Abstract 229: A metabolic switch controls cell fate decision-making in intestinal differentiation downstream of the tumor suppressor adenomatous polyposis coli (apc)

Mutation in the tumor suppressor Adenomatous Polyposis Coli (APC) is the primary initiating mutation in a majority of colon tumors. Recent studies have shown that APC positively correlates with Mitochondrial Pyruvate Carrier 1 (MPC1), a crucial player in pyruvate metabolism and has been reported to repress the Warburg effect and growth in colon cancer cells. Utilizing the zebrafish to examine the relationship between apc and mpc1, we found that mpc1 expression is reduced in embryos harboring a genetic mutation (apcmcr) or diminished expression (apc mo) of apc. Antisense morpholino knockdown of mpc1 in wild type embryos (mpc1 mo) resulted in an array of developmental defects that recapitulated phenotypes of impaired apc function including failed intestinal differentiation. This was accompanied by mitochondrial dysfunction in mpc1 mo as evidenced by a decrease in metabolic respiration and triglyceride levels. We also observed altered mitochondrial function and dysregulation of enzymes involved in pyruvate metabolism in apcmcr and apc mo. Moreover, hMPC1 RNA rescued intestinal differentiation in both zebrafish models of apc deficiency. Meta-analyses using TCGA human tumor samples corroborated our findings in the zebrafish. Our data demonstrate a novel role for apc in pyruvate metabolism through regulation of mpc1 that drives normal intestinal differentiation and support the broader idea that metabolic changes can dictate cell fate programs. Citation Format: Imelda T. Sandoval, Richard Glenn C. Delacruz, Braden N. Miller, Christeena Satterfield, Kristophor Olson, Shauna Hill, Holly Van Remmen, Jared Rutter, David A. Jones. A metabolic switch controls cell fate decision-making in intestinal differentiation downstream of the tumor suppressor adenomatous polyposis coli (apc). [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 229.