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Integrated Analysis of Acetyl-CoA and Histone Modification via Mass Spectrometry to Investigate Metabolically Driven Acetylation

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Book cover Cancer Metabolism

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 1928))

Abstract

Acetylation is a highly abundant and dynamic post-translational modification (PTM) on histone proteins which, when present on chromatin-bound histones, facilitates the accessibility of DNA for gene transcription. The central metabolite, acetyl-CoA, is a substrate for acetyltransferases, which catalyze protein acetylation. Acetyl-CoA is an essential intermediate in diverse metabolic pathways, and cellular acetyl-CoA levels fluctuate according to extracellular nutrient availability and the metabolic state of the cell. The Michaelis constant (Km) of most histone acetyltransferases (HATs), which specifically target histone proteins, falls within the range of cellular acetyl-CoA concentrations. As a consequence, global levels of histone acetylation are often restricted by availability of acetyl-CoA. Such metabolic regulation of histone acetylation is important for cell proliferation, differentiation, and a variety of cellular functions. In cancer, numerous oncogenic signaling events hijack cellular metabolism, ultimately inducing an extensive rearrangement of the epigenetic state of the cell. Understanding metabolic control of the epigenome through histone acetylation is essential to illuminate the molecular mechanisms by which cells sense, adapt, and occasionally disengage nutrient fluctuations and environmental cues from gene expression. In particular, targeting metabolic regulators or even dietary interventions to impact acetyl-CoA availability and histone acetylation is a promising target in cancer therapy. Liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (LC-MS) is the most accurate methodology to quantify protein PTMs and metabolites. In this chapter, we present state-of-the-art protocols to analyze histone acetylation and acetyl-CoA. Histones are extracted and digested into short peptides (4–20 aa) prior to LC-MS. Acetyl-CoA is extracted from cells and analyzed using an analogous mass spectrometry-based procedure. Model systems can be fed with isotopically labeled substrates to investigate the metabolic preference for acetyl-CoA production and the metabolic dependence and turnover of histone acetylation. We also present an example of data integration to correlate changes in acetyl-CoA production with histone acetylation.

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Acknowledgment

S.S. and B.A.G. gratefully acknowledge the NIH grants CA196539, GM110174, and AG031862. A.C. gratefully acknowledges the AACR—Pancreatic Cancer Action Network Career Development Award—for funding his research in Kathryn E. Wellen’s laboratory. S.T. acknowledges the American Diabetes Association grant #1-18-PDF-144. All authors want to acknowledge Kathryn E. Wellen for editorial support, funding of A.C.’s and S.T.’s work, and inspiring discussions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Perelman School of Medicine, Epigenetics Institute, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Simone Sidoli & Benjamin A. Garcia

  2. Department of Cancer Biology, Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Sophie Trefely & Alessandro Carrer

  3. A. J. Drexel Autism Institute, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Sophie Trefely

Authors
  1. Simone Sidoli
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  2. Sophie Trefely
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  3. Benjamin A. Garcia
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  4. Alessandro Carrer
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alessandro Carrer .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. National Cancer Institute, North Bethesda, MD, USA

    Majda Haznadar

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Sidoli, S., Trefely, S., Garcia, B.A., Carrer, A. (2019). Integrated Analysis of Acetyl-CoA and Histone Modification via Mass Spectrometry to Investigate Metabolically Driven Acetylation. In: Haznadar, M. (eds) Cancer Metabolism. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1928. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-9027-6_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-9027-6_9

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-9026-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-9027-6

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