N(6)-methyladenosine-mediated LDHA induction potentiates chemoresistance of colorectal cancer cells through metabolic reprogramming

Background: Chemoresistance to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) is a major barrier to influence the treatment efficiency of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients, while the precise molecular mechanisms underlying 5-FU resistance remain to be fully elucidated. Methods: The metabolic profiles including ATP generation, glucose consumption, lactate generation, and oxygen consumption rate (OCR) in 5-FU resistant CRC cells were compared with those in their parental cells. Subsequently, a series of in vitro and in vivo experiments were carried out to investigate the mechanisms responsible for metabolic reprogramming of 5-FU resistant CRC cells. Results: We found that 5-FU resistant CRC cells showed increased levels of ATP generation, glucose consumption, lactate generation, and OCR as compared with those in their parental cells. Further, increased levels of mRNA N(6)-methyladenosine (m(6)A) and methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3) were observed in 5-FU resistant CRC cells. Inhibition or knockdown of METTL3 can suppress glycolysis and restore chemosensitivity of 5-FU resistant CRC cells. Mechanistically, METTL3 enhances the expression of LDHA, which catalyzes the conversion of pyruvate to lactate, to trigger glycolysis and 5-FU resistance. METTL3 can increase the transcription of LDHA via stabilizing mRNA of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF-1α), further, METTL3 also triggers the translation of LDHA mRNA via methylation of its CDS region and recruitment of YTH domain-containing family protein 1 (YTHDF1). Targeted inhibition of METTL3/LDHA axis can significantly increase the in vitro and in vivo 5-FU sensitivity of CRC cells. Conclusion: Our study indicates that METTL3/LDHA axis-induced glucose metabolism is a potential therapy target to overcome 5-FU resistance in CRC cells.