LAPTM4B counteracts ferroptosis via suppressing the ubiquitin-proteasome degradation of SLC7A11 in non-small cell lung cancer

• Published in: Cell death & disease Vol. 15; no. 6; pp. 436 - 18
• Main Authors: Yan, Ruyu, Liu, Dan, Guo, Hongjuan, Liu, Minxia, Lv, Dongjin, Björkblom, Benny, Wu, Mingsong, Yu, Hongtao, Leng, Hao, Lu, Bingxiao, Li, Yuxiang, Gao, Miaomiao, Blom, Tomas, Zhou, Kecheng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 20.06.2024; Springer Nature B.V; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 14/19; 14/28; 631/67/2327; 631/80/82; 82/51; 96/31; Amino Acid Transport System y+ - genetics; Amino Acid Transport System y+ - metabolism; Animal models; Animals; Antibodies; Biochemistry; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung - genetics; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung - metabolism; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung - pathology; Cell Biology; Cell Culture; Cell Line, Tumor; Drug development; Ferroptosis; Ferroptosis - drug effects; Humans; Immunology; Life Sciences; Lung cancer; Lung Neoplasms - genetics; Lung Neoplasms - metabolism; Lung Neoplasms - pathology; Membrane Proteins - genetics; Membrane Proteins - metabolism; Metabolic pathways; Metabolism; Metabolomics; Mice; Mice, Nude; Non-small cell lung carcinoma; Oncogene Proteins - genetics; Oncogene Proteins - metabolism; Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex - metabolism; Proteasomes; Protein transport; Proteolysis - drug effects; Small cell lung carcinoma; Therapeutic targets; Tumor cells; Tumorigenesis; Ubiquitin; Ubiquitin - metabolism; Ubiquitination
• ISSN: 2041-4889; 2041-4889
• DOI: 10.1038/s41419-024-06836-x

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, necessitating the identification of novel therapeutic targets. Lysosome Associated Protein Transmembrane 4B (LAPTM4B) is involved in biological processes critical to cancer progression, such as regulation of solute carrier transporter proteins and metabolic pathways, including mTORC1. However, the metabolic processes governed by LAPTM4B and its role in oncogenesis remain unknown. In this study, we conducted unbiased metabolomic screens to uncover the metabolic landscape regulated by LAPTM4B. We observed common metabolic changes in several knockout cell models suggesting of a role for LAPTM4B in suppressing ferroptosis. Through a series of cell-based assays and animal experiments, we demonstrate that LAPTM4B protects tumor cells from erastin-induced ferroptosis both in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, LAPTM4B suppresses ferroptosis by inhibiting NEDD4L/ZRANB1 mediated ubiquitination and subsequent proteasomal degradation of the cystine-glutamate antiporter SLC7A11. Furthermore, metabolomic profiling of cancer cells revealed that LAPTM4B knockout leads to a significant enrichment of ferroptosis and associated metabolic alterations. By integrating results from cellular assays, patient tissue samples, an animal model, and cancer databases, this study highlights the clinical relevance of the LAPTM4B-SLC7A11-ferroptosis signaling axis in NSCLC progression and identifies it as a potential target for the development of cancer therapeutics.