Cystathionine-β-synthase is essential for AKT-induced senescence and suppresses the development of gastric cancers with PI3K/AKT activation

  1. Haoran Zhu
  2. Keefe T Chan
  3. Xinran Huang
  4. Carmelo Cerra
  5. Shaun Blake
  6. Anna S Trigos
  7. Dovile Anderson
  8. Darren J Creek
  9. David P De Souza
  10. Xi Wang
  11. Caiyun Fu
  12. Metta Jana
  13. Elaine Sanij
  14. Richard B Pearson  Is a corresponding author
  15. Jian Kang  Is a corresponding author
  1. Division of Cancer Research, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Australia
  2. Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology, University of Melbourne, Australia
  3. Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Australia
  4. Metabolomics Australia, Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, Australia
  5. Department of Oncology, The People’s Liberation Army No. 903rd Hospital, China
  6. Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Silkworm Bioreactor and Biomedicine, College of Life Sciences and Medicine, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, China
  7. St Vincent’s Institute of Medical Research, Australia
  8. Department of Clinical Pathology, University of Melbourne, Australia
  9. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash University, Australia
  10. Department of Medicine, St Vincent’s Hospital, University of Melbourne, Australia
  11. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Melbourne, Australia
9 figures, 1 table and 1 additional file

Figures

Figure 1 with 1 supplement
Cystathionine-β-synthase (CBS) expression and transsulfuration pathway activity are elevated in AKT-induced senescence.

(A) Schematic diagram illustrating that the cytoplasmic localized CBS regulates transmethylation and transsulfuration metabolic pathways, and mitochondrial localized CBS regulates oxidative …

Figure 1—source data 1

Unedited immunoblots of Figure 1B.

Raw images were acquired using the ChemiDoc system (Bio-Rad).

https://cdn.elifesciences.org/articles/71929/elife-71929-fig1-data1-v1.pdf
Figure 1—figure supplement 1
Cystathionine-β-synthase (CBS) expression and transsulfuration pathway activity are elevated in AKT-induced senescence.

(A) IMR-90 human fetal lung fibroblasts were transduced with pBabe or myrAKT1. On day 5 post-transduction, cells were transfected with either CBS siRNA (siCBS) or control siRNA (siOTP). Western blot …

Figure 1—figure supplement 1—source data 1

Unedited immunoblots of Figure 1—figure supplement 1B.

Raw images were acquired using the ChemiDoc system (Bio-Rad).

https://cdn.elifesciences.org/articles/71929/elife-71929-fig1-figsupp1-data1-v1.pdf
Figure 2 with 1 supplement
Depletion of cystathionine-β-synthase (CBS) promotes escape from AKT-induced senescence.

(A and B) BJ3 human skin fibroblasts expressing telomerase reverse transcriptase (BJ-TERT) cells expressing myrAKT1 were transduced with pGIPZ-shCBS or non-silencing small hairpin RNA (shRNA) …

Figure 2—source data 1

Unedited immunoblots of Figure 2A.

Raw images were acquired using the ChemiDoc system (Bio-Rad).

https://cdn.elifesciences.org/articles/71929/elife-71929-fig2-data1-v1.pdf
Figure 2—source data 2

Unedited immunoblots of Figure 2C.

Raw images were acquired using the ChemiDoc system (Bio-Rad).

https://cdn.elifesciences.org/articles/71929/elife-71929-fig2-data2-v1.pdf
Figure 2—source data 3

Unedited immunoblots of Figure 2F.

Raw images were acquired using the ChemiDoc system (Bio-Rad).

https://cdn.elifesciences.org/articles/71929/elife-71929-fig2-data3-v1.pdf
Figure 2—figure supplement 1
Depletion of cystathionine-β-synthase (CBS) promotes escape from AKT-induced senescence.

(A–B) BJ3 human skin fibroblasts expressing telomerase reverse transcriptase (BJ-TERT) cells expressing doxycycline-inducible CBS shRNA#2 and 4-OHT-inducible CBS were transduced with pBabe or …

Figure 2—figure supplement 1—source data 1

Unedited immunoblots of Figure 2—figure supplement 1A (A) and 1D (B).

