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Review
. 2013 Sep;123(9):3652-8.
doi: 10.1172/JCI67228. Epub 2013 Sep 3.

Oncometabolites: linking altered metabolism with cancer

Ming Yang  1 , Tomoyoshi Soga, Patrick J Pollard
Affiliations
Review

Oncometabolites: linking altered metabolism with cancer

Ming Yang et al. J Clin Invest. 2013 Sep.

Abstract

The discovery of cancer-associated mutations in genes encoding key metabolic enzymes has provided a direct link between altered metabolism and cancer. Advances in mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance technologies have facilitated high-resolution metabolite profiling of cells and tumors and identified the accumulation of metabolites associated with specific gene defects. Here we review the potential roles of such "oncometabolites" in tumor evolution and as clinical biomarkers for the detection of cancers characterized by metabolic dysregulation.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. D-2HG produced by mutant IDH1/2 affects metabolism and epigenetics by modulating activities of α-KG–dependent oxygenases.
Wild-type IDH1 and IDH2 catalyze the NADP+-dependent reversible conversion of isocitrate to α-KG, whereas cancer-associated gain-of-function mutations enable mutant IDH1/2 (mIDH1/2) to catalyze the oxidation of α-KG to D-2HG, using NADPH as a cofactor. Because D-2HG is structurally similar to α-KG, its accumulation can modulate the activities of α-KG–utilizing dioxygenases. Inhibition of 5mC hydroxylase TET2 and the KDMs results in increased CpG island methylation and increased histone methylation marks, respectively, thus blocking lineage-specific cell differentiation. Inhibition of collagen prolyl and lysyl hydroxylases (C-P4Hs and PLODs, respectively) leads to impaired collagen maturation and disrupted basement membrane formation. D-2HG can also stimulate the activities of HIF PHDs, leading to enhanced HIF degradation and a diminished HIF response, which are associated with increased soft agar growth of human astrocytes and growth factor independence of leukemic cells. Together these processes exert pleiotrophic effects on cell signaling and gene expression that probably contribute to the malignancy of IDH1/2-mutant cells.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Candidate oncogenic mechanisms of succinate and fumarate accumulation.
SDH and FH are Krebs cycle enzymes and tumor suppressors. Loss-of-function mutations in SDH and FH result in abnormal accumulation of Krebs cycle metabolites succinate (Succ) and fumarate (Fum), respectively, both of which can inhibit the activities of α-KG–dependent oxygenases. Inhibition of HIF PHDs leads to activation of HIF-mediated pseudohypoxic response, whereas inhibition of KDMs and TET family of 5mC hydroxylases causes epigenetic alterations. Fumarate is electrophilic and can also irreversibly modify cysteine residues in proteins by succination. Succination of KEAP1 in FH deficiency results in the constitutive activation of the antioxidant defense pathway mediated by NRF2, conferring a reductive milieu that promotes cell proliferation. Succination of the Krebs cycle enzyme Aco2 impairs aconitase activity in Fh1-deficient MEFs. Fumarate accumulation may also affect cytosolic pathways by inhibiting the reactions involved in the biosynthesis of arginine and purine. AcCoA, acetyl CoA; Mal, malate; OAA, oxaloacetate; Succ-CA, succinyl CoA.
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