Mitochondrial Pyruvate Metabolism Research Articles

1861-P: Pioglitazone Modulates Hepatic Pyruvate Dehydrogenase and TCA Cycle Flux

Background: The insulin sensitizing actions of the antidiabetic drug Pioglitazone (PIO) have classically been ascribed to the reversal of ectopic lipid accumulation. We recently demonstrated acute, direct metabolic effects of PIO in hepatocytes, linking the suppression of hepatic glucose production to an inhibition of mitochondrial pyruvate metabolism. As the relevance of this mechanism in vivo is unclear, we studied the effects of PIO on hepatic pyruvate metabolism in a mouse model of insulin resistance. Methods: Eight-week-old male ob/ob mice were placed on a regular diet (10% kcal fat) with (n=10) or without (n=10) 300 mg/kg PIO for four weeks before study during euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp (5 mU/kg min). Endogenous glucose production (EGP), hepatic glycogen synthesis and anabolic/oxidative pyruvate flux ratio (PC/PDH) were determined from [3-3H] glucose infusion and 13C NMR isotopomer analysis using [2,3-13C] pyruvate. Livers were freeze-clamped in situ for pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH), metabolite and protein analysis. Results: PIO treatment lowered EGP by 62% (4.6 ± 1.0 vs. 12.1 ± 1.7 mg/kg min; P<0.01) and increased glycogen synthesis 10-fold (19.7 ± 4.8 vs. 1.9 ± 0.8 μ mol/kg liver min; P<0.005), whereas PC/PDH remained unchanged. PIO also suppressed liver PDH activation (14.6 ± 3.4 vs. 29.6 ± 4.3 µmol/kg liver min; P<0.05), as well as acetylcarnitine (140 ± 18 vs. 297 ± 40) and acetyl-CoA (17.7 ± 2.4 vs. 47.8 ± 8.8 µmol/kg liver) concentrations (P<0.01), whilst liver PDK4 protein expression was increased 46% compared to controls (P<0.05). Conclusions: Inhibition of PDH activation by Pioglitazone curtails mitochondrial acetyl-CoA delivery, relieving allosteric stimulation of pyruvate carboxylase and gluconeogenesis. Parallel reductions in PDH flux and EGP reconcile an unchanged PC/PDH ratio, suggesting an overall slowing of TCA cycle flux with PIO. These novel data highlight the therapeutic relevance of hepatic mitochondrial metabolism in the treatment of type 2 diabetes and liver disease. Disclosure C. Shannon: None. M. Ragavan: None. R.A. DeFronzo: Advisory Panel; Self; AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Elcelyx Therapeutics, Inc., Intarcia Therapeutics, Inc., Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Novo Nordisk Inc. Research Support; Self; AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Merck & Co., Inc. Speaker's Bureau; Self; AstraZeneca, Novo Nordisk Inc. M. Merritt: None. L. Norton: None. Funding University of Florida’s Southeast Center for Integrated Metabolomics (U24DK097209); National Institutes of Health

Treating Hepatic Steatosis and Fibrosis by Modulating Mitochondrial Pyruvate Metabolism.

A hepatic comorbidity of metabolic syndrome, known as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), is increasing in prevalence in conjunction with the pandemics of obesity and diabetes. The spectrum of NAFLD ranges from simple hepatic fat accumulation to a more severe disease termed nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), involving inflammation, hepatocyte death, and fibrosis. Importantly, NASH is linked to a much higher risk of cirrhosis, liver failure, and hepatocellular carcinoma, as well as an increased risk for nonhepatic malignancies and cardiovascular disease. Interest in the understanding of the disease processes and search for treatments for the spectrum of NAFLD-NASH has increased exponentially, but there are no approved pharmacologic therapies. In this review, we discuss the existing literature supporting insulin-sensitizing thiazolidinedione compounds as potential drug candidates for the treatment of NASH. In addition, we put these results into new context by summarizing recent studies suggesting these compounds alter mitochondrial metabolism by binding and inhibiting the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier.

