Title: Genetic and biochemical approaches reveal integration of metabolism and apoptosis
Description: Apoptosis is an ancient form of regulated cell death that functions under pathological and non-pathological contexts in all metazoans. The core components of the apoptotic cascade have been extensively characterized. A family of cysteine proteases, caspases, is critical for the execution of apoptosis. It is well known that the proteolytic caspase cascade culminates in cell elimination, but the pathways that influence apoptotic sensitivity remain poorly understood. We employed a multi-disciplinary approach to define new pathways that regulate DNA damage-induced apoptosis. A genome-wide RNAi screen was conducted to systematically identify regulators of DNA damage-induced apoptosis in Drosophila cells (Chapter 2). This approach revealed 47 dsRNAs that target a functionally diverse set of genes and further characterization uncovered 10 genes that influence caspase activation upon removal of the Drosophila inhibitor of apoptosis protein 1. We identified Drosophila initiator caspase, Dronc, and surprisingly several metabolic regulators, a candidate tumor suppressor, Charlatan, and a protein N-a-acetyltransferase, Arrest Defective 1 (ARD1). Importantly, several of these genes show functional conservation in regulating apoptosis in mammalian cells. Our data suggest a previously unappreciated fundamental connection between diverse cellular processes and caspase-dependent cell death.

Metabolic status exquisitely influences cellular sensitivity to apoptosis, yet it is not clear how metabolism regulates the apoptotic machinery. We discovered that protein N-a-acetylation, mediated by ARD1 and N-terminal acetyltransferase 1 (NATH), provides an important link between the glycolytic program and DNA damage-induced apoptosis (Chapter 3). N-a-acetylation of caspase-2 by ARD1 is required for caspase activation in response to DNA damage. The levels of protein N-a-acetylation can be altered by expression of a specific isoform of pyruvate kinase (PKM1), which results in decreased lactate production, as well as the anti-apoptotic gene, Bcl-xL. An NMR approach revealed that Bcl-xL expression changes mitochondrial metabolism. Addition of citrate or acetate restores the levels of protein N-a-acetylation altered by PKM1 or Bcl-xL expression and influences apoptotic sensitivity to DNA damage. We propose that protein N-a-acetylation provides a general mechanism that couples metabolism to apoptotic resistance. This and future work will contribute significantly to the understanding of tumorigenesis and offer new targets for cancer therapeutics.