Targeting Methionine Metabolism Reveals AMPK-SAMTOR Signaling as a Therapeutic Vulnerability in Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer (PCa) is not only one of the most diagnosed malignancies in men but also a leading cause of cancer-related mortality globally. PCa exhibits unique metabolic dependencies, particularly on lipids and glutamine, unlike many solid tumors, rather than glycolysis. Methionine metabolism pla...

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Main Authors: Serdar Arisan, Ayyuce Sever, Pinar Obakan-Yerlikaya, Elif Damla Arisan, Pinar Uysal-Onganer
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-05-01
Series:Biology
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/14/5/507
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author Serdar Arisan
Ayyuce Sever
Pinar Obakan-Yerlikaya
Elif Damla Arisan
Pinar Uysal-Onganer
author_facet Serdar Arisan
Ayyuce Sever
Pinar Obakan-Yerlikaya
Elif Damla Arisan
Pinar Uysal-Onganer
author_sort Serdar Arisan
collection DOAJ
description Prostate cancer (PCa) is not only one of the most diagnosed malignancies in men but also a leading cause of cancer-related mortality globally. PCa exhibits unique metabolic dependencies, particularly on lipids and glutamine, unlike many solid tumors, rather than glycolysis. Methionine metabolism plays a crucial role in these metabolic pathways, contributing to polyamine biosynthesis, DNA methylation, and cellular signaling processes. Here, we demonstrate that methionine deprivation induces selective vulnerability in AMPK-deficient PC3 PCa cells by disrupting SAMTOR–mTOR signaling and triggering oxidative stress, lipid depletion, and autophagic responses. Through functional and proteomic analyses, we show that SAMTOR directly interacts with p-AMPK and modulates cell fate under methionine-limited conditions. Our findings establish a mechanistic link between methionine sensing and metabolic stress signaling in PCa, offering a new avenue for targeted intervention.
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issn 2079-7737
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publisher MDPI AG
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series Biology
spelling doaj-art-06ffb8131e2544edb97b021c0138c6de2025-08-20T02:33:38ZengMDPI AGBiology2079-77372025-05-0114550710.3390/biology14050507Targeting Methionine Metabolism Reveals AMPK-SAMTOR Signaling as a Therapeutic Vulnerability in Prostate CancerSerdar Arisan0Ayyuce Sever1Pinar Obakan-Yerlikaya2Elif Damla Arisan3Pinar Uysal-Onganer4Department of Urology, Hamidiye Medical School, Saglik Bilimleri University, 34700 Istanbul, TürkiyeInstitute of Biotechnology, Gebze Technical University, 41400 Kocaeli, TürkiyeDepartment of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Istanbul Medeniyet University, Uskudar, 34700 Istanbul, TürkiyeInstitute of Biotechnology, Gebze Technical University, 41400 Kocaeli, TürkiyeCancer Mechanisms and Biomarkers Research Group, School of Life Sciences, University of Westminster, London W1W 6UW, UKProstate cancer (PCa) is not only one of the most diagnosed malignancies in men but also a leading cause of cancer-related mortality globally. PCa exhibits unique metabolic dependencies, particularly on lipids and glutamine, unlike many solid tumors, rather than glycolysis. Methionine metabolism plays a crucial role in these metabolic pathways, contributing to polyamine biosynthesis, DNA methylation, and cellular signaling processes. Here, we demonstrate that methionine deprivation induces selective vulnerability in AMPK-deficient PC3 PCa cells by disrupting SAMTOR–mTOR signaling and triggering oxidative stress, lipid depletion, and autophagic responses. Through functional and proteomic analyses, we show that SAMTOR directly interacts with p-AMPK and modulates cell fate under methionine-limited conditions. Our findings establish a mechanistic link between methionine sensing and metabolic stress signaling in PCa, offering a new avenue for targeted intervention.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/14/5/507mTORSAMTORmethionineprostate cancerautophagy
spellingShingle Serdar Arisan
Ayyuce Sever
Pinar Obakan-Yerlikaya
Elif Damla Arisan
Pinar Uysal-Onganer
Targeting Methionine Metabolism Reveals AMPK-SAMTOR Signaling as a Therapeutic Vulnerability in Prostate Cancer
Biology
mTOR
SAMTOR
methionine
prostate cancer
autophagy
title Targeting Methionine Metabolism Reveals AMPK-SAMTOR Signaling as a Therapeutic Vulnerability in Prostate Cancer
title_full Targeting Methionine Metabolism Reveals AMPK-SAMTOR Signaling as a Therapeutic Vulnerability in Prostate Cancer
title_fullStr Targeting Methionine Metabolism Reveals AMPK-SAMTOR Signaling as a Therapeutic Vulnerability in Prostate Cancer
title_full_unstemmed Targeting Methionine Metabolism Reveals AMPK-SAMTOR Signaling as a Therapeutic Vulnerability in Prostate Cancer
title_short Targeting Methionine Metabolism Reveals AMPK-SAMTOR Signaling as a Therapeutic Vulnerability in Prostate Cancer
title_sort targeting methionine metabolism reveals ampk samtor signaling as a therapeutic vulnerability in prostate cancer
topic mTOR
SAMTOR
methionine
prostate cancer
autophagy
url https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/14/5/507
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