Synthetic Essentiality of Metabolic Regulator PDHK1 in PTEN-Deficient Cells and Cancers

  • Nilanjana Chatterjee*
  • , Evangelos Pazarentzos
  • , Manasi K. Mayekar
  • , Philippe Gui
  • , David V. Allegakoen
  • , Gorjan Hrustanovic
  • , Victor Olivas
  • , Luping Lin
  • , Erik Verschueren
  • , Jeffrey R. Johnson
  • , M. Hofree
  • , Jenny J. Yan
  • , Billy W. Newton
  • , John V. Dollen
  • , Charles H. Earnshaw
  • , Jennifer Flanagan
  • , E. Chan
  • , Saurabh Asthana
  • , Trey Ideker
  • , Wei Wu
  • J. Suzuki, Benjamin A. Barad, Y. Kirichok, James S. Fraser, William A. Weiss, Nevan J. Krogan, A. Tulpule, Amit J. Sabnis, Trever G. Bivona
*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

17 Scopus citations

Abstract

Phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN) is a tumor suppressor and bi-functional lipid and protein phosphatase. We report that the metabolic regulator pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase1 (PDHK1) is a synthetic-essential gene in PTEN-deficient cancer and normal cells. The PTEN protein phosphatase dephosphorylates nuclear factor κB (NF-κB)-activating protein (NKAP) and limits NFκB activation to suppress expression of PDHK1, a NF-κB target gene. Loss of the PTEN protein phosphatase upregulates PDHK1 to induce aerobic glycolysis and PDHK1 cellular dependence. PTEN-deficient human tumors harbor increased PDHK1, a biomarker of decreased patient survival. This study uncovers a PTEN-regulated signaling pathway and reveals PDHK1 as a potential target in PTEN-deficient cancers. The tumor suppressor PTEN is widely inactivated in cancers and tumor syndromes. Currently, there is no effective therapeutic strategy in the clinic for PTEN-deficient cancers. Chatterjee et al. found that PTEN-deficient cells and cancers are uniquely sensitive to PDHK1 inhibition and propose PDHK1 as a potential therapeutic target in PTEN-deficient cancers.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2317-2330.e8
JournalCell Reports
Volume28
Issue number9
DOIs
StatePublished - 27 Aug 2019
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 The Author(s)

Keywords

  • NF-κB
  • NKAP
  • PDHK1
  • PTEN
  • cancer
  • metabolism
  • protein phosphatase
  • signaling
  • synthetic lethality

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