GRP78 enhances the glutamine metabolism to support cell survival from glucose deficiency by modulating the β-catenin signaling

To support the high rates of proliferation, cancer cells undergo the metabolic reprogramming: aerobic glycolysis and glutamine addiction. Though glucose regulated protein 78 (GRP78) is a glucose-sensing protein and frequently highly expressed in tumor cells, its roles in glucose and glutamine metabolic regulation remain poorly unknown. We report here that glucose deficiency-induced GRP78 enhances β-catenin signaling and consequently promotes its downstream c-Myc-mediated glutamine metabolism in colorectal cancer cells. Mechanistically, GRP78 elevates intracellular free β-catenin level via disruption of adenomatous polyposis coli (APC)-β-catenin and E-cadherin-β-catenin protein complexes. Notably, overexpression of GRP78 causes APC protein downregulation in proteasome- and lysosome-independent manners. Further mechanistic studies reveal that GRP78 facilitates the extracellular release of APC, thereby rendering the liberation of β-catenin from APC. Furthermore, GRP78 acts through both hindering E-cadherin expression and impairing the interaction of E-cadherin with β-catenin to indirectly and directly influence E-cadherin-β-catenin complex stability. Our study reveals that GRP78 is a novel molecular link between metabolic alterations and signal transduction during tumor progression.