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Jiménez JA, Apfelbaum AA, Hawkins AG, Svoboda LK, Kumar A, Ruiz RO, Garcia AX, Haarer E, Nwosu ZC, Bradin J, Purohit T, Chen D, Cierpicki T, Grembecka J, Lyssiotis CA, Lawlor ER. EWS-FLI1 and Menin Converge to Regulate ATF4 Activity in Ewing Sarcoma. Mol Cancer Res 2021; 19:1182-1195. [PMID: 33741715 PMCID: PMC8462528 DOI: 10.1158/1541-7786.mcr-20-0679] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2020] [Revised: 01/15/2021] [Accepted: 03/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Ewing sarcomas are driven by EWS-ETS fusions, most commonly EWS-FLI1, which promotes widespread metabolic reprogramming, including activation of serine biosynthesis. We previously reported that serine biosynthesis is also activated in Ewing sarcoma by the scaffolding protein menin through as yet undefined mechanisms. Here, we investigated whether EWS-FLI1 and/or menin orchestrate serine biosynthesis via modulation of ATF4, a stress-response gene that acts as a master transcriptional regulator of serine biosynthesis in other tumors. Our results show that in Ewing sarcoma, ATF4 levels are high and that ATF4 modulates transcription of core serine synthesis pathway (SSP) genes. Inhibition of either EWS-FLI1 or menin leads to loss of ATF4, and this is associated with diminished expression of SSP transcripts and proteins. We identified and validated an EWS-FLI1 binding site at the ATF4 promoter, indicating that the fusion can directly activate ATF4 transcription. In contrast, our results suggest that menin-dependent regulation of ATF4 is mediated by transcriptional and post-transcriptional mechanisms. Importantly, our data also reveal that the downregulation of SSP genes that occurs in the context of EWS-FLI1 or menin loss is indicative of broader inhibition of ATF4-dependent transcription. Moreover, we find that menin inhibition similarly leads to loss of ATF4 and the ATF4-dependent transcriptional signature in MLL-rearranged B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, extending our findings to another cancer in which menin serves an oncogenic role. IMPLICATIONS: These studies provide new insights into metabolic reprogramming in Ewing sarcoma and also uncover a previously undescribed role for menin in the regulation of ATF4.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer A Jiménez
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - April A Apfelbaum
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
- Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, Washington
| | - Allegra G Hawkins
- New York Genome Center, New York, New York
- Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York
| | | | - Abhijay Kumar
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Ramon Ocadiz Ruiz
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Alessandra X Garcia
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Elena Haarer
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Zeribe C Nwosu
- Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Joshua Bradin
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Trupta Purohit
- Department of Pathology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Dong Chen
- Department of Pathology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Tomasz Cierpicki
- Department of Pathology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Jolanta Grembecka
- Department of Pathology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Costas A Lyssiotis
- Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Elizabeth R Lawlor
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
- Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, Washington
- Department of Pathology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
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