MARS2 drives metabolic switch of non-small-cell lung cancer cells via interaction with MCU

oleh: Juhyeon Son, Okkeun Jung, Jong Heon Kim, Kyu Sang Park, Hee-Seok Kweon, Nhung Thi Nguyen, Yu Jin Lee, Hansol Cha, Yejin Lee, Quangdon Tran, Yoona Seo, Jongsun Park, Jungwon Choi, Heesun Cheong, Sang Yeol Lee

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: Elsevier 2023-04-01

Deskripsi

Mitochondrial methionyl-tRNA synthetase (MARS2) canonically mediates the formation of fMet-tRNAifMet for mitochondrial translation initiation. Mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU) is a major gate of Ca2+ flux from cytosol into the mitochondrial matrix. We found that MARS2 interacts with MCU and stimulates mitochondrial Ca2+ influx. Methionine binding to MARS2 would act as a molecular switch that regulates MARS2-MCU interaction. Endogenous knockdown of MARS2 attenuates mitochondrial Ca2+ influx and induces p53 upregulation through the Ca2+-dependent CaMKII/CREB signaling. Subsequently, metabolic rewiring from glycolysis into pentose phosphate pathway is triggered and cellular reactive oxygen species level decreases. This metabolic switch induces inhibition of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) via cellular redox regulation. Expression of MARS2 is regulated by ZEB1 transcription factor in response to Wnt signaling. Our results suggest the mechanisms of mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake and metabolic control of cancer that are exerted by the key factors of the mitochondrial translational machinery and Ca2+ homeostasis.