Changes in concentrations of methylglyoxal, D-lactate and glyoxalase activities in liver and plasma of rats fed a 3'-methyl-4-dimethylaminoazobenzene-rich diet

The glucose metabolite methylglyoxal inhibits expression of the glucose transporter genes by inactivating the cell surface glucose sensors Rgt2 and Snf3 in yeast

Methylglyoxal (MG) is a cytotoxic by-product of glycolysis. MG inhibits the growth of glucose-fermenting yeast cells by inhibiting glycolysis. MG does so by inducing endocytosis and degradation of the cell-surface glucose sensors Rgt2 and Snf3, which are required for glucose induction of HXT (glucose transporter) gene expression.

Methylglyoxal (MG) is a cytotoxic by-product of glycolysis. MG has inhibitory effect on the growth of cells ranging from microorganisms to higher eukaryotes, but its molecular targets are largely unknown. The yeast cell-surface glucose sensors Rgt2 and Snf3 function as glucose receptors that sense extracellular glucose and generate a signal for induction of expression of genes encoding glucose transporters (HXTs). Here we provide evidence that these glucose sensors are primary targets of MG in yeast. MG inhibits the growth of glucose-fermenting yeast cells by inducing endocytosis and degradation of the glucose sensors. However, the glucose sensors with mutations at their putative ubiquitin-acceptor lysine residues are resistant to MG-induced degradation. These results suggest that the glucose sensors are inactivated through ubiquitin-mediated endocytosis and degraded in the presence of MG. In addition, the inhibitory effect of MG on the glucose sensors is greatly enhanced in cells lacking Glo1, a key component of the MG detoxification system. Thus the stability of these glucose sensors seems to be critically regulated by intracellular MG levels. Taken together, these findings suggest that MG attenuates glycolysis by promoting degradation of the cell-surface glucose sensors and thus identify MG as a potential glycolytic inhibitor.

GLO1 overexpression in human malignant melanoma

Glyoxalase I [lactoylglutathione lyase (EC 4.4.1.5) encoded by GLO1] is a ubiquitous cellular defense enzyme involved in the detoxification of methylglyoxal, a cytotoxic byproduct of glycolysis. Accumulative evidence suggests an important role of GLO1 expression in protection against methylglyoxal-dependent protein adduction and cellular damage associated with diabetes, cancer, and chronological aging. On the basis of the hypothesis that GLO1 upregulation may play a functional role in glycolytic adaptations of cancer cells, we examined GLO1 expression status in human melanoma tissue. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis of a cDNA tissue array containing 40 human melanoma tissues (stages III and IV) and 13 healthy controls revealed pronounced upregulation of GLO1 expression at the mRNA level. Immunohistochemical analysis of a melanoma tissue microarray confirmed upregulation of glyoxalase I protein levels in malignant melanoma tissue versus healthy human skin. Consistent with an essential role of GLO1 in melanoma cell defense against methylglyoxal cytotoxicity, siRNA interference targeting GLO1-expression (siGLO1) sensitized A375 and G361 human metastatic melanoma cells towards the antiproliferative, apoptogenic, and oxidative stress-inducing activity of exogenous methylglyoxal. Protein adduction by methylglyoxal was increased in siGLO1-transfected cells as revealed by immunodetection using a monoclonal antibody directed against the major methylglyoxal-derived epitope argpyrimidine that detected a single band of methylglyoxal-adducted protein in human LOX, G361, and A375 total cell lysates. Using two-dimensional proteomics followed by mass spectrometry the methylglyoxal-adducted protein was identified as heat shock protein 27 (Hsp27; HSPB1). Taken together, our data suggest a function of GLO1 in the regulation of detoxification and target adduction by the glycolytic byproduct methylglyoxal in malignant melanoma.