Cell culture and transfection
Human NSCLC cell lines A549, H1650, H1299, and Calu-6 were purchased from the Cell Bank of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Shanghai, China) and cultured in RPMI 1640 medium (Invitrogen, USA) supplemented with 10% fetal calf serum (FBS). All cells were cultured at 37°C in a humidified incubator with 5% CO2.
Cells transfected with plasmids were using X-treme GENE HP DNA Transfection Reagent (Roche, Switzerland) and cells transfected with siRNAs were using Lipofectamine RNAiMAX (Invitrogen, USA) according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
RNA interference (RNAi) and shRNA
The siRNAs targeting human JMJD5, p53, and TIGAR were purchased from GenePharma (Shanghai, China) and the sequences were as follows:
JMJD5 siRNA1, sense: GUGAUCCUGGGCUACUCCUdTdT,
antisense: AGGAGUAGCCCAGGAUCACdTdT;
JMJD5 siRNA2, sense: GAAGUUGGUUCGAGGUACAdTdT,
antisense: UGUACCUCGAACCAACUUCdTdT;
p53 siRNA, sense: CUACUUCCUGAAAACAACGdTdT,
antisense: CGUUGUUUUCAGGAAGUAGdTdT;
TIGAR siRNA, sense: GCAUGGAGAAACAAGAUUUAAdTdT,
antisense: UUAAAUCUUGUUUCUCCAUGCdTdT;
Stable knockdown of JMJD5 was performed with the lentiviral expression system using shRNA. HEK293FT cells were co-transfected with pLVX shJMJD5 and two packaging plasmids (psPAX2 and pMD2.G) to produce lentiviruses. The shRNA sequences targeting JMJD5 were as follows:
sense:GATCCGCCACTGAGCTCTTCTACGACTCGAGTCGTAGAAGAGCTCAGTGGTTTTTG,
antisense:AATTCAAAAACCACTGAGCTCTTCTACGACTCGAGTCGTAGAAGAGCTCAGTGGCG.
Western blotting
Total protein was extracted from cells using RIPA lysis buffer (Millipore, USA). Proteins were separated by SDS-PAGE, transferred to a nitrocellulose membrane, and incubated with specific primary antibodies. Then, the membrane was incubated with Alex 680- or IR 800-conjugated secondary antibody for Odyssey CLx analysis (Li-COR, USA).
Antibodies used in this study were as follows: anti-TIGAR (sc-166290, Santa Cruz), anti-p53 (sc-126, Santa Cruz), anti-JMJD5 (ab36104, Abcam; sc-377440, Santa Cruz), anti-HK2 (sc-374091, Santa Cruz), anti-Glut1 (sc-377228, Santa Cruz), anti-PKM2 (#4053, CST), anti-G6PD (ab993, Abcam), and anti-Actin (sc-8432, Santa Cruz).
Quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR)
Total RNA was isolated from cells using RNAiso Plus (Takara, Japan) and was reverse-transcribed into cDNA using the PrimeScript RT reagent kit (Takara, Japan) according to the manufacturer’s instructions. qRT-PCR was performed with SYBR Premix Ex Taq (Takara, Japan) on a CFX96 Touch system (Bio-Rad, USA). The primer sequences were as follows:
JMJD5, Forward: CCATCAATGCCTGGTTTGGTC, Reverse: GTGCGTGTCATGAGGGTACAGAG;
TP53, Forward: GAACAAGTTGGCCTGCACTG, Reverse: GAAGTGGGCCCCTACCTAGA;
TIGAR, Forward: TGTCCGGCATGGAGAAACAA, Reverse: TGCATGGTCTGCTTTGTCCT;
PKM2, Forward: ATGTCGAAGCCCCATAGTGAA, Reverse: TGGGTGGTGAATCAATGTCCA;
HK2, Forward: AACAGCCTGGACGAGAGCATC, Reverse: AGGTCAAACTCCTCTCGCCG;
G6PD, Forward: CGAGGCCGTCACCAAGAAC, Reverse: GTAGTGGTCGATGCGGTAGA;
GLUT1, Forward: ATGGGCTTCTCGAAACTGGG, Reverse: CAGGTCCTTGTTGCCCATGA.
Dual-luciferase reporter assay
The promoter sequence of TIGAR that contains the p53 binding site (p53 BS: CGGCAGGTCTTAGATAGCTT) was synthesized by PCR and subcloned into a pGL3-Basic vector (Promega, USA). JMJD5 siRNA, Myc-JMJD5, p53 siRNA, or Flag-p53 were transfected or co-transfected into cells firstly, after 4~6h transfection, cells with the fresh medium were co-transfected with pRL-TK and pGL3-TIGAR promoter plasmids. After 24h transfection, cells were lysed and relative luciferase activity was measured using Dual-Luciferase Reporter Assay System (Promega, USA).
Measurement of glucose uptake, lactate production, G6PDH activity, and NADPH/NADP+ Ratio
Glucose levels in the culture medium were measured using the Glucose Colorimetric Assay Kit (BioVision, USA). Intracellular lactate levels were measured using a lactate acid assay kit (Solarbio, China). G6PDH activity was measured using G6PDH Activity Assay Kit (Solarbio, China). NADP+/NADPH ratios were measured with a NADP+/NADPH quantitation colorimetric kit (BioVision, USA). All these experiments were performed with kits according to the manufacturer’s protocols.
Cell proliferation assay
MTT assay and colony formation assay were performed to evaluate cell proliferation. 2×103 cells were seeded into a 96-well plate and cultured in a 37℃ incubator for 5 days. Cell variability was measured with 3-(4,5)-dimethylthiahiazo (-z-y1)-3,5-di-phenytetrazoliumromide (MTT, Promega, USA) every day by detecting the solution absorbance at 490nm wavelength with Microplate Reader (Thermo Scientific, USA).
For the colony formation assay, 500~1000 cells were seeded into a 6-well plate and incubated for about 10 days. Then cells were fixed with 4% paraformaldehyde for 15min and stained with crystal violet for 15min. Finally, cells were washed with deionized water and air-dried. Images were taken and colony numbers were counted under the microscope (Olympus, Japan).
Immunohistochemistry (IHC)
A cohort of 25 lung adenocarcinoma patient specimens was obtained from the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine. And the study was approved by the ethics committee of Zhejiang University School of Medicine (2017026). The IHC assay was performed using an Envision Detection System (DAKO, CA) according to the manufacturer’s instruction with anti-JMJD5 (sc-377440) and anti-TIGAR (sc-166290) antibodies. The staining results were assessed and confirmed by two independent investigators blinded to the clinical data.
Nude mice xenograft
4-week-old BALB/c nude mice were purchased from SLAC Laboratory animal corporation (Shanghai, China). 5×106 of A549 or H1299 cells were subcutaneously injected into the nude mice (n=5 per group). Xenograft tumor sizes were measured by a vernier caliper with two perpendicular diameters and tumor volumes were calculated according to the formula: 0.5 × length × width2. After 4 weeks the mice were sacrificed and the xenograft tumors were harvested, weighed, and photographed. All animal experiments were approved by the Laboratory Animals Welfare Ethics Review Committee of Zhejiang University.
Statistical analysis
All experiments in this study were repeated independently at least three times and data were presented as mean ± SD. GraphPad Prism 8.0 was used for statistical analysis. Comparison between the two groups was analyzed by student’s t-test or log-rank t-test. P-value<0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.