1. Suppression of nuclear GSK3 signaling promotes serine/one-carbon metabolism and confers metabolic vulnerability in lung cancer cells
- Author
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Long He, Jennifer Endress, Sungyun Cho, Zhongchi Li, Yuxiang Zheng, John M. Asara, and John Blenis
- Subjects
Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 ,Multidisciplinary ,Lung Neoplasms ,Proto-Oncogene Proteins ,Serine ,Humans ,Carbon ,Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing ,Signal Transduction - Abstract
Serine/one-carbon metabolism provides critical resources for nucleotide biosynthesis and epigenetic maintenance and is thus necessary in cancer cell growth, although the detailed regulatory mechanisms remain unclear. We uncover a critical role of glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3) in regulating the expression of serine/one-carbon metabolic enzymes. Nuclear enrichment of GSK3 significantly suppresses genes that mediate de novo serine synthesis, including PHGDH, PSAT1, PSPH, and one-carbon metabolism, including SHMT2 and MTHFD2. FRAT1 promotes nuclear exclusion of GSK3, enhances serine/one-carbon metabolism, and, as a result, confers cell vulnerability to inhibitors that target this metabolic process such as SHIN1, a specific SHMT1/2 inhibitor. Furthermore, pharmacological or genetic suppression of GSK3 promotes serine/one-carbon metabolism and exhibits a significant synergistic effect in combination with SHIN1 in suppressing cancer cell proliferation in cultured cells and in vivo. Our observations indicate that inhibition of nuclear GSK3 signaling creates a vulnerability, which results in enhanced efficacy of serine/one-carbon metabolism inhibitors for the treatment of cancer.
- Published
- 2022