The constitutively active form of a key cholesterol synthesis enzyme is lipid droplet-localized and upregulated in endometrial cancer tissues

Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved..

Cholesterol is essential for both normal cell viability and cancer cell proliferation. Aberrant activity of squalene monooxygenase (SM, also known as squalene epoxidase), the rate-limiting enzyme of the committed cholesterol synthesis pathway, is accordingly implicated in a growing list of cancers. We previously reported that hypoxia triggers the truncation of SM to a constitutively active form, thus preserving sterol synthesis during oxygen shortfalls. Here, we show SM truncation is upregulated and correlates with the magnitude of hypoxia in endometrial cancer tissues, supporting the in vivo relevance of our earlier work. To further investigate the pathophysiological consequences of SM truncation, we examined its lipid droplet-localized pool using complementary immunofluorescence and cell fractionation approaches and found that it exclusively comprises the truncated enzyme. This partitioning is facilitated by the loss of an endoplasmic reticulum-embedded region at the SM N terminus, whereas the catalytic domain containing membrane-associated C-terminal helices is spared. Moreover, we determined multiple amphipathic helices contribute to the lipid droplet localization of truncated SM. Taken together, our results expand on the striking differences between the two forms of SM and suggest upregulated truncation may contribute to SM-related oncogenesis.

Medienart:

E-Artikel

Erscheinungsjahr:

2024

Erschienen:

2024

Enthalten in:

Zur Gesamtaufnahme - volume:300

Enthalten in:

The Journal of biological chemistry - 300(2024), 5 vom: 26. März, Seite 107232

Sprache:

Englisch

Beteiligte Personen:

Coates, Hudson W [VerfasserIn]
Nguyen, Tina B [VerfasserIn]
Du, Ximing [VerfasserIn]
Olzomer, Ellen M [VerfasserIn]
Farrell, Rhonda [VerfasserIn]
Byrne, Frances L [VerfasserIn]
Yang, Hongyuan [VerfasserIn]
Brown, Andrew J [VerfasserIn]

Links:

Volltext

Themen:

Cancer
Cholesterol
Journal Article
Lipid droplets
Protein degradation
Squalene monooxygenase

Anmerkungen:

Date Revised 24.04.2024

published: Print-Electronic

Citation Status Publisher

doi:

10.1016/j.jbc.2024.107232

funding:

Förderinstitution / Projekttitel:

PPN (Katalog-ID):

NLM370272439