Raw images were acquired using the ChemiDoc system (Bio-Rad).

https://cdn.elifesciences.org/articles/71929/elife-71929-fig2-figsupp1-data1-v1.pdf
Figure 2—figure supplement 1—source data 2

Unedited immunoblots of Figure 2—figure supplement 1E.

Raw images were acquired using the ChemiDoc system (Bio-Rad).

https://cdn.elifesciences.org/articles/71929/elife-71929-fig2-figsupp1-data2-v1.pdf
Figure 3 with 1 supplement
Depletion of cystathionine-β-synthase (CBS) in AKT-induced senescence (AIS) cells does not affect cysteine and glutathione (GSH) abundance in cysteine-replete conditions.

(A) Schematic of [3–13C] serine isotope tracing. Gray circles indicate 13C carbon atoms. Clear circles indicate unlabeled carbon atoms. (B–E) BJ3 human skin fibroblasts expressing telomerase reverse …

Figure 3—figure supplement 1
Depletion of cystathionine-β-synthase (CBS) in AKT-induced senescence (AIS) cells does not affect cysteine and glutathione (GSH) abundance in cysteine-replete conditions.

(A) The effects of siRNA knockdown of genes involved in the transsulfuration and transmethylation pathways on the cell number of AIS cells with Z score in blue, as measured by the functional genomic …

Figure 4 with 1 supplement
Cystathionine-β-synthase (CBS) mitochondrial localization is required for AKT-induced senescence (AIS) maintenance.

(A–B) BJ3 human skin fibroblasts expressing telomerase reverse transcriptase (BJ-TERT) cells were transduced with pBabe or myrAKT1. Immunofluorescent staining showing CBS (green) and mitochondria …

Figure 4—source data 1

Unedited immunoblots of Figure 4C.

Raw images were acquired using the ChemiDoc system (Bio-Rad).

https://cdn.elifesciences.org/articles/71929/elife-71929-fig4-data1-v1.pdf
Figure 4—source data 2

Unedited immunoblots of Figure 4D.

Raw images were acquired using the ChemiDoc system (Bio-Rad).

https://cdn.elifesciences.org/articles/71929/elife-71929-fig4-data2-v1.pdf
Figure 4—source data 3

Unedited immunoblots of Figure 4F.

Raw images were acquired using the ChemiDoc system (Bio-Rad).

https://cdn.elifesciences.org/articles/71929/elife-71929-fig4-data3-v1.pdf
Figure 4—figure supplement 1
AKT-induced senescent cells showed increased expression of proteins involved in the mitochondrial electron transport chain.

(A) BJ3 human skin fibroblasts expressing telomerase reverse transcriptase (BJ-TERT) cells were transduced with pBabe, myrAKT1, or HRASG12V. Western blot analysis was performed on day 10 …

Figure 4—figure supplement 1—source data 1

Unedited immunoblots of Figure 4—figure supplement 1A.

Raw images were acquired using the ChemiDoc system (Bio-Rad).

https://cdn.elifesciences.org/articles/71929/elife-71929-fig4-figsupp1-data1-v1.pdf
Figure 5 with 1 supplement
Cystathionine-β-synthase (CBS) deficiency alleviates oxidative stress in AKT-induced senescence (AIS) cells.

(A–C) BJ3 human skin fibroblasts expressing telomerase reverse transcriptase (BJ-TERT) cells were transduced with either pBabe, myrAKT1, or HRASG12V. After 5 days cells were transfected with either C…

Figure 5—figure supplement 1
Cystathionine-β-synthase (CBS) deficiency alleviates oxidative stress in AKT-induced senescence (AIS) cells.

(A) BJ3 human skin fibroblasts expressing telomerase reverse transcriptase (BJ-TERT) cells expressing doxycycline-inducible CBS shRNA#2 and 4-OHT-inducible FLAG-tagged wild type or a truncated …

Figure 5—figure supplement 1—source data 1

Unedited immunoblots of Figure 5—figure supplement 1A.

