Targeting endothelial cell metabolism by inhibition of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase and glutaminase-1

Abstract

Targeting endothelial cell (EC) metabolism should impair angiogenesis, regardless of how many angiogenic signals are present. The dependency of proliferating ECs on glucose and glutamine for energy and biomass production opens new opportunities for anti-angiogenic therapy in cancer. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase (PDK) inhibition with dichloroacetate (DCA), alone or in combination with the glutaminase-1 (GLS-1) inhibitor, Bis-2-(5-phenylacetamido-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-yl) ethyl sulfide (BPTES), on Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) metabolism, proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and vessel formation. We demonstrated that both drugs normalize HUVECs metabolism by decreasing glycolysis for DCA and by reducing glutamate production for BPTES. DCA and BPTES reduced HUVECs proliferation and migration but have no impact on tube formation. While DCA increased HUVECs respiration, BPTES decreased it. Using both drugs in combination further reduced HUVECs proliferation while normalizing respiration and apoptosis induction. Overall, we demonstrated that DCA, a metabolic drug under study to target cancer cells metabolism, also affects tumor angiogenesis. Combining DCA and BPTES may