Abstract 3783: Mitochondrial metabolism in tumor-associated macrophages: The role of MIF and tumor-derived lactate

Abstract Purpose: Within the tumor microenvironment, tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) polarized to an "M2" phenotype promote angiogenesis, metastasis, and the suppression of anti-tumor immune responses. Previously, we have found that macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) promotes lactate-enhanced M2-polarization, however the underlying mechanisms were not elucidated. As cancer cells that exhibit the Warburg Effect secrete copious amounts of lactate into the tumor microenvironment, highly glycolytic cancers may promote tumor progression by producing lactate to support an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. The goal of this study is to investigate the mechanism by which MIF and tumor-derived lactate support pro-tumorigenic M2-TAMs. Methods: Using primary bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs), we explored the mechanisms of MIF and lactate-enhanced M2 polarization using metabolic inhibitors and gene expression assays. To investigate the role of MIF in mitochondrial metabolism, we conducted extracellular flux analysis to determine mitochondrial OCR and ECAR in macrophages polarized to an M0 and M2 phenotype. Results: Blocking mitochondrial pyruvate uptake reduces both M2 polarization and HIF1α stabilization. Blocking mitochondrial metabolism and respiration inhibits M2 polarization. MIF deficiency decreases mitochondrial OCR, NRF2 stability, and M2 polarization. Increasing CSN5 activity "rescues" the loss of M2 polarization with MIF deficiency. Conclusions: Tumor-derived lactate per se does not promote M2 polarization but instead requires subsequent metabolism to pyruvate. Additionally, we have identified that mitochondrial pyruvate metabolism is a previously undetermined requirement for M2 macrophages. Further, we have found a potential link between MIF and metabolism, where MIF likely regulates CSN5 activity and NRF2 stability to increase mitochondrial respiration. As inhibiting mitochondrial respiration blocks M2 polarization, MIF may promote lactate-enhanced M2 polarization by enhancing mitochondrial metabolism. Subsequent studies will be conducted to further investigate the metabolic pathways and mechanisms required for the mitochondrial metabolism of tumor-derived lactate in promoting M2-TAM polarization. Citation Format: Jordan Noe, Beatriz Rendon, Eun Jung Kim, Robert Mitchell. Mitochondrial metabolism in tumor-associated macrophages: The role of MIF and tumor-derived lactate [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 3783.

Influence of oxygen on the Warburg effect: do cancer cells produce lactate only from glucose?

The common characteristics of many tumors is phenomenon termed the Warburg effect – the production of abundant amounts of lactate in the presence of sufficient oxygen. It is commonly accepted that lactate is synthesized from glucose; hence, the other term for this phenomenon is aerobic glycolysis. Hypoxia, frequently observed in solid tumors, results in an increased HIF 1 transcription factor activity, which stimulates lactate synthesis by activating the transcription of glucose transporters and glycolytic enzymes genes, while inhibiting mitochondrial pyruvate metabolism. However, under normoxic conditions, when the HIF-1 factor is inactive, the lactate is the product not only of glycolysis, but also of glutaminolysis. Both pathways are activated by the c-myc transcription factor. Glutaminolysis, the mitochondrial pathway involving Krebs cycle enzymes, provides energy to the cell and the pathway intermediates (L-glutamate, L-aspartate, acetyl CoA) are substrates for the synthesis of nucleic acids, proteins and lipids. Subsequently, the cytoplasmic oxaloacetate-malate-pyruvate-lactate axis provides redox cofactors - NADPH for lipid and DNA synthesis and for cellular antioxidant systems as well as NAD+ necessary for efficient glycolysis resulting in increased lactate synthesis from glucose at normoxia. Thus, oxygen as Krebs cycle activator enhances lactate synthesis as the end product of glutaminolysis as well as promotes glycolytic lactate synthesis. In conclusion, the Warburg effect is the result of oxygen-induced extensive lactate production in both glycolysis and glutaminolysis pathways. Thus, an increased lactate synthesis at normoxia is just not the result of the cellular shift to extramitochondrial metabolism, but a manifestation of transcriptionally regulated adaptive response, allowing the cancer cells to acquire the energy and nutrients necessary for growth and proliferation.

Turning cancer's metabolic plasticity into fragility- an evolving paradigm

ABSTRACTIn an elegant report, Corbet et al1 recently demonstrated the much needed insight to exploit cancer's metabolic reprogramming for potential therapeutic intervention. In brief, the findings underscore the principle that abrogation of mitochondrial pyruvate metabolism upregulates glycolysis, and sensitizes cancer cells to radiation. Distinctive from the conventional approach of inhibition/ down-regulation of glycolysis, this emerging paradigm of forced-upregulation of glycolysis (i.e., a “hyperglycolytic” phenotype) concomitant with a reduced mitochondrial capacity turns the metabolic plasticity into vulnerability that may have implications in therapeutic targeting. Nevertheless, this commendable report1 also provokes scientific curiosity and future directions of research on the opportunities and challenges of such forced upregulation of glycolysis in cancer.

