SETDB1-mediated methylation of Akt promotes its K63-linked ubiquitination and activation leading to tumorigenesis.

Abstract

The serine/threonine kinase Akt plays a central role in cell proliferation, survival and metabolism, and its hyperactivation is linked to cancer progression. Here we report that Akt undergoes K64 methylation by SETDB1, which is crucial for cell membrane recruitment, phosphorylation and activation of Akt following growth factor stimulation. Furthermore, we reveal an adaptor function of histone demethylase JMJD2A, which is important for recognizing Akt K64 methylation and recruits E3 ligase TRAF6 and Skp2-SCF to the Akt complex, independently of its demethylase activity, thereby initiating K63-linked ubiquitination, cell membrane recruitment and activation of Akt. Notably, the cancer-associated Akt mutant E17K displays enhanced K64 methylation, leading to its hyper-phosphorylation and activation. SETDB1-mediated Akt K64 methylation is upregulated and correlated with Akt hyperactivation in non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC), promotes tumour development and predicts poor outcome. Collectively, these findings reveal complicated layers of Akt activation regulation coordinated by SETDB1-mediated Akt K64 methylation to drive tumorigenesis.

Department

Description

Provenance

Subjects

NIH 3T3 Cells, Animals, Mice, Inbred BALB C, Mice, Knockout, Humans, Mice, Mice, Nude, Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung, Lung Neoplasms, Protein Methyltransferases, Histone-Lysine N-Methyltransferase, Lysine, Transplantation, Heterologous, Methylation, Female, Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt, Ubiquitination, HEK293 Cells, Carcinogenesis, A549 Cells

Citation

Published Version (Please cite this version)

10.1038/s41556-018-0266-1

Publication Info

Wang, Guihua, Jie Long, Yuan Gao, Weina Zhang, Fei Han, Chuan Xu, Li Sun, Shun-Chin Yang, et al. (2019). SETDB1-mediated methylation of Akt promotes its K63-linked ubiquitination and activation leading to tumorigenesis. Nature cell biology, 21(2). pp. 214–225. 10.1038/s41556-018-0266-1 Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/33829.

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Scholars@Duke

Hsu

Che-Chia Hsu

Assistant Professor of Pathology

My research has focused on mitochondrial functions in cancer metabolism and understand the role of mitochondrial dynamics in cellular function and human diseases including cancers. Additionally, I also continuously dissect cancer metabolism and identifying potential metabolic vulnerabilities of cancer initiation, progression and metastasis using several in vitroex vivo and in vivo genetical approaches such as CRISPR/Cas9 knockout, mouse/ human organoid cultures and genetically engineered mouse models, thereby characterizing molecular mechanisms regulated by metabolic pathways and developing potential metabolic interventions for targeting cancers. 

Lin

Hui-Kuan Lin

Fred and Janet Sanfilippo Distinguished Professor

The research interest in Dr. Lin lab is to understand oncogenic networks between oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes, dissect the regulatory mechanisms underlying  the crosstalk between ageing and cancer, to unravel the role of posttranslational modifications (PTMs) such as ubiquitination  and metabolism in diverse molecular and biological processes important for cancer progression and metastasis, cancer stem regulation, cancer immunity and drug resistance by using biochemical and molecular approaches along with and genetic mouse models, and finally to develop small molecule inhibitors and antibodies targeting critical oncogenic signaling and metabolic vulnerabilities for cancer treatment. His research goals aim to not only reveal fundamental insights and concepts for cancer biology and cancer immunity, but also develop novel paradigms and therapeutic strategies for targeting human cancer and overcoming drug resistance.

Research interests include:

  • Crosstalk between oncogenic and tumor suppressor networks
  • Posttranslational modifications in signaling and cancer
  • Cancer progression and metastasis
  • Biology of normal and cancer stem cells
  • Metabolism in cancer and ageing

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