Browsing by Author "Locasale, Jason W"

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    Metabolic pattern formation in the tumor microenvironment.
    (Mol Syst Biol, 2017-02-09) Dai, Ziwei; Locasale, Jason W
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    Metabolic programming and PDHK1 control CD4+ T cell subsets and inflammation.
    (J Clin Invest, 2015-01) Gerriets, Valerie A; Kishton, Rigel J; Nichols, Amanda G; Macintyre, Andrew N; Inoue, Makoto; Ilkayeva, Olga; Winter, Peter S; Liu, Xiaojing; Priyadharshini, Bhavana; Slawinska, Marta E; Haeberli, Lea; Huck, Catherine; Turka, Laurence A; Wood, Kris C; Hale, Laura P; Smith, Paul A; Schneider, Martin A; MacIver, Nancie J; Locasale, Jason W; Newgard, Christopher B; Shinohara, Mari L; Rathmell, Jeffrey C
    Activation of CD4+ T cells results in rapid proliferation and differentiation into effector and regulatory subsets. CD4+ effector T cell (Teff) (Th1 and Th17) and Treg subsets are metabolically distinct, yet the specific metabolic differences that modify T cell populations are uncertain. Here, we evaluated CD4+ T cell populations in murine models and determined that inflammatory Teffs maintain high expression of glycolytic genes and rely on high glycolytic rates, while Tregs are oxidative and require mitochondrial electron transport to proliferate, differentiate, and survive. Metabolic profiling revealed that pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) is a key bifurcation point between T cell glycolytic and oxidative metabolism. PDH function is inhibited by PDH kinases (PDHKs). PDHK1 was expressed in Th17 cells, but not Th1 cells, and at low levels in Tregs, and inhibition or knockdown of PDHK1 selectively suppressed Th17 cells and increased Tregs. This alteration in the CD4+ T cell populations was mediated in part through ROS, as N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) treatment restored Th17 cell generation. Moreover, inhibition of PDHK1 modulated immunity and protected animals against experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, decreasing Th17 cells and increasing Tregs. Together, these data show that CD4+ subsets utilize and require distinct metabolic programs that can be targeted to control specific T cell populations in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.
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    Paracrine Wnt5a-β-Catenin Signaling Triggers a Metabolic Program that Drives Dendritic Cell Tolerization.
    (Immunity, 2018-01) Zhao, Fei; Xiao, Christine; Evans, Kathy S; Theivanthiran, Tbalamayooran; DeVito, Nicholas; Holtzhausen, Alisha; Liu, Juan; Liu, Xiaojing; Boczkowski, David; Nair, Smita; Locasale, Jason W; Hanks, Brent A
    Despite recent advances, many cancers remain refractory to available immunotherapeutic strategies. Emerging evidence indicates that the tolerization of local dendritic cells (DCs) within the tumor microenvironment promotes immune evasion. Here, we have described a mechanism by which melanomas establish a site of immune privilege via a paracrine Wnt5a-β-catenin-peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPAR-γ) signaling pathway that drives fatty acid oxidation (FAO) in DCs by upregulating the expression of the carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1A (CPT1A) fatty acid transporter. This FAO shift increased the protoporphyrin IX prosthetic group of indoleamine 2,3-dioxgenase-1 (IDO) while suppressing interleukin(IL)-6 and IL-12 cytokine expression, culminating in enhanced IDO activity and the generation of regulatory T cells. We demonstrated that blockade of this pathway augmented anti-melanoma immunity, enhanced the activity of anti-PD-1 antibody immunotherapy, and suppressed disease progression in a transgenic melanoma model. This work implicates a role for tumor-mediated metabolic reprogramming of local DCs in immune evasion and immunotherapy resistance.
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    Pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase supports macrophage NLRP3 inflammasome activation during acute inflammation.
    (Cell reports, 2023-01) Meyers, Allison K; Wang, Zhan; Han, Wenzheng; Zhao, Qingxia; Zabalawi, Manal; Duan, Likun; Liu, Juan; Zhang, Qianyi; Manne, Rajesh K; Lorenzo, Felipe; Quinn, Matthew A; Song, Qianqian; Fan, Daping; Lin, Hui-Kuan; Furdui, Cristina M; Locasale, Jason W; McCall, Charles E; Zhu, Xuewei
    Activating the macrophage NLRP3 inflammasome can promote excessive inflammation with severe cell and tissue damage and organ dysfunction. Here, we show that pharmacological or genetic inhibition of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase (PDHK) significantly attenuates NLRP3 inflammasome activation in murine and human macrophages and septic mice by lowering caspase-1 cleavage and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) secretion. Inhibiting PDHK reverses NLRP3 inflammasome-induced metabolic reprogramming, enhances autophagy, promotes mitochondrial fusion over fission, preserves crista ultrastructure, and attenuates mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. The suppressive effect of PDHK inhibition on the NLRP3 inflammasome is independent of its canonical role as a pyruvate dehydrogenase regulator. Our study suggests a non-canonical role of mitochondrial PDHK in promoting mitochondrial stress and supporting NLRP3 inflammasome activation during acute inflammation.