive cyst formation that leads to respiratory failure. LAM cells typically have mutation or inactivation of TSC2, leading to mTORC1 activation. We previously demonstrated that estrogen promotes the survival of tuberin-deficient ELT3 cells both in vitro and in vivo, and that estrogen treatment of mice bearing ELT3 cells xenograft tumors promotes lung metastasis. This estrogen-induced cell survival and metastasis was inhibited in vivo by the MEK inhibitor CI-1040. To elucidate pro-survival events mediated by estrogen in tuberin-null cells, we compared Tsc2-null ELT3 cell xenograft tumors from estrogen or placebo-treated mice using expression profiling and proteomic analysis . Expression profiling of ELT3 cell xenograft tumors revealed that estrogen upregulates the expression of genes in lipid and amino acid metabolism pathways. Among these genes, the estrogen-induced expression of amino adipatetransferase (AADAT), which is involved in lysine degradation, has been confirmed by immunoblotting of tumor lysates. Using iTRAQ proteomics from ELT3 xenograft tumors, we identified 40 proteins that are significantly regulated by estrogen, including proteins involved in carbohydrate metabolism (creatine kinase), amino acid degradation (aspartate aminotransferase) and lipid metabolism (isocitrate dehydrogenase). Metabolic profiling by LC/MS/MS of TSC2-null angiomyolipoma-derived cells from a LAM patient (621-101 cells) showed a temporal effect of rapamycin (10 nM) on the accumulation of pentose phosphate pathway intermediates and glycolytic metabolites. Cellular amino acid levels were reduced after rapamycin treatment. Consistent with a metabolic switch occurring in LAM, we found, using IHC staining, that the tumor-associated PKM2 is abundantly expressed in ELT3 cell xenograft tumors, lung metastatic lesions from estrogen-treated mice bearing ELT3 cell xenograft tumors, and in human LAM cell nodules. Finally, using FDG-PET, we found that xenograft ELT3 cell tumors in estrogen-treated mice exhibited higher levels of uptake compared with placebo-treated mice. In conclusion, gene expression profiling indicated that estrogen enhances the expression of genes which products regulate glucose and amino acid metabolism. Proteomic analysis showed estrogen-regulated candidates involved in glycolysis, amino acid, and lipid metabolisms. Metabolomic screening revealed that cells lacking tuberin have a metabolic response to rapamycin treatment. FDG-PET imaging showed enhanced uptake in estrogen-treated xenograft tumors. Collectively, these data indicate that cellular metabolic alterations may contribute to the pathogenesis of LAM. Targeting metabolic regulators might have therapeutic benefit for LAM. Citation Format: Yang Sun, Chenggang Li, Kevin Marks, Erik Zhang, Tasha Morrison, Mi-Ae Park, Shuyan Wang, Simon Dillon, Manoj Bhasin, Towia Libermann, Edward Driggers, Victor Gerbaudo, Elizabeth Petri Henske, Jane Yu. Evidence from expression profiling, proteomics, metabolomics and FDG-PET of an estrogen-dependent metabolic switch in tuberin-null cells. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-129. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-LB-129