Raw images were acquired using the ChemiDoc system (Bio-Rad).

https://cdn.elifesciences.org/articles/71929/elife-71929-fig5-figsupp1-data1-v1.pdf
Figure 6 with 1 supplement
Cystathionine-β-synthase (CBS) expression is suppressed in tumor tissues and human cell lines of gastric cancer.

(A) Analysis of genetic alterations of CBS in different subtypes of gastric cancer using cBioPortal (http://www.cbioportal.org). (B) Median mRNA expression level of CBS in normal stomach tissues and …

Figure 6—source data 1

Unedited immunoblots of Figure 6F.

Raw images were acquired using the ChemiDoc system (Bio-Rad).

https://cdn.elifesciences.org/articles/71929/elife-71929-fig6-data1-v1.pdf
Figure 6—figure supplement 1
Cystathionine-β-synthase (CBS) expression is suppressed in tumor tissues and human cell lines of gastric cancer.

(A) CBS, PIK3CA, AKT1, AKT2, AKT3, and PTEN gene expression in 441 gastric cancer patient samples from TCGA, Firehose Legacy study using cBioPortal (http://www.cbioportal.org). (B) Correlation of CBS

Figure 6—figure supplement 1—source data 1

Unedited gel image of Figure 6—figure supplement 1D.

Raw images were acquired using the ChemiDoc system (Bio-Rad).

https://cdn.elifesciences.org/articles/71929/elife-71929-fig6-figsupp1-data1-v1.pdf
Figure 7 with 1 supplement
Loss of cystathionine-β-synthase (CBS) synergizes with PI3K/AKT pathway to promote gastric cancer pathogenesis.

(A–B) GES-1 gastric epithelial cells were stably transfected with doxycycline-inducible myrAKT1 and pGIPZ-shCBS or non-silencing small hairpin RNA (shRNA) control (shCtrl). (A) Western blot analysis …

Figure 7—source data 1

Unedited immunoblots of Figure 7A.

Raw images were acquired using the ChemiDoc system (Bio-Rad).

https://cdn.elifesciences.org/articles/71929/elife-71929-fig7-data1-v1.pdf
Figure 7—source data 2

Unedited immunoblots of Figure 7C.

Raw images were acquired using the ChemiDoc system (Bio-Rad).

https://cdn.elifesciences.org/articles/71929/elife-71929-fig7-data2-v1.pdf
Figure 7—source data 3

Unedited immunoblots of Figure 7E.

Raw images were acquired using the ChemiDoc system (Bio-Rad).

https://cdn.elifesciences.org/articles/71929/elife-71929-fig7-data3-v1.pdf
Figure 7—figure supplement 1
Loss of cystathionine-β-synthase (CBS) synergizes with the PI3K/AKT pathway to promote gastric cancer pathogenesis.

(A–C) GES-1 gastric epithelial cells were stably transfected with doxycycline-inducible myrAKT1 and pGIPZ-shCBS or non-silencing small hairpin RNA (shRNA) control (shCtrl). Cells were treated with …

