Functional characterization of glycine N-methyltransferase and its interactive protein DEPDC6/DEPTOR in hepatocellular carcinoma

Mol Med. 2012 Mar 30;18(1):286-96. doi: 10.2119/molmed.2011.00331.

Abstract

Glycine N-methyltransferase (GNMT) is a tumor suppressor for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). High rates of Gnmt knockout mice developed HCC. Epigenetic alteration and dysregulation of several pathways including wingless-type MMTV integration site (Wnt), mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and Janus kinase and signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK-STAT) are associated with HCC development in Gnmt knockout mice. We hypothesized that GNMT may regulate signal transduction through interacting with other proteins directly. In this report, we identified a mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitor (DEP domain containing MTOR-interacting protein [DEPDC6/DEPTOR]) as a GNMT-binding protein by using yeast two-hybrid screening. Fluorescence resonance energy transfer assay demonstrated that the C-terminal half of GNMT interact with the PSD-95/Dlg1/ZO-1 (PDZ) domain of DEPDC6/DEPTOR. Immunohistochemical staining showed that 27.5% (14/51) of HCC patients had higher expression levels of DEPDC6/DEPTOR in the tumorous tissues than in tumor-adjacent tissues, especially among HCC patients with hepatitis B viral infection (odds ratio 10.3, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.05-11.3) or patients with poor prognosis (death hazard ratio 4.51, 95% CI 1.60-12.7). In terms of molecular mechanism, knockdown of DEPDC6/DEPTOR expression in HuH-7 cells caused S6K and 4E-BP activation, but suppressed Akt. Overexpression of DEPDC6/DEPTOR activated Akt and increased survival of HCC cells. Overexpression of GNMT caused activation of mTOR/raptor downstream signaling and delayed G2/M cell cycle progression, which altogether resulted in cellular senescence. Furthermore, GNMT reduced proliferation of HuH-7 cells and sensitized them to rapamycin treatment both in vitro and in vivo. In conclusion, GNMT regulates HCC growth in part through interacting with DEPDC6/DEPTOR and modulating mTOR/raptor signaling pathway. Both GNMT and DEPDC6/DEPTOR are potential targets for developing therapeutics for HCC.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Animals
  • Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / drug therapy
  • Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / metabolism*
  • Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / pathology
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Everolimus
  • Female
  • Glycine N-Methyltransferase / metabolism*
  • HEK293 Cells
  • Hepatitis B / complications
  • Hepatitis B / metabolism
  • Hepatitis C / complications
  • Hepatitis C / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Immunosuppressive Agents / therapeutic use
  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
  • Liver Neoplasms / metabolism*
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Mice, SCID
  • Middle Aged
  • Sirolimus / analogs & derivatives
  • Sirolimus / therapeutic use
  • TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases / metabolism*
  • Two-Hybrid System Techniques
  • Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays

Substances

  • Immunosuppressive Agents
  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
  • Everolimus
  • GNMT protein, human
  • Glycine N-Methyltransferase
  • DEPTOR protein, human
  • MTOR protein, human
  • TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases
  • Sirolimus