Title | Vitamin C selectively kills KRAS and BRAF mutant colorectal cancer cells by targeting GAPDH. |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 2015 |
Authors | Yun J, Mullarky E, Lu C, Bosch KN, Kavalier A, Rivera K, Roper J, Chio IIn Christi, Giannopoulou EG, Rago C, Muley A, Asara JM, Paik J, Elemento O, Chen Z, Pappin DJ, Dow LE, Papadopoulos N, Gross SS, Cantley LC |
Journal | Science |
Volume | 350 |
Issue | 6266 |
Pagination | 1391-6 |
Date Published | 2015 Dec 11 |
ISSN | 1095-9203 |
Keywords | Adenomatous Polyposis Coli Protein, Animals, Ascorbic Acid, Cell Line, Tumor, Colorectal Neoplasms, Dehydroascorbic Acid, Female, Glucose Transporter Type 1, Glyceraldehyde-3-Phosphate Dehydrogenase (Phosphorylating), Glycolysis, Humans, Mice, Mice, Mutant Strains, Mice, Nude, Proto-Oncogene Proteins, Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf, Proto-Oncogene Proteins p21(ras), ras Proteins, Reactive Oxygen Species, Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays |
Abstract | More than half of human colorectal cancers (CRCs) carry either KRAS or BRAF mutations and are often refractory to approved targeted therapies. We found that cultured human CRC cells harboring KRAS or BRAF mutations are selectively killed when exposed to high levels of vitamin C. This effect is due to increased uptake of the oxidized form of vitamin C, dehydroascorbate (DHA), via the GLUT1 glucose transporter. Increased DHA uptake causes oxidative stress as intracellular DHA is reduced to vitamin C, depleting glutathione. Thus, reactive oxygen species accumulate and inactivate glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH). Inhibition of GAPDH in highly glycolytic KRAS or BRAF mutant cells leads to an energetic crisis and cell death not seen in KRAS and BRAF wild-type cells. High-dose vitamin C impairs tumor growth in Apc/Kras(G12D) mutant mice. These results provide a mechanistic rationale for exploring the therapeutic use of vitamin C for CRCs with KRAS or BRAF mutations. |
DOI | 10.1126/science.aaa5004 |
Alternate Journal | Science |
PubMed ID | 26541605 |
PubMed Central ID | PMC4778961 |
Grant List | T32 CA062948 / CA / NCI NIH HHS / United States R01 AG048284 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States S10 RR022615 / RR / NCRR NIH HHS / United States K22 CA181280 / CA / NCI NIH HHS / United States P01 CA117969 / CA / NCI NIH HHS / United States P01 CA120964 / CA / NCI NIH HHS / United States P01 CA120964-07 / CA / NCI NIH HHS / United States K08 CA198002 / CA / NCI NIH HHS / United States KL2 TR000458 / TR / NCATS NIH HHS / United States / / Howard Hughes Medical Institute / United States P01 CA117969-09 / CA / NCI NIH HHS / United States P30 CA045508 / CA / NCI NIH HHS / United States UL1 TR000457 / TR / NCATS NIH HHS / United States |