Author response image 1
Author response image 2

Tables

Appendix 1—key resources table
Reagent type (species) or resourceDesignationSource or referenceIdentifiersAdditional information
Gene (Homo sapiens)CBSNCBINM_000071.3
Strain, strain background (Mus musculus)NOD scid gamma mousePeter MacCallum Cancer Centre Animal Facility, Australia
Cell line (Homo sapiens)BJ-TERT human foreskin fibroblastProvided by Robert Weinberg (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA)BJ3 human skin fibroblasts expressing telomerase reverse transcriptase. Cultured in DMEM+20 mM HEPES, 17% Medium 199, 15% FBS, and 1% GlutaMAX
Cell line (Homo sapiens)IMR90Originated from ATCC and obtained from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Sydney, AustraliaATCC-CL-186Cultured in EMEM+10% FBS, 5 mM sodium pyruvate, 1% non-essential amino acids, and 1% GlutaMAX
Cell line (Homo sapiens)AGSATCCATCC-CRL-1739Cultured in DMEM+20 mM HEPES, 10% FBS, and 1% GlutaMAX
Cell line (Homo sapiens)Hs 746TATCCATCC-HTB-135Cultured in DMEM+20 mM HEPES, 10% FBS, and 1% GlutaMAX
Cell line (Homo sapiens)KATO IIIATCCATCC-HTB-103Cultured in DMEM+20 mM HEPES, 10% FBS, and 1% GlutaMAX
Cell line (Homo sapiens)NCI-N87ATCCATCC-CRL-5822Cultured in RPMI+20 mM HEPES, 10% FBS, and 1% GlutaMAX
Cell line (Homo sapiens)SNU1ATCCATCC-CRL-5971Cultured in RPMI+20 mM HEPES, 10% FBS, and 1% GlutaMAX
Cell line (Homo sapiens)SNU5ATCCATCC-CRL-5973Cultured in IMDM, 20%FBS, and 1% GlutaMAX.
Cell line (Homo-sapiens)GES-1Provided by Prof. Caiyun Fu (Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, China)Cultured in DMEM+20 mM HEPES, 10% FBS, and 1% GlutaMAX
Recombinant DNA reagentpBabe-puro (plasmid)Morgenstern and Land, 1990Addgene plasmid #1764Retroviral vector as the backbone of all pBabe constructs, used as empty vector control
Recombinant DNA reagentpBabe-puro-HA-myrAKT1 (plasmid)Astle et al., 2012pBabe-puro construct expressing HA-tagged myrAKT1
Recombinant DNA reagentpBabe-puro-HRASG12VAstle et al., 2012pBabe-puro construct expressing HA- tagged HRASG12V, gift from Patrick Humbert
Recombinant DNA reagentpCW57.1-HA-myrAKT1Chan et al., 2020Doxycycline-inducible pCW57.1 construct expressing HA-tagged myrAKT1
Recombinant DNA reagentpREBIR (TRE3G-dsRed-miRE/shRNA-PGK-eBFP2-IRES-rtTA3)Kim et al., 2018Retroviral doxycycline-inducible shRNA expression vector as the backbone of pREBIR constructs
Recombinant DNA reagentpREBIR-shRENChan et al., 2020Doxycycline-inducible pREBIR construct expressing renilla luciferase sequence
Recombinant DNA reagentpREBIR-shCBS#1This paperDoxycycline-inducible pREBIR construct expressing shRNA targeting CBS. The shRNA hairpins were subcloned from Dharmacon pGIPZ-shCBS (Cat# V3LHS_363331)
Recombinant DNA reagentpREBIR-shCBS#2This paperDoxycycline-inducible pREBIR construct expressing shRNA targeting CBS. The shRNA hairpins were subcloned from Dharmacon pGIPZ-shCBS (Cat# V3LHS_363334)
Recombinant DNA reagentpRT3-puroThis paperRetroviral doxycycline-inducible vector which is modified from pREBIR by excising the dsRed/mire cassette and replacing eBFP2 with the puromycin resistance gene
Recombinant DNA reagentpRT3-puro-CBSThis paperRetroviral doxycycline-inducible vector pREBIR-puro expressing CBS cDNA which encodes human CBS isoform1
Recombinant DNA reagentpLNCX2 ER:rasMasashi Narita (Young et al., 2009)Addgene plasmid #678444-Hydroxytamoxifen-inducible ER:ras fusion protein as the backbone for pLNCX2 ER constructs
