N<sup>6</sup>-methyladenosine regulates glycolysis of cancer cells through PDK4.

Li, Zihan; Peng, Yanxi; Li, Jiexin; Chen, Zhuojia; Chen, Feng; Tu, Jian; Lin, Shuibin; Wang, Hongsheng · Nat Commun · 2020

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Studies on biological functions of N<sup>6</sup>-methyladenosine (m<sup>6</sup>A) modification in mRNA have sprung up in recent years. We find m<sup>6</sup>A can positively regulate the glycolysis of cancer cells. Specifically, m<sup>6</sup>A-sequencing and functional studies confirm that pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4 (PDK4) is involved in m<sup>6</sup>A regulated glycolysis and ATP generation. The m<sup>6</sup>A modified 5'UTR of PDK4 positively regulates its translation elongation and mRNA stability via binding with YTHDF1/eEF-2 complex and IGF2BP3, respectively. Targeted specific demethylation of PDK4 m<sup>6</sup>A by dm<sup>6</sup>ACRISPR system can significantly decrease the expression of PDK4 and glycolysis of cancer cells. Further, TATA-binding protein (TBP) can transcriptionally increase the expression of Mettl3 in cervical cancer cells via binding to its promoter. In vivo and clinical data confirm the positive roles of m<sup>6</sup>A/PDK4 in tumor growth and progression of cervical and liver cancer. Our study reveals that m<sup>6</sup>A regulates glycolysis of cancer cells through PDK4.

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