Cited by 1,791Cancer, Hypoxia, and MetabolismCancer, Lipids, and MetabolismAmino Acid Enzymes and Metabolism

Reductive glutamine metabolism by IDH1 mediates lipogenesis under hypoxia

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Metallo, Christian M., Gameiro, Paulo A., Bell, Eric L., Mattaini, Katherine R., Yang, Juanjuan, Hiller, Karsten, Jewell, Christopher M., Johnson, Zachary R. +6 more·2012·Nature

Abstract

Acetyl coenzyme A (AcCoA) is the central biosynthetic precursor for fatty-acid synthesis and protein acetylation. In the conventional view of mammalian cell metabolism, AcCoA is primarily generated from glucose-derived pyruvate through the citrate shuttle and ATP citrate lyase in the cytosol. However, proliferating cells that exhibit aerobic glycolysis and those exposed to hypoxia convert glucose to lactate at near-stoichiometric levels, directing glucose carbon away from the tricarboxylic acid cycle and fatty-acid synthesis. Although glutamine is consumed at levels exceeding that required for nitrogen biosynthesis, the regulation and use of glutamine metabolism in hypoxic cells is not well understood. Here we show that human cells use reductive metabolism of α-ketoglutarate to synthesize AcCoA for lipid synthesis. This isocitrate dehydrogenase-1 (IDH1)-dependent pathway is active in most cell lines under normal culture conditions, but cells grown under hypoxia rely almost exclusively on the reductive carboxylation of glutamine-derived α-ketoglutarate for de novo lipogenesis. Furthermore, renal cell lines deficient in the von Hippel-Lindau tumour suppressor protein preferentially use reductive glutamine metabolism for lipid biosynthesis even at normal oxygen levels. These results identify a critical role for oxygen in regulating carbon use to produce AcCoA and support lipid synthesis in mammalian cells.

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  • Both HIF-1α and HIF-2α activation upregulates the glutamine transporter SLC38A2, increasing glutamine dependency and correlating with worse survival in breast cancer patients.

    “Both HIF-1α and HIF-2α activation promotes the upregulation of the glutamine transporter, SLC38A2, which increases the dependency of cells to glutamine and correlates with poorer survival in patients with breast cancer [58]”

    From The HIF Axes in Cancer - Angiogenesis, Metabolism and Immune-Modulation (2025) · cites this paper as [58]

    The paper’s main text (indexed under Abstract; page unavailable) reports that hypoxia increases some cells’ dependence on glutamine and discusses HIF involvement in a switch to reductive glutamine metabolism. It does not report HIF-1α or HIF-2α upregulating SLC38A2, or an association with survival in breast cancer patients. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • CHK1 inhibitors and glutaminase inhibitors are considered potential candidates for treating Myc-overexpressing cancers.

    “Similarly, checkpoint kinase 1 (CHK1) inhibitors625–627 and glutaminase (GLS) inhibitors628–634 are also considered potential candidates for treating Myc-overexpressing cancers.”
  • Citrate generated by reductive carboxylation of α-KG is crucial for lipid synthesis under low-oxygen conditions.

    “Citrate, generated by reductive carboxylation of α-KG, is especially crucial for lipid synthesis under low-oxygen conditions24,25.”

    From Glutamine reliance in cell metabolism (2020) · cites this paper as [24]

  • Hypoxia switches the fate of glutamine from the oxidative pathway into the reductive carboxylation pathway.

    “and switch the fate of glutamine from the oxidative pathway into the reductive carboxylation pathway24.”

    From Glutamine reliance in cell metabolism (2020) · cites this paper as [24]

  • In the context of constitutive HIF-2α stabilization or defective mitochondrial electron transport chain, glutamine-derived α-KG is reductively carboxylated through consumption of NADPH by IDH2 to generate citrate.

    “In the context of constitutive HIF-2α stabilization75 or a defective mitochondrial electron transport chain76, glutamine-derived α-KG is reductively carboxylated through the consumption of NADPH by IDH2 to generate citrate.”

    From Glutamine reliance in cell metabolism (2020) · cites this paper as [75]

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Authors
Metallo, C. M., Gameiro, P. A., Bell, E. L., Mattaini, K. R., Yang, J., Hiller, K., Jewell, C. M., Johnson, Z. R., Irvine, D. J., Guarente, L., Kelleher, J. K., Vander Heiden, M. G., Iliopoulos, O., & Stephanopoulos, G.
Affiliations
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US)
  • Massachusetts General Hospital (US)
  • Howard Hughes Medical Institute (US)
Corresponding author
  • Iliopoulos, Othon
  • Stephanopoulos, Gregory
Venue
Nature
Published
2011-11-20
Volume
481
Issue
7381
Pages
380-384
ISSN
  • 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
  • 1476-4687
OpenAlex
W2116516144
Cited by
1,791
References
43
Citations by year
2026: 82 · 2025: 95 · 2024: 96 · 2023: 137 · 2022: 156 · 2021: 143 · 2020: 149 · 2019: 125 · 2018: 100 · 2017: 135 · 2016: 129 · 2015: 125 · 2014: 119 · 2013: 112 · 2012: 84
FWCI
34.61
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Nature (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • DSpace@MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • Open Repository and Bibliography (University of Luxembourg) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Howard Hughes Medical Institute
  • Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation
  • Wellcome Trust
  • Agios Pharmaceuticals
  • National Institutes of Health
  • National Cancer Institute (R01CA160458, R01CA122591, P30CA014051)
  • National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (R01DK075850)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cancer Research › Cancer, Hypoxia, and Metabolism
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cancer Research › Cancer, Lipids, and Metabolism
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Biochemistry › Amino Acid Enzymes and Metabolism
Keywords
IDH1, lipogenesis, hypoxia, reductive carboxylation, alpha-ketoglutarate, acetyl-CoA, fatty acid synthesis, VHL, renal cell carcinoma, cancer metabolism, mitochondrial dysfunction, aerobic glycolysis
MeSH terms
Endothelial PAS Domain-Containing Protein 1, Acetyl Coenzyme A, Carbon, Carcinoma, Renal Cell, Cells, Cultured, Citric Acid Cycle, Glutamine, Humans, Isocitrate Dehydrogenase, Ketoglutaric Acids, Kidney Neoplasms, Oxidation-Reduction, Oxygen, Cell Hypoxia, CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes, Palmitic Acid, Cell Line, Tumor, Lipogenesis, Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Nuclear Translocator, Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors, Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins, Von Hippel-Lindau Tumor Suppressor Protein, Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit

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