Abstract 881: A role for microsomal glutathione transferase 1 in melanin biosynthesis in melanoma

Abstract

Higher organisms have multiple defenses against toxic chemical insult, ultraviolet light (UVR) and oxidative stress. These include thioredoxin and glutathione dependent enzymes, some of which are selenium (Se) dependent, including thioredoxin reductases, Se-dependent glutathione peroxidases, Se-independent glutathione transferases and peroxiredoxins. Microsomal glutathione transferase 1 (MGST1) shares an important and unique characteristic with Se-dependent glutathione peroxidase GPX4, namely the ability to reduce lipid hydroperoxides directly in membranes. In contrast to most other glutathione transferases and peroxidases, we previously found that deletion of MGST1 in mice was embryonic lethal, signifying some essential functional importance. We found that MGST1 was crucial for embryonic development through regulating early hematopoiesis in both zebrafish and mouse derived hematopoietic stem cells. Interestingly, after partial knock-down MGST1, the number of melanocytes located at the midline of zebrafish embryos was significantly reduced. Melanocytes are specialized cells that produce melanin, contributing to skin color, but also providing an antioxidant defense system that includes UVR - causative in the initiation of melanoma. Both mRNA and protein levels of MGST1 were markedly decreased in several amelanotic melanoma cell lines and melanogenesis was significantly decreased in B16 melanoma cells when MGST1 expression was knocked down by 60%. This was accompanied by increased UVB-induced cell death in these B16 cells. In contrast, in normal human melanocytes, recombinant adenovirus induced over-expression of MGST1 induced melanogenesis, concomitant with an increase of tyrosinase protein levels. UVB light was used to show that stimulus of melanin biosynthesis occurred in different melanoma cells in quantitative agreement with their levels of MGST1. We conclude that within the melanin synthetic pathway, MGST1 is critical in regulating conversion of dopaquinone to glutathionyl-DOPA, a precursor of pheomelanin. In the absence of MGST1, dopaquinone can cause toxicities and result in reduced or absent levels of melanin, leading to a deficiency in protection against UVR-induced DNA damage. Thus, absence of MGST1 produces embryonic lethality and influences the susceptibility of skin melanocytes to melanoma. Citation Format: Jie Zhang, Zhi-wei Ye, Danyelle M. Townsend, Ralf Morgenstern, Kenneth D. Tew. A role for microsomal glutathione transferase 1 in melanin biosynthesis in melanoma [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 881.