Nuclear lactate dehydrogenase A senses ROS to produce α-hydroxybutyrate for HPV-induced cervical tumor growth

It is well known that high-risk human papilloma virus (HR-HPV) infection is strongly associated with cervical cancer and E7 was identified as one of the key initiators in HPV-mediated carcinogenesis. Here we show that lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA) preferably locates in the nucleus in HPV16-positive cervical tumors due to E7-induced intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation. Surprisingly, nuclear LDHA gains a non-canonical enzyme activity to produce α-hydroxybutyrate and triggers DOT1L (disruptor of telomeric silencing 1-like)-mediated histone H3K79 hypermethylation, resulting in the activation of antioxidant responses and Wnt signaling pathway. Furthermore, HPV16 E7 knocking-out reduces LDHA nuclear translocation and H3K79 tri-methylation in K14-HPV16 transgenic mouse model. HPV16 E7 level is significantly positively correlated with nuclear LDHA and H3K79 tri-methylation in cervical cancer. Collectively, our findings uncover a non-canonical enzyme activity of nuclear LDHA to epigenetically control cellular redox balance and cell proliferation facilitating HPV-induced cervical cancer development.