Hypoxia truncates and constitutively activates the key cholesterol synthesis enzyme squalene monooxygenase

Bibliographic Details
Title: Hypoxia truncates and constitutively activates the key cholesterol synthesis enzyme squalene monooxygenase
Authors: Hudson W Coates, Isabelle M Capell-Hattam, Ellen M Olzomer, Ximing Du, Rhonda Farrell, Hongyuan Yang, Frances L Byrne, Andrew J Brown
Source: eLife, Vol 12 (2023)
Publisher Information: eLife Sciences Publications Ltd, 2023.
Publication Year: 2023
Collection: LCC:Medicine
LCC:Science
LCC:Biology (General)
Subject Terms: Squalene monooxygenase, Cholesterol, Hypoxia, proteasome, protein degradation, Medicine, Science, Biology (General), QH301-705.5
More Details: Cholesterol synthesis is both energy- and oxygen-intensive, yet relatively little is known of the regulatory effects of hypoxia on pathway enzymes. We previously showed that the rate-limiting and first oxygen-dependent enzyme of the committed cholesterol synthesis pathway, squalene monooxygenase (SM), can undergo partial proteasomal degradation that renders it constitutively active. Here, we show hypoxia is a physiological trigger for this truncation, which occurs through a two-part mechanism: (1) increased targeting of SM to the proteasome via stabilization of the E3 ubiquitin ligase MARCHF6 and (2) accumulation of the SM substrate, squalene, which impedes the complete degradation of SM and liberates its truncated form. This preserves SM activity and downstream pathway flux during hypoxia. These results uncover a feedforward mechanism that allows SM to accommodate fluctuating substrate levels and may contribute to its widely reported oncogenic properties.
Document Type: article
File Description: electronic resource
Language: English
ISSN: 2050-084X
Relation: https://elifesciences.org/articles/82843; https://doaj.org/toc/2050-084X
DOI: 10.7554/eLife.82843
Access URL: https://doaj.org/article/3f53fc512fcc4b44b302c034457a3da2
Accession Number: edsdoj.3f53fc512fcc4b44b302c034457a3da2
Database: Directory of Open Access Journals
More Details
ISSN:2050084X
DOI:10.7554/eLife.82843
Published in:eLife
Language:English