Inhibition of the Mitochondrial Pyruvate Carrier by Tolylfluanid.

Several recent studies have suggested that compounds known as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) can promote obesity by serving as ligands for nuclear receptors, including the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) and the glucocorticoid receptor (GR). Thiazolidinedione insulin sensitizers, which act as ligands for PPARγ, also interact with and regulate the activity of the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier (MPC). We evaluated whether several EDCs might also affect MPC activity. Most of the EDCs evaluated did not acutely affect pyruvate metabolism. However, the putative endocrine disruptors tributyltin (TBT) and tolylfluanid (TF) acutely and markedly suppressed pyruvate metabolism in isolated mitochondria. Using mitochondria isolated from brown adipose tissue in mice with adipocyte-specific deletion of the MPC2 protein, we determined that the effect of TF on pyruvate metabolism required MPC2, whereas TBT did not. We attempted to determine whether the obesogenic effects of TF might involve MPC2 in adipose tissue. However, we were unable to replicate the published effects of TF on weight gain and adipose tissue gene expression in wild-type or fat-specific MPC2 knockout mice. Treatment with TF modestly enhanced adipogenic gene expression in vitro but had no effect on GR activation or phosphorylation in cultured cells. These data suggest that TF may affect mitochondrial pyruvate metabolism via the MPC complex but also call into question whether this compound affects GR activity and is obesogenic in mice.

VSIG4 inhibits proinflammatory macrophage activation by reprogramming mitochondrial pyruvate metabolism

Exacerbation of macrophage-mediated inflammation contributes to pathogenesis of various inflammatory diseases, but the immunometabolic programs underlying regulation of macrophage activation are unclear. Here we show that V-set immunoglobulin-domain-containing 4 (VSIG4), a B7 family-related protein that is expressed by resting macrophages, inhibits macrophage activation in response to lipopolysaccharide. Vsig4−/− mice are susceptible to high-fat diet-caused obesity and murine hepatitis virus strain-3 (MHV-3)-induced fulminant hepatitis due to excessive macrophage-dependent inflammation. VSIG4 activates the PI3K/Akt–STAT3 pathway, leading to pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase-2 (PDK2) upregulation and subsequent phosphorylation of pyruvate dehydrogenase, which results in reduction in pyruvate/acetyl-CoA conversion, mitochondrial reactive oxygen species secretion, and macrophage inhibition. Conversely, interruption of Vsig4 or Pdk2 promotes inflammation. Forced expression of Vsig4 in mice ameliorates MHV-3-induced viral fulminant hepatitis. These data show that VSIG4 negatively regulates macrophage activation by reprogramming mitochondrial pyruvate metabolism.

Increased heme synthesis in yeast induces a metabolic switch from fermentation to respiration even under conditions of glucose repression

Regulation of mitochondrial biogenesis and respiration is a complex process that involves several signaling pathways and transcription factors as well as communication between the nuclear and mitochondrial genomes. Under aerobic conditions, the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae metabolizes glucose predominantly by glycolysis and fermentation. We have recently shown that altered chromatin structure in yeast induces respiration by a mechanism that requires transport and metabolism of pyruvate in mitochondria. However, how pyruvate controls the transcriptional responses underlying the metabolic switch from fermentation to respiration is unknown. Here, we report that this pyruvate effect involves heme. We found that heme induces transcription of HAP4, the transcriptional activation subunit of the Hap2/3/4/5p complex, required for growth on nonfermentable carbon sources, in a Hap1p- and Hap2/3/4/5p-dependent manner. Increasing cellular heme levels by inactivating ROX1, which encodes a repressor of many hypoxic genes, or by overexpressing HEM3 or HEM12 induced respiration and elevated ATP levels. Increased heme synthesis, even under conditions of glucose repression, activated Hap1p and the Hap2/3/4/5p complex and induced transcription of HAP4 and genes required for the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, electron transport chain, and oxidative phosphorylation, leading to a switch from fermentation to respiration. Conversely, inhibiting metabolic flux into the TCA cycle reduced cellular heme levels and HAP4 transcription. Together, our results indicate that the glucose-mediated repression of respiration in budding yeast is at least partly due to the low cellular heme level.

Control of intestinal stem cell function and proliferation by mitochondrial pyruvate metabolism.

Most differentiated cells convert glucose to pyruvate in the cytosol through glycolysis, followed by pyruvate oxidation in the mitochondria. These processes are linked by the Mitochondrial Pyruvate Carrier (MPC), which is required for efficient mitochondrial pyruvate uptake. In contrast, proliferative cells, including many cancer and stem cells, perform glycolysis robustly but limit fractional mitochondrial pyruvate oxidation. We sought to understand the role this transition from glycolysis to pyruvate oxidation plays in stem cell maintenance and differentiation. Loss of the MPC in Lgr5-EGFP positive stem cells, or treatment of intestinal organoids with an MPC inhibitor, increases proliferation and expands the stem cell compartment. Similarly, genetic deletion of the MPC in Drosophila intestinal stem cells also increases proliferation, whereas MPC overexpression suppresses stem cell proliferation. These data demonstrate that limiting mitochondrial pyruvate metabolism is necessary and sufficient to maintain the proliferation of intestinal stem cells.

Metabolic imaging of energy metabolism in traumatic brain injury using hyperpolarized [1-13C]pyruvate

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is known to cause perturbations in the energy metabolism of the brain, but current tests of metabolic activity are only indirect markers of energy use or are highly invasive. Here we show that hyperpolarized 13C magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) can be used as a direct, non-invasive method for studying the effects of TBI on energy metabolism. Measurements were performed on rats with moderate TBI induced by controlled cortical impact on one cerebral hemisphere. Following injection of hyperpolarized [1-13C]pyruvate, the resulting 13C-bicarbonate signal was found to be 24 ± 6% lower in the injured hemisphere compared with the non-injured hemisphere, while the hyperpolarized bicarbonate-to-lactate ratio was 33 ± 8% lower in the injured hemisphere. In a control group, no significant difference in signal was found between sides of the brain. The results suggest an impairment in mitochondrial pyruvate metabolism, resulting in a decrease in aerobic respiration at the location of injury following TBI.

Treating fatty liver disease by modulating mitochondrial pyruvate metabolism.

Modifying the entry of pyruvate into mitochondria may provide a unique approach to treat metabolic disease. The pharmacology of a new class of insulin sensitizers directed against a newly identified mitochondrial target may treat many aspects of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, including fibrosis. This commentary suggests treating nonalcoholic steatohepatitis through a newly identified mechanism consistent with pathophysiology. (Hepatology Communications 2017;1:193‐197)

Inhibition of the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier protects from excitotoxic neuronal death.

Glutamate is the dominant excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain, but under conditions of metabolic stress it can accumulate to excitotoxic levels. Although pharmacologic modulation of excitatory amino acid receptors is well studied, minimal consideration has been given to targeting mitochondrial glutamate metabolism to control neurotransmitter levels. Here we demonstrate that chemical inhibition of the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier (MPC) protects primary cortical neurons from excitotoxic death. Reductions in mitochondrial pyruvate uptake do not compromise cellular energy metabolism, suggesting neuronal metabolic flexibility. Rather, MPC inhibition rewires mitochondrial substrate metabolism to preferentially increase reliance on glutamate to fuel energetics and anaplerosis. Mobilizing the neuronal glutamate pool for oxidation decreases the quantity of glutamate released upon depolarization and, in turn, limits the positive-feedback cascade of excitotoxic neuronal injury. The finding links mitochondrial pyruvate metabolism to glutamatergic neurotransmission and establishes the MPC as a therapeutic target to treat neurodegenerative diseases characterized by excitotoxicity.

Pioglitazone inhibits mitochondrial pyruvate metabolism and glucose production in hepatocytes.

Pioglitazone is used globally for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and is one of the most effective therapies for improving glucose homeostasis and insulin resistance in T2DM patients. However, its mechanism of action in the tissues and pathways that regulate glucose metabolism are incompletely defined. Here we investigated the direct effects of pioglitazone on hepatocellular pyruvate metabolism and the dependency of these observations on the purported regulators of mitochondrial pyruvate transport, MPC1 and MPC2. In cultured H4IIE hepatocytes, pioglitazone inhibited [2-14 C]-pyruvate oxidation and pyruvate-driven oxygen consumption and, in mitochondria isolated from both hepatocytes and human skeletal muscle, pioglitazone selectively and dose-dependently inhibited pyruvate-driven ATP synthesis. Pioglitazone also suppressed hepatocellular glucose production (HGP), without influencing the mRNA expression of key HGP regulatory genes. Targeted siRNA silencing of MPC1 and 2 caused a modest inhibition of pyruvate oxidation and pyruvate-driven ATP synthesis, but did not alter pyruvate-driven HGP and, importantly, it did not influence the actions of pioglitazone on either pathway. In summary, these findings outline a novel mode of action of pioglitazone relevant to the pathogenesis of T2DM and suggest that targeting pyruvate metabolism may lead to the development of effective new T2DM therapies.

STAT3 Undergoes Acetylation-dependent Mitochondrial Translocation to Regulate Pyruvate Metabolism.

Cytoplasmic STAT3, after activation by growth factors, translocates to different subcellular compartments, including nuclei and mitochondria, where it carries out different biological functions. However, the precise mechanism by which STAT3 undergoes mitochondrial translocation and subsequently regulates the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle-electron transport chain (ETC) remains poorly understood. Here, we clarify this process by visualizing STAT3 acetylation in starved cells after serum reintroduction or insulin stimulation. CBP-acetylated STAT3 undergoes mitochondrial translocation in response to serum introduction or insulin stimulation. In mitochondria, STAT3 associates with the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex E1 (PDC-E1) and subsequently accelerates the conversion of pyruvate to acetyl-CoA, elevates the mitochondrial membrane potential, and promotes ATP synthesis. SIRT5 deacetylates STAT3, thereby inhibiting its function in mitochondrial pyruvate metabolism. In the A549 lung cancer cell line, constitutively acetylated STAT3 localizes to mitochondria, where it maintains the mitochondrial membrane potential and ATP synthesis in an active state.

Requirement for the Mitochondrial Pyruvate Carrier in Mammalian Development Revealed by a Hypomorphic Allelic Series.

Glucose and oxygen are two of the most important molecules transferred from mother to fetus during eutherian pregnancy, and the metabolic fates of these nutrients converge at the transport and metabolism of pyruvate in mitochondria. Pyruvate enters the mitochondrial matrix through the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier (MPC), a complex in the inner mitochondrial membrane that consists of two essential components, MPC1 and MPC2. Here, we define the requirement for mitochondrial pyruvate metabolism during development with a progressive allelic series of Mpc1 deficiency in mouse. Mpc1 deletion was homozygous lethal in midgestation, but Mpc1 hypomorphs and tissue-specific deletion of Mpc1 presented as early perinatal lethality. The allelic series demonstrated that graded suppression of MPC resulted in dose-dependent metabolic and transcriptional changes. Steady-state metabolomics analysis of brain and liver from Mpc1 hypomorphic embryos identified compensatory changes in amino acid and lipid metabolism. Flux assays in Mpc1-deficient embryonic fibroblasts also reflected these changes, including a dramatic increase in mitochondrial alanine utilization. The mitochondrial alanine transaminase GPT2 was found to be necessary and sufficient for increased alanine flux upon MPC inhibition. These data show that impaired mitochondrial pyruvate transport results in biosynthetic deficiencies that can be mitigated in part by alternative anaplerotic substrates in utero.

An ancestral role for the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier in glucose-stimulated insulin secretion

ObjectiveTransport of pyruvate into the mitochondrial matrix by the Mitochondrial Pyruvate Carrier (MPC) is an important and rate-limiting step in its metabolism. In pancreatic β-cells, mitochondrial pyruvate metabolism is thought to be important for glucose sensing and glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. MethodsTo evaluate the role that the MPC plays in maintaining systemic glucose homeostasis, we used genetically-engineered Drosophila and mice with loss of MPC activity in insulin-producing cells. ResultsIn both species, MPC deficiency results in elevated blood sugar concentrations and glucose intolerance accompanied by impaired glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. In mouse islets, β-cell MPC-deficiency resulted in decreased respiration with glucose, ATP-sensitive potassium (KATP) channel hyperactivity, and impaired insulin release. Moreover, treatment of pancreas-specific MPC knockout mice with glibenclamide, a sulfonylurea KATP channel inhibitor, improved defects in islet insulin secretion and abnormalities in glucose homeostasis in vivo. Finally, using a recently-developed biosensor for MPC activity, we show that the MPC is rapidly stimulated by glucose treatment in INS-1 insulinoma cells suggesting that glucose sensing is coupled to mitochondrial pyruvate carrier activity. ConclusionsAltogether, these studies suggest that the MPC plays an important and ancestral role in insulin-secreting cells in mediating glucose sensing, regulating insulin secretion, and controlling systemic glycemia.

Propionate Increases Hepatic Pyruvate Cycling and Anaplerosis and Alters Mitochondrial Metabolism

In mammals, pyruvate kinase (PK) plays a key role in regulating the balance between glycolysis and gluconeogenesis; however, in vivo regulation of PK flux by gluconeogenic hormones and substrates is poorly understood. To this end, we developed a novel NMR-liquid chromatography/tandem-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method to directly assess pyruvate cycling relative to mitochondrial pyruvate metabolism (VPyr-Cyc/VMito) in vivo using [3-13C]lactate as a tracer. Using this approach, VPyr-Cyc/VMito was only 6% in overnight fasted rats. In contrast, when propionate was infused simultaneously at doses previously used as a tracer, it increased VPyr-Cyc/VMito by 20–30-fold, increased hepatic TCA metabolite concentrations 2–3-fold, and increased endogenous glucose production rates by 20–100%. The physiologic stimuli, glucagon and epinephrine, both increased hepatic glucose production, but only glucagon suppressed VPyr-Cyc/VMito. These data show that under fasting conditions, when hepatic gluconeogenesis is stimulated, pyruvate recycling is relatively low in liver compared with VMito flux and that liver metabolism, in particular pyruvate cycling, is sensitive to propionate making it an unsuitable tracer to assess hepatic glycolytic, gluconeogenic, and mitochondrial metabolism in vivo.

Reduced Histone Expression or a Defect in Chromatin Assembly Induces Respiration.

Regulation of mitochondrial biogenesis and respiration is a complex process that involves several signaling pathways and transcription factors as well as communication between the nuclear and mitochondrial genomes. Here we show that decreased expression of histones or a defect in nucleosome assembly in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae results in increased mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy numbers, oxygen consumption, ATP synthesis, and expression of genes encoding enzymes of the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle and oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). The metabolic shift from fermentation to respiration induced by altered chromatin structure is associated with the induction of the retrograde (RTG) pathway and requires the activity of the Hap2/3/4/5p complex as well as the transport and metabolism of pyruvate in mitochondria. Together, our data indicate that altered chromatin structure relieves glucose repression of mitochondrial respiration by inducing transcription of the TCA cycle and OXPHOS genes carried by both nuclear and mitochondrial DNA.

Mitochondria-Translocated PGK1 Functions as a Protein Kinase to Coordinate Glycolysis and the TCA Cycle in Tumorigenesis

It is unclear how the Warburg effect that exemplifies enhanced glycolysis in the cytosol is coordinated with suppressed mitochondrial pyruvate metabolism. We demonstrate here that hypoxia, EGFR activation, and expression of K-Ras G12V and B-Raf V600E induce mitochondrial translocation of phosphoglycerate kinase 1 (PGK1); this is mediated by ERK-dependent PGK1 S203 phosphorylation and subsequent PIN1-mediated cis-trans isomerization. Mitochondrial PGK1 acts as a protein kinase to phosphorylate pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 1 (PDHK1) at T338, which activates PDHK1 to phosphorylate and inhibit the pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) complex. This reduces mitochondrial pyruvate utilization, suppresses reactive oxygen species production, increases lactate production, and promotes brain tumorigenesis. Furthermore, PGK1 S203 and PDHK1 T338 phosphorylation levels correlate with PDH S293 inactivating phosphorylation levels and poor prognosis in glioblastoma patients. This work highlights that PGK1 acts as a protein kinase in coordinating glycolysis and the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, which is instrumental in cancer metabolism and tumorigenesis.

Loss of Mitochondrial Pyruvate Carrier 2 in the Liver Leads to Defects in Gluconeogenesis and Compensation via Pyruvate-Alanine Cycling

Pyruvate transport across the inner mitochondrial membrane is believed to be a prerequisite for gluconeogenesis in hepatocytes, which is important for the maintenance of normoglycemia during prolonged food deprivation but also contributes to hyperglycemia in diabetes. To determine the requirement for mitochondrial pyruvate import in gluconeogenesis, mice with liver-specific deletion of mitochondrial pyruvate carrier 2 (LS-Mpc2(-/-)) were generated. Loss of MPC2 impaired, but did not completely abolish, hepatocyte conversion of labeled pyruvate to TCA cycle intermediates and glucose. Unbiased metabolomic analyses of livers from fasted LS-Mpc2(-/-) mice suggested that alterations in amino acid metabolism, including pyruvate-alanine cycling, might compensate for the loss of MPC2. Indeed, inhibition of pyruvate-alanine transamination further reduced mitochondrial pyruvate metabolism and glucose production by LS-Mpc2(-/-) hepatocytes. These data demonstrate an important role for MPC2 in controlling hepatic gluconeogenesis and illuminate a compensatory mechanism for circumventing a block in mitochondrial pyruvate import.