Recombinant DNA reagentpLNCX2 ER:CBS WT-FLAGThis paperHRASV12 in pLNCX2 ER;ras was replaced with C-terminally FLAG tagged human CBS isoform 1
Recombinant DNA reagentpLNCX2 ER:CBS Δ468–551-FLAGThis paperHRASV12 in pLNCX2 ER;ras was replaced with C-terminally FLAG tagged human CBS isoform 1 with a deletion of regulatory domain CBSD2 (Δ468–551)
Recombinant DNA reagentFgH1t-puro-PTEN gRNAThis paperFgH1t-puro was modified from FgH1t-GFP (Marco Herold) to replace GFP with a puromycin resistance gene. Lentiviral vector expressing PTEN gRNA sequence (TCATCTGGATTATAGACCAG)
Transfected construct (Homo sapiens)pGIPZ-Non-silencing lentiviral shRNA controlDharmacon (Horizon Discovery, UK)Cat#RHS4348Lentiviral construct to transfect and express shRNA whose sequence contain no homology to known mammalian genes as the negative control for shRNA experiments
Transfected construct (Homo sapiens)pGIPZ-shCBS #1Dharmacon (Horizon Discovery, UK)Cat# V3LHS_363331Lentiviral construct to transfect and express the shRNA targeting human CBS
Transfected construct (Homo sapiens)pGIPZ-shCBS #2Dharmacon (Horizon Discovery, UK)Cat# V3LHS_363334Lentiviral construct to transfect and express the shRNA targeting human CBS
Transfected construct (Homo sapiens)On-Targetplus Non-targeting control poolDharmacon (Horizon Discovery, UK)Cat#D-001810-10-05Transfected construct (human) as the negative control for RNAi experiment
Transfected construct (Homo sapiens)siRNA to human CBS
(SMARTpool)
Dharmacon (Horizon Discovery, UK)Cat#L-008617-00-0005Transfected construct (human)
Biological samples (Homo sapiens)Tissue microarray slide contains 120 tumor sections and 63 normal sections from 62 individual gastric cancer patientsWang et al., 2013These patients underwent gastrectomy from 2000 to 2005 in Changhai Hospital, second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China. All patients have not received any anticancer therapy before surgery
AntibodyAnti-p53 (mouse monoclonal)Santa CruzCat#sc-126WB (1:1000)
AntibodyAnti-AKT (rabbit monoclonal)Cell Signaling TechnologyCat#4691WB (1:1000)
AntibodyAnti-HA (mouse monoclonal)In-houseCat#12CA5WB (1:2000)
AntibodyAnti-Ras (mouse monoclonal)Santa CruzCat#sc-520WB (1:500)
AntibodyAnti-Cyclin A (mouse monoclonal)Santa CruzCat#sc-751WB (1:1000)
AntibodyAnti-Phospho-RB (S807/811) (rabbit monoclonal)Cell Signaling TechnologyCat#8,561WB (1:1000)
AntibodyAnti-RB (mouse monoclonal)BD PharmingenCat#544136WB (1:1000)
AntibodyAnti-Phospho-AKT(S473) (rabbit monoclonal)Cell Signaling TechnologyCat#4058WB (1:1000)
AntibodyAnti-p21(rabbit monoclonal)Cell Signaling TechnologyCat#2947WB (1:1000)
AntibodyAnti-p16 (mouse monoclonal)BD PharmingenCat#550834WB (1:1000)
AntibodyAnti-CBS (rabbit monoclonal)ProteintechCat#14787–1-APWB (1:1000), IF(1:100)
AntibodyAnti-PTEN (rabbit monoclonal)Cell Signaling TechnologyCat#9559WB (1:1000)
AntibodyAnti-SLC7A11 (rabbit monoclonal)Cell Signaling TechnologyCat#12691WB (1:1000)
AntibodyAnti-CTH (rabbit monoclonal)Cell Signaling TechnologyCat#19689WB (1:1000)
AntibodyAnti-IL-1α (Goat polyclonal)R&D SystemsCat#AF-200-NAWB (1:1000)
AntibodyAnti-IL-1β (mouse monoclonal)R&D SystemsCat#MAB201100WB (1:1000)
AntibodyAnti-IL-8 (mouse monoclonal)R&D SystemsCat#MAB208100WB (1:1000)
AntibodyAnti-IL-6 (goat polyclonal)R&D SystemsCat#AB-206-NAWB (1:1000)
