Abstract Prostate cancer (PCa) progression is strongly influenced by the metabolites available in the tumor microenvironment (TME), including lactic acid (LA), which is actively imported by PCa cells to boost mitochondrial metabolism and drive de novo collagen synthesis, sustaining increased malignancy. LA exploitation promotes the unbalance of tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle intermediates, particularly succinate and fumarate, well-known epigenetic modifiers for histone (de)methylation. Here, we show that the LA-induced increase in succinate levels affects the activating H3K4me3 methylation mark in PCa cells, promoting a pro-invasive phenotype. Notably, pharmacological targeting of H3K4me3 using OICR-9429 reduces LA-enhanced PCa cell invasiveness. Moreover, LA-induced H3K4me3 enrichment regulates the expression of procollagen-Lysine,2-Oxoglutarate 5-Dioxygenase 1 (PLOD1), a key enzyme involved in collagen maturation. Genetic impairment of PLOD1 reduces the LA-driven invasive potential of PCa cells, thereby highlighting PLOD1 as a crucial epigenetically regulated mediator of tumor invasion. Overall, our findings uncover a novel LA-fuelled metabolic-epigenetic axis that promotes the H3K4me3-mediated PLOD1 upregulation, consequently fostering PCa aggressiveness and unveiling a potential therapeutic vulnerability.
Iozzo et al. (Tue,) studied this question.