Identification of NDUFAF1 in mediating K-Ras induced mitochondrial dysfunction by a proteomic screening approach

Increase in aerobic glycolysis and mitochondrial dysfunction are important biochemical features observed in human cancers. Recent studies suggest oncogenic K-Ras can cause suppression of mitochondrial respiration and up-regulation of glycolytic activity through a yet unknown mechanism. Here we employed proteomic approach and used a K-Ras(G12V) inducible cell system to investigate the impact of oncogenic K-Ras on mitochondria and cell metabolism. Mitochondria isolated from cells before and after K-Ras induction were subjected to protein analysis using stable isotope labeling with amino acids (SILAC) and liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC-MS). 70 mitochondrial proteins with significant expression alteration after K-Ras induction were identified. A majority of these proteins were involved in energy metabolism. Five proteins with significant decrease belong to mitochondrial respiratory chain complex I. NADH dehydrogenase 1 alpha subcomplex assembly factor 1 (NDUFAF1) showed most significant decrease by 50%. Such decrease was validated in primary human pancreatic cancer tissues. Knockdown of NDUFAF1 by siRNA caused mitochondrial respiration deficiency, accumulation of NADH and subsequent increase of glycolytic activity. Our study revealed that oncogenic K-Ras is able to induce significant alterations in mitochondrial protein expression, and identified NDUFAF1 as an important molecule whose low expression contributes to mitochondrial dysfunction induced by K-Ras.