scholarly journals Role of Protein Kinase CK2 in Aberrant Lipid Metabolism in 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.

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.


Author(s):  
Duc-Vinh Pham ◽  
Pil-Hoon Park

Abstract Background Adiponectin, the most abundant adipokine derived from adipose tissue, exhibits a potent suppressive effect on the growth of breast cancer cells; however, the underlying molecular mechanisms for this effect are not completely understood. Fatty acid metabolic reprogramming has recently been recognized as a crucial driver of cancer progression. Adiponectin demonstrates a wide range of metabolic activities for the modulation of lipid metabolism under physiological conditions. However, the biological actions of adiponectin in cancer-specific lipid metabolism and its role in the regulation of cancer cell growth remain elusive. Methods The effects of adiponectin on fatty acid metabolism were evaluated by measuring the cellular neutral lipid pool, free fatty acid level, and fatty acid oxidation (FAO). Colocalization between fluorescent-labeled lipid droplets and LC3/lysosomes was employed to detect lipophagy activation. Cell viability and apoptosis were examined by MTS assay, caspase-3/7 activity measurement, TUNEL assay, and Annexin V binding assay. Gene expression was determined by real time-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and western blot analysis. The transcriptional activity of SREBP-1 was examined by a specific dsDNA binding assay. The modulatory roles of SIRT-1 and adiponectin-activated mediators were confirmed by gene silencing and/or using their pharmacological inhibitors. Observations from in vitro assays were further validated in an MDA-MB-231 orthotopic breast tumor model. Results Globular adiponectin (gAcrp) prominently decreased the cellular lipid pool in different breast cancer cells. The cellular lipid deficiency promoted apoptosis by causing disruption of lipid rafts and blocking raft-associated signal transduction. Mechanistically, dysregulated cellular lipid homeostasis by adiponectin was induced by two concerted actions: 1) suppression of fatty acid synthesis (FAS) through downregulation of SREBP-1 and FAS-related enzymes, and 2) stimulation of lipophagy-mediated lipolysis and FAO. Notably, SIRT-1 induction critically contributed to the adiponectin-induced metabolic alterations. Finally, fatty acid metabolic remodeling by adiponectin and the key role of SIRT-1 were confirmed in nude mice bearing breast tumor xenografts. Conclusion This study elucidates the multifaceted role of adiponectin in tumor fatty acid metabolic reprogramming and provides evidence for the connection between its metabolic actions and suppression of breast cancer.


2000 ◽  
Vol 276 (8) ◽  
pp. 5992-5999 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chuanhai Guo ◽  
Shihui Yu ◽  
Alan T. Davis ◽  
Huamin Wang ◽  
Jeffrey E. Green ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 183-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ming Chen ◽  
Jiaoti Huang

Abstract Cancer cells undergo metabolic reprogramming to support cell proliferation, growth, and dissemination. Alterations in lipid metabolism, and specifically the uptake and synthesis of fatty acids (FAs), comprise one well-documented aspect of this reprogramming. Recent studies have revealed an expanded range of roles played by FA in promoting the aggressiveness of cancer while simultaneously identifying new potential targets for cancer therapy. This article provides a brief review of these advances in our understanding of FA metabolism in cancer, highlighting both recent discoveries and the inherent challenges caused by the metabolic plasticity of cancer cells in targeting lipid metabolism for cancer therapy.


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.


Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 875
Author(s):  
Gerald Thiel ◽  
Tobias Schmidt ◽  
Oliver G. Rössler

Ca2+ ions function as second messengers regulating many intracellular events, including neurotransmitter release, exocytosis, muscle contraction, metabolism and gene transcription. Cells of a multicellular organism express a variety of cell-surface receptors and channels that trigger an increase of the intracellular Ca2+ concentration upon stimulation. The elevated Ca2+ concentration is not uniformly distributed within the cytoplasm but is organized in subcellular microdomains with high and low concentrations of Ca2+ at different locations in the cell. Ca2+ ions are stored and released by intracellular organelles that change the concentration and distribution of Ca2+ ions. A major function of the rise in intracellular Ca2+ is the change of the genetic expression pattern of the cell via the activation of Ca2+-responsive transcription factors. It has been proposed that Ca2+-responsive transcription factors are differently affected by a rise in cytoplasmic versus nuclear Ca2+. Moreover, it has been suggested that the mode of entry determines whether an influx of Ca2+ leads to the stimulation of gene transcription. A rise in cytoplasmic Ca2+ induces an intracellular signaling cascade, involving the activation of the Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein phosphatase calcineurin and various protein kinases (protein kinase C, extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase, Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinases). In this review article, we discuss the concept of gene regulation via elevated Ca2+ concentration in the cytoplasm and the nucleus, the role of Ca2+ entry and the role of enzymes as signal transducers. We give particular emphasis to the regulation of gene transcription by calcineurin, linking protein dephosphorylation with Ca2+ signaling and gene expression.


Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 181
Author(s):  
Francesca Zonta ◽  
Christian Borgo ◽  
Camila Paz Quezada Meza ◽  
Ionica Masgras ◽  
Andrea Rasola ◽  
...  

CK2 is a Ser/Thr protein kinase overexpressed in many cancers. It is usually present in cells as a tetrameric enzyme, composed of two catalytic (α or α’) and two regulatory (β) subunits, but it is active also in its monomeric form, and the specific role of the different isoforms is largely unknown. CK2 phosphorylates several substrates related to the uncontrolled proliferation, motility, and survival of cancer cells. As a consequence, tumor cells are addicted to CK2, relying on its activity more than healthy cells for their life, and exploiting it for developing multiple oncological hallmarks. However, little is known about CK2 contribution to the metabolic rewiring of cancer cells. With this study we aimed at shedding some light on it, especially focusing on the CK2 role in the glycolytic onco-phenotype. By analyzing neuroblastoma and osteosarcoma cell lines depleted of either one (α) or the other (α’) CK2 catalytic subunit, we also aimed at disclosing possible pro-tumor functions which are specific of a CK2 isoform. Our results suggest that both CK2 α and α’ contribute to cell proliferation, survival and tumorigenicity. The analyzed metabolic features disclosed a role of CK2 in tumor metabolism, and suggest prominent functions for CK2 α isoform. Results were also confirmed by CK2 pharmacological inhibition. Overall, our study provides new information on the mechanism of cancer cells addiction to CK2 and on its isoform-specific functions, with fundamental implications for improving future therapeutic strategies based on CK2 targeting.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 3485
Author(s):  
Assunta Sellitto ◽  
Giovanni Pecoraro ◽  
Giorgio Giurato ◽  
Giovanni Nassa ◽  
Francesca Rizzo ◽  
...  

Metabolic reprogramming is a well described hallmark of cancer. Oncogenic stimuli and the microenvironment shape the metabolic phenotype of cancer cells, causing pathological modifications of carbohydrate, amino acid and lipid metabolism that support the uncontrolled growth and proliferation of cancer cells. Conversely, metabolic alterations in cancer can drive changes in genetic programs affecting cell proliferation and differentiation. In recent years, the role of non-coding RNAs in metabolic reprogramming in cancer has been extensively studied. Here, we review this topic, with a focus on glucose, glutamine, and lipid metabolism and point to some evidence that metabolic alterations occurring in cancer can drive changes in non-coding RNA expression, thus adding an additional level of complexity in the relationship between metabolism and genetic programs in cancer cells.


Blood ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 96 (13) ◽  
pp. 4142-4151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcin Majka ◽  
Anna Janowska-Wieczorek ◽  
Janina Ratajczak ◽  
M. Anna Kowalska ◽  
Gaston Vilaire ◽  
...  

Abstract The role of the chemokine binding stromal-derived factor 1 (SDF-1) in normal human megakaryopoiesis at the cellular and molecular levels and its comparison with that of thrombopoietin (TPO) have not been determined. In this study it was found that SDF-1, unlike TPO, does not stimulate αIIbβ3+ cell proliferation or differentiation or have an antiapoptotic effect. However, it does induce chemotaxis, trans-Matrigel migration, and secretion of matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) by these cells, and both SDF-1 and TPO increase the adhesion of αIIbβ3+ cells to fibrinogen and vitronectin. Investigating the intracellular signaling pathways induced by SDF-1 and TPO revealed some overlapping patterns of protein phosphorylation/activation (mitogen-activated protein kinase [MAPK] p42/44, MAPK p38, and AKT [protein kinase B]) and some that were distinct for TPO (eg, JAK-STAT) and for SDF-1 (eg, NF-κB). It was also found that though inhibition of phosphatidyl-inositol 3-kinase (PI-3K) by LY294002 in αIIbβ3+ cells induced apoptosis and inhibited chemotaxis adhesion and the secretion of MMP-9 and VEGF, the inhibition of MAPK p42/44 (by the MEK inhibitor U0126) had no effect on the survival, proliferation, and migration of these cells. Hence, it is suggested that the proliferative effect of TPO is more related to activation of the JAK-STAT pathway (unique to TPO), and the PI-3K–AKT axis is differentially involved in TPO- and SDF-1–dependent signaling. Accordingly, PI-3K is involved in TPO-mediated inhibition of apoptosis, TPO- and SDF-1–regulated adhesion to fibrinogen and vitronectin, and SDF-1–mediated migration. This study expands the understanding of the role of SDF-1 and TPO in normal human megakaryopoiesis and indicates the molecular basis of the observed differences in cellular responses.


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