Simultaneous inhibition of PFKFB3 and GLS1 selectively kills KRAS-transformed pancreatic cells

OZCAN, SELAHATTIN C.; MUTLU, AYDAN; ALTUNOK, TUGBA H.; GURPINAR, YUNUS; SARIOGLU, AYBIKE; GULER, SABIRE; MUCHUT, ROBERTINO J.; IGLESIAS, ALBERTO A.; CELIKLER, SERAP; CAMPBELL, PAUL M.; YALCIN, ABDULLAH

BIOCHEMICAL AND BIOPHYSICAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS

ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2021 vol. 571 p. 118 - 124

0006-291X

Activating mutations of the oncogenic KRAS in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) are associated with an aberrant metabolic phenotype that may be therapeutically exploited. Increased glutamine utilization via glutaminase-1 (GLS1) is one such feature of the activated KRAS signaling that is essential to cell survival and proliferation; however, metabolic plasticity of PDAC cells allow them to adapt to GLS1 inhibition via various mechanisms including activation of glycolysis, suggesting a requirement for combinatorial anti-metabolic approaches to combat PDAC. We investigated whether targeting the glycolytic regulator 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase-3 (PFKFB3) in combination with GLS1 can selectively prevent the growth of KRAS-transformed cells. We show that KRAS-transformation of pancreatic duct cells robustly sensitizes them to the dual targeting of GLS1 and PFKFB3. We also report that this sensitivity is preserved in the PDAC cell line PANC-1 which harbors an activating KRAS mutation. We then demonstrate that GLS1 inhibition reduced fructose-2,6-bisphosphate levels, the product of PFKFB3, whereas PFKFB3 inhibition increased glutamine consumption, and these effects were augmented by the co-inhibition of GLS1 and PFKFB3, suggesting a reciprocal regulation between PFKFB3 and GLS1. In conclusion, this study identifies a novel mutant KRAS-induced metabolic vulnerability that may be targeted via combinatorial inhibition of GLS1 and PFKFB3 to suppress PDAC cell growth.