Akt and c-Myc differentially activate cellular metabolic programs and prime cells to bioenergetic inhibition

J Biol Chem. 2010 Mar 5;285(10):7324-33. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M109.035584. Epub 2009 Dec 17.

Abstract

The high glucose consumption of tumor cells even in an oxygen-rich environment, referred to as the Warburg effect, has been noted as a nearly universal biochemical characteristic of cancer cells. Targeting the glycolysis pathway has been explored as an anti-cancer therapeutic strategy to eradicate cancer based on this fundamental biochemical property of cancer cells. Oncoproteins such as Akt and c-Myc regulate cell metabolism. Accumulating studies have uncovered various molecular mechanisms by which oncoproteins affect cellular metabolism, raising a concern as to whether targeting glycolysis will be equally effective in treating cancers arising from different oncogenic activities. Here, we established a dual-regulatable FL5.12 pre-B cell line in which myristoylated Akt is expressed under the control of doxycycline, and c-Myc, fused to the hormone-binding domain of the human estrogen receptor, is activated by 4-hydroxytamoxifen. Using this system, we directly compared the effect of these oncoproteins on cell metabolism in an isogenic background. Activation of either Akt or c-Myc leads to the Warburg effect as indicated by increased cellular glucose uptake, glycolysis, and lactate generation. When cells are treated with glycolysis inhibitors, Akt sensitizes cells to apoptosis, whereas c-Myc does not. In contrast, c-Myc but not Akt sensitizes cells to the inhibition of mitochondrial function. This is correlated with enhanced mitochondrial activities in c-Myc cells. Hence, although both Akt and c-Myc promote aerobic glycolysis, they differentially affect mitochondrial functions and render cells susceptible to the perturbation of cellular metabolic programs.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / metabolism
  • Cell Line
  • Cell Respiration / physiology
  • Doxycycline / metabolism
  • Energy Metabolism / physiology*
  • Enzyme Activation
  • Enzyme Inhibitors / metabolism
  • Estrogen Antagonists / metabolism
  • Fatty Acids / metabolism
  • Glucose / metabolism
  • Glycolysis / physiology
  • Humans
  • Mice
  • Mitochondria / metabolism
  • Neoplasms / genetics
  • Neoplasms / metabolism
  • Oxidation-Reduction
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / metabolism*
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc / metabolism*
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins / genetics
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins / metabolism
  • Tamoxifen / analogs & derivatives
  • Tamoxifen / metabolism

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Enzyme Inhibitors
  • Estrogen Antagonists
  • Fatty Acids
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins
  • Tamoxifen
  • afimoxifene
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt
  • Glucose
  • Doxycycline