The regulation of HAD-like phosphatases by signaling pathways modulates cellular resistance to the metabolic inhibitor, 2-deoxyglucose

Cancer cells display an altered metabolism with an increased glycolysis and glucose uptake. Anti-cancer strategies targeting glycolysis through metabolic inhibitors have been considered. Particularly, the glucose analogue 2-deoxyglucose (2DG) is imported into cells and phosphorylated into 2DG-6-phosphate, a toxic by-product that inhibits glycolysis. Recent data suggest that 2DG has additional effects in the cell, and resistance to 2DG has also been observed. Using yeast as a model, we engaged an unbiased, mass-spectrometry-based approach to probe the cellular effects of 2DG on the proteome and study resistance mechanisms. This revealed that two 2DG-6-phosphate phosphatases, Dog1 and Dog2, are induced upon exposure to 2DG and participate in 2DG detoxication. 2DG induces Dog2 by upregulating several signaling pathways, such as the MAPK (Hog1/p38)-based stress-responsive pathway, the Unfolded Protein Response (UPR) triggered by 2DG-induced ER stress, and the MAPK (Slt2)-based Cell Wall Integrity pathway. Thus, 2DG-induced interference with cellular signaling rewires the expression of these endogenous phosphatases to promote 2DG resistance. Consequently, loss of the UPR or CWI pathways leads to hypersensitivity to 2DG. In contrast, DOG2 is transcriptionally repressed by glucose availability in a Snf1/AMPK-dependent manner, and mutants impaired in this pathway are 2DG-resistant. The characterization and genome resequencing of spontaneous 2DG-resistant mutants revealed that DOG2 overexpression is a common strategy to achieve 2DG resistance. The human Dog2 orthologue, HDHD1, also displays 2DG-6-phosphate phosphatase activity in vitro, and its overexpression confers 2DG resistance in HeLa cells, which has important implications for potential future chemotherapies involving 2DG.