Regulation of SESAME-mediated H3T11 phosphorylation by glycolytic enzymes and metabolites

PLoS One. 2017 Apr 20;12(4):e0175576. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0175576. eCollection 2017.

Abstract

Cancer cells prefer aerobic glycolysis, but little is known about the underlying mechanism. Recent studies showed that the rate-limiting glycolytic enzymes, pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) directly phosphorylates H3 at threonine 11 (H3T11) to regulate gene expression and cell proliferation, revealing its non-metabolic functions in connecting glycolysis and histone modifications. We have reported that the yeast homolog of PKM2, Pyk1 phosphorylates H3T11 to regulate gene expression and oxidative stress resistance. But how glycolysis regulates H3T11 phosphorylation remains unclear. Here, using a series of glycolytic enzyme mutants and commercial available metabolites, we investigated the role of glycolytic enzymes and metabolites on H3T11 phosphorylation. Mutation of glycolytic genes including phosphoglucose isomerase (PGI1), enolase (ENO2), triosephosphate isomerase (TPI1), or folate biosynthesis enzyme (FOL3) significantly reduced H3T11 phosphorylation. Further study demonstrated that glycolysis regulates H3T11 phosphorylation by fueling the substrate, phosphoenonylpyruvate and the coactivator, FBP to Pyk1. Thus, our results provide a comprehensive view of how glycolysis modulates H3T11 phosphorylation.

MeSH terms

  • Folic Acid / biosynthesis
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal
  • Glycolysis
  • Histones / metabolism*
  • Humans
  • Phosphopyruvate Hydratase / metabolism
  • Phosphorylation
  • Pyruvate Kinase / genetics
  • Pyruvate Kinase / metabolism

Substances

  • Histones
  • Folic Acid
  • Pyruvate Kinase
  • Phosphopyruvate Hydratase

Grants and funding

This project was supported by funding from Hubei Collaborative Innovation Center for Green Transformation of Bio-resources (S. Li), Hubei University start grant (080-170035 to Xilan Yu), National Natural Science Foundation of China (no. 31671335 to S. Li; no. 31600046 to Xilan Yu), and the Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province (2016CFB103 to Xilan Yu). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.