1. Academic Validation
  2. SMYD2 suppresses p53 activity to promote glucose metabolism in cervical cancer

SMYD2 suppresses p53 activity to promote glucose metabolism in cervical cancer

  • Exp Cell Res. 2021 Jul 15;404(2):112649. doi: 10.1016/j.yexcr.2021.112649.
Ying Wang 1 Ge Jin 2 Yunfeng Guo 2 Yuan Cao 2 Shuhuai Niu 2 Xiaomei Fan 3 Jun Zhang 4
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Department of Gynecology, The Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, 050011, China.
  • 2 Department of Gynecological Oncology, The Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, 050011, China.
  • 3 Department of Gynecological Oncology, The Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, 050011, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • 4 Department of Gynecology, The Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, 050011, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
Abstract

Reprogrammed energy metabolism, especially the Warburg effect, is emerged as a hallmark of Cancer. The protein lysine methyltransferase SMYD2 functions as an oncogene and is implicated in various malignant phenotypes of human cancers. However, the role of SMYD2 in tumor metabolism is still largely unknown. Here, we report that SMYD2 is highly expressed in human cervical Cancer and its aberrant expression is linked to a poor prognosis. Bioinformatic analysis revealed a novel link between SMYD2 expression and aerobic glycolysis. Through loss-of-function experiments, we demonstrated that SMYD2 knockdown or inhibition induced a metabolic shift from aerobic glycolysis to oxidative phosphorylation, as evidenced by glucose uptake, lactate production, extracellular acidification, and the oxygen consumption rate. In contrast, SMYD2 overexpression promoted glycolytic metabolism in cervical Cancer cells. Moreover, SMYD2 was required for tumor growth in cervical Cancer and this oncogenic activity was largely glycolysis-dependent. Mechanistically, SMYD2 altered the methylation status of p53 and inhibited its transcriptional activity. Genetic silencing of p53 largely abrogated the effects of SMYD2 in promoting aerobic glycolysis. Taken together, our findings reveal a novel function of SMYD2 in regulating the Warburg effect in cervical Cancer.

Keywords

Cervical cancer; Oxidative phosphorylation; SMYD2; TP53; Warburg effect.

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