A glutamine metabolic switch supports erythropoiesis

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Lyu, Junhua; Gu, Zhimin; Zhang, Yuannyu; Vu, Hieu S.; Lechauve, Christophe; Cai, Feng; Cao, Hui; Keith, Julia; Brancaleoni, Valentina; Granata, Francesca; Motta, Irene; Cappellini, Maria Domenica; Huang, Lily Jun-Shen; Deberardinis, Ralph J.; Weiss, Mitchell J.; Ni, Min; Xu, Jian
• 署名单位: St Jude Children's Research Hospital; University of Texas System; University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center; St Jude Children's Research Hospital; IRCCS Ca Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico; University of Milan; University of Texas System; University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center; University of Texas System; University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center; Howard Hughes Medical Institute; St Jude Children's Research Hospital
• 刊物名称: SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0036-10555
• DOI: 10.1126/science.adh9215
• 发表日期: 2024-11-15
• 关键词: oxidative stress; beta-thalassemia; ineffective erythropoiesis; synthetase deficiency; phase-3 trial; gene; ammonia; expression; EVOLUTION; ontogeny

摘要

Metabolic requirements vary during development, and our understanding of how metabolic activity influences cell specialization is incomplete. Here, we describe a switch from glutamine catabolism to synthesis required for erythroid cell maturation. Glutamine synthetase (GS), one of the oldest functioning genes in evolution, is activated during erythroid maturation to detoxify ammonium generated from heme biosynthesis, which is up-regulated to support hemoglobin production. Loss of GS in mouse erythroid precursors caused ammonium accumulation and oxidative stress, impairing erythroid maturation and recovery from anemia. In beta-thalassemia, GS activity is inhibited by protein oxidation, leading to glutamate and ammonium accumulation, whereas enhancing GS activity alleviates the metabolic and pathological defects. Our findings identify an evolutionarily conserved metabolic adaptation that could potentially be leveraged to treat common red blood cell disorders.