RESUMO
A postprandial increase of translation mediated by eukaryotic Initiation Factor 6 (eIF6) occurs in the liver. Its contribution to steatosis and disease is unknown. In this study we address whether eIF6-driven translation contributes to disease progression. eIF6 levels increase throughout the progression from Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) to hepatocellular carcinoma. Reduction of eIF6 levels protects the liver from disease progression. eIF6 depletion blunts lipid accumulation, increases fatty acid oxidation (FAO) and reduces oncogenic transformation in vitro. In addition, eIF6 depletion delays the progression from NAFLD to hepatocellular carcinoma, in vivo. Mechanistically, eIF6 depletion reduces the translation of transcription factor C/EBPß, leading to a drop in biomarkers associated with NAFLD progression to hepatocellular carcinoma and preserves mitochondrial respiration due to the maintenance of an alternative mTORC1-eIF4F translational branch that increases the expression of transcription factor YY1. We provide proof-of-concept that in vitro pharmacological inhibition of eIF6 activity recapitulates the protective effects of eIF6 depletion. We hypothesize the existence of a targetable, evolutionarily conserved translation circuit optimized for lipid accumulation and tumor progression.
Assuntos
Carcinoma Hepatocelular/genética , Neoplasias Hepáticas/genética , Hepatopatia Gordurosa não Alcoólica/genética , Fatores de Iniciação de Peptídeos/genética , Biossíntese de Proteínas/genética , Animais , Proteína beta Intensificadora de Ligação a CCAAT/genética , Proteína beta Intensificadora de Ligação a CCAAT/metabolismo , Carcinoma Hepatocelular/metabolismo , Linhagem Celular , Transformação Celular Neoplásica/efeitos dos fármacos , Transformação Celular Neoplásica/genética , Transformação Celular Neoplásica/metabolismo , Clofazimina/farmacologia , Dieta Hiperlipídica/efeitos adversos , Progressão da Doença , Inativação Gênica , Humanos , Lipogênese/efeitos dos fármacos , Lipogênese/genética , Neoplasias Hepáticas/metabolismo , Masculino , Camundongos Endogâmicos C57BL , Camundongos Knockout , Hepatopatia Gordurosa não Alcoólica/metabolismo , Obesidade/etiologia , Obesidade/genética , Obesidade/metabolismo , Fatores de Iniciação de Peptídeos/antagonistas & inibidores , Fatores de Iniciação de Peptídeos/metabolismoRESUMO
Eukaryotic initiation factor 6 (eIF6) is necessary for the nucleolar biogenesis of 60S ribosomes. However, most of eIF6 resides in the cytoplasm, where it acts as an initiation factor. eIF6 is necessary for maximal protein synthesis downstream of growth factor stimulation. eIF6 is an antiassociation factor that binds 60S subunits, in turn preventing premature 40S joining and thus the formation of inactive 80S subunits. It is widely thought that eIF6 antiassociation activity is critical for its function. Here, we exploited and improved our assay for eIF6 binding to ribosomes (iRIA) in order to screen for modulators of eIF6 binding to the 60S. Three compounds, eIFsixty-1 (clofazimine), eIFsixty-4, and eIFsixty-6 were identified and characterized. All three inhibit the binding of eIF6 to the 60S in the micromolar range. eIFsixty-4 robustly inhibits cell growth, whereas eIFsixty-1 and eIFsixty-6 might have dose- and cell-specific effects. Puromycin labeling shows that eIF6ixty-4 is a strong global translational inhibitor, whereas the other two are mild modulators. Polysome profiling and RT-qPCR show that all three inhibitors reduce the specific translation of well-known eIF6 targets. In contrast, none of them affect the nucleolar localization of eIF6. These data provide proof of principle that the generation of eIF6 translational modulators is feasible.