AntibodyAnti-OXPHOS (mouse monoclonal)abcamCat#ab110413WB (1:1000)
AntibodyAnti-FLAG (mouse monoclonal)Sigma-AldrichCat#F3165WB (1:1000)
AntibodyAnti-β-Actin conjugated to HRP (mouse monoclonal)Sigma-AldrichCat#A3854WB (1:10,000)
AntibodyAnti-Vinculin conjugated to HRP (mouse monoclonal)Santa CruzCat# sc-73614HRPWB (1:2000)
AntibodyGoat anti-rabbit IgG (H+L) HRP conjugate (goat polyclonal)Bio-Rad LaboratoriesCat# 170-6515WB (1:2000)
AntibodyGoat anti-mouse IgG (H+L) HRP conjugate (goat polyclonal)Bio-Rad LaboratoriesCat#172-1011WB (1:2000)
Sequence-based reagentHuman CBS-ForwardThis paperPCR primers5’-GGGGCTGAGATTGTGAGGAC-3’
Sequence-based reagentHuman CBS-ReverseThis paperPCR primers5’-CGGTACTGGTCTAGGATGTGA-3’
Sequence-based reagentHuman CBS-ForwardZhao et al., 2012Methylation-specific PCR primers5’-CAGAGGATAAGGAAGCCAAG-3’
Sequence-based reagentHuman CBS-ReverseZhao et al., 2012Methylation-specific PCR primers5’-TCCCAATCTTGTTGATTCTGAC-3’
Sequence-based reagentHuman CBS methylated-ForwardZhao et al., 2012Methylation-specific PCR primers5’-CGAGATATTGGTCGGCGTC-3’
Sequence-based reagentHuman CBS unmethylated-ForwardZhao et al., 2012Methylation-specific PCR primers5’-TTATGAGATATTGGTTGGTGTT-3’
Sequence-based reagentHuman CBS unmethylated-ReverseZhao et al., 2012Methylation-specific PCR primers5’-TACCCCAACTACAACAAAACA-3’
Commercial assay or kitClick-iT EdU AlexaFluor-488 imaging kitInvitrogenCat#C10337
Commercial assay or kitQproteome mitochondria isolation kitQiagenCat#37612
Commercial assay or kitISOLATE-II kitBiolineCat#52073
Commercial assay or kitSuperScript III reverse transcriptaseInvitrogenCat#18080051
Commercial assay or kitFast SYBR green Master MixApplied BiosystemsCat#4385612
Commercial assay or kitNucleoSpin Tissue KitMacherey-NagelCat#740952
Commercial assay or kitEZ DNA methylation kitZymo ResearchCat#D5001
Commercial assay or kitGlutathione Assay KitCayman ChemicalCat#703002
Chemical compound, drugO-(Carboxymethyl)hydroxylamine hemihydrochloride (AOAA)Sigma-AldrichCat#C13408Final conc: 30 μM
Chemical compound, drugDoxycycline hyclateSigma-AldrichCat#D5207Final conc: 1 μg/ml
Chemical compound, drug(Z)–4-hydroxytamoxifen (4-OHT)Sigma-AldrichCat#H7904Final conc: 20 nM
Chemical compound, drugL-serine (3–13C)Cambridge Isotope LaboratoriesCat#CLM-1572Final conc: 400 μM
Chemical compound, drugNEMSigma-AldrichCat#E3876Final conc: 50 mM
Chemical compound, drugAmmonium formateSigma-AldrichCat#516961Final conc: 10 mM
Chemical compound, drugErastinSigma-AldrichCat#E7781Final conc: 5 μM
Chemical compound, drugProtease KThermo FisherCat#25530029Final conc: 0.1 μg/ml
Software, algorithmGraphPad PrismGraphPad SoftwareVersion 9.3.0
Software, algorithmMolecular signatures databaseBroad InstituteVersion 6.1
Software, algorithmMetaboAnalysthttps://www.metaboanalyst.caVersion 4.0
OtherDAPI stainInvitrogenCat#D1306Final conc: 0.5–1 µg/ml
OtherMitoTracker Deep Red FMInvitrogenCat#M22426Final conc: 1 μM
OtherMitoSOX redInvitrogenCat#M36008Final conc: 5 μM
Other2′,7′-Dichlorofluorescein diacetate (H2DCFDH-DA)Sigma-AldrichCat#35845Final conc: 10 μM
Other7-Azido-4-Methylcoumarin (AzMC)Sigma-AldrichCat#802409Final conc: 20 μM
Other5-Ethyl-2’deoxyuridine (EdU)InvitrogenCat#A10044Final conc: 10 μM
OtherX-galSigma-AldrichCat#B4252Final conc: 1 mg/ml

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