L-Asparaginase and inhibitors of glutamine synthetase disclose glutamine addiction of β-catenin-mutated human hepatocellular carcinoma cells

Curr Cancer Drug Targets. 2011 Oct;11(8):929-43. doi: 10.2174/156800911797264725.

Abstract

Selected oncogenic mutations support unregulated growth enhancing glutamine availability but increasing the dependence of tumor cells on the amino acid. Data from literature indicate that a subset of HepatoCellular Carcinomas (HCC) is characterized by mutations of β-catenin and overexpression of Glutamine Synthetase (GS). To assess if this phenotype may constitute an example of glutamine addiction, we treated four human HCC lines with the enzyme L-Asparaginase (ASNase), a glutaminolytic drug. ASNase had a significant antiproliferative effect only in the β-catenin mutated HepG2 cells, which were partially rescued by the anaplerotic intermediates pyruvate and α-ketoglutarate. The enzyme severely depleted cell glutamine, caused eIF2α phosphorylation, inhibited mTOR activity, and increased autophagy in both HepG2 and in the β-catenin wild type cell line Huh-7. When used with ASNase, the GS inhibitor methionine sulfoximine (MSO) emptied cell glutamine pool, arresting proliferation in ASNase-insensitive Huh-7 cells and activating caspase-3 and apoptosis in HepG2 cells. Compared with Huh-7 cells, HepG2 cells accumulated much higher levels of glutamine and MSO, due to the higher expression and activity of SNAT2, a concentrative transporter for neutral amino acids, but were much more sensitive to glutamine withdrawal from the medium. In the presence of ASNase, MSO caused a paradoxical maintenance of rapamycin-sensitive mTOR activity in both HepG2 and Huh-7 cells. β-catenin silencing lowered ASNase sensitivity of HepG2 cells and of Huh-6 cells, another β-catenin-mutated cell line, which also exhibited high sensitivity to ASNase. Thus, β-catenin mutated HCC cells are more sensitive to glutamine depletion and accumulate higher levels of GS inhibitors. These results indicate that glutamine deprivation may constitute a targeted therapy for β-catenin-mutated HCC cells addicted to the amino acid.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Antineoplastic Agents / metabolism
  • Antineoplastic Agents / pharmacology*
  • Apoptosis / drug effects
  • Asparaginase / metabolism
  • Asparaginase / pharmacology*
  • Autophagy / drug effects
  • Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / drug therapy*
  • Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / metabolism
  • Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / pathology
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cell Proliferation / drug effects
  • Drug Resistance, Neoplasm
  • Enzyme Inhibitors / pharmacology*
  • Eukaryotic Initiation Factor-2B / metabolism
  • Gene Silencing
  • Glutamate-Ammonia Ligase / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Glutamate-Ammonia Ligase / genetics
  • Glutamate-Ammonia Ligase / metabolism
  • Glutamine / metabolism*
  • Humans
  • Liver Neoplasms / drug therapy
  • Liver Neoplasms / metabolism
  • Liver Neoplasms / pathology
  • Molecular Targeted Therapy
  • Mutant Proteins / genetics
  • Mutant Proteins / metabolism
  • Neoplasm Proteins / antagonists & inhibitors
  • Neoplasm Proteins / genetics
  • Neoplasm Proteins / metabolism
  • Phosphorylation / drug effects
  • Protein Processing, Post-Translational / drug effects
  • Recombinant Proteins / antagonists & inhibitors
  • Recombinant Proteins / metabolism
  • beta Catenin / genetics
  • beta Catenin / metabolism*

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Enzyme Inhibitors
  • Eukaryotic Initiation Factor-2B
  • Mutant Proteins
  • Neoplasm Proteins
  • Recombinant Proteins
  • beta Catenin
  • Glutamine
  • Asparaginase
  • Glutamate-Ammonia Ligase