Keys, H. R. | Search bioRxiv

bioRxiv2018

Inhibition of mitochondrial ferredoxin 1 (FDX1) prevents adaptation to proteotoxic stress

The mechanisms used by cancer cells to resist the severe disruption in protein homeostasis caused by proteasome inhibitors remain obscure. Here, we show this resistance correlates with a metabolic shift from glycolysis to oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). Employing small molecule screens, we identified a striking overlap between compounds that preferentially impede the growth of proteasome inhibitor-resistant cancer cells and those that block the growth of high OXPHOS cells. Elesclomol potently exhibits both characteristics. Using genome-wide CRISPR/Cas9-based screening, in vitro validation and NMR spectroscopy we identify mitochondrial protein ferredoxin 1 (FDX1), a critical component of mitochondrial iron-sulfur (Fe-S) cluster biosynthesis, as the primary target of elesclomol. In a mouse model of multiple myeloma, inhibition of FDX1 with elesclomol significantly attenuated the emergence of proteasome inhibitor-resistance and markedly prolonged survival. Our work reveals that the mitochondrial Fe-S cluster pathway is a targetable vulnerability in cancers that are resistant to increased proteotoxic burden.

cancer biology↗

bioRxiv2017

Juxtacap Nucleotide Sequence Modulates eIF4E Binding and Translation

mRNA translation is an energetically costly activity required for almost all biological processes. The multiprotein complex eIF4F, which bridges the 5 cap and the polyA tail through eIF4E and eIF4G, respectively, is necessary for efficient translation initiation of most mRNAs and is an important target of translational control. Previous work suggests that cap-proximal nucleotides can modulate eIF4E binding to mRNAs, but the effect of specific cap-proximal nucleotide sequences on eIF4E recruitment and the ultimate consequences for translation remain unknown. Using RNA Bind-n-Seq on a model 5 UTR, we systematically identify eIF4E-intrinsic cap-proximal nucleotide binding preferences. mRNAs with highly-bound motifs are translated well in a cell-free system, whereas those with low-eIF4E-binding motifs are not. However, eIF4E juxtacap motif preferences do not dictate the ribosome occupancy of endogenous mRNAs in cells, suggesting that the effect of juxtacap sequence on eIF4E binding and translation is mRNA-context-dependent. Accordingly, a single downstream point mutation that disrupts a predicted base pair with a preferred juxtacap nucleotide increases translation. The juxtacap sequence is a previously unappreciated determinant of eIF4E recruitment to mRNAs, and we propose that differences in mRNA 5 end accessibility defined by the juxtacap sequence are important for establishing translational efficiency.

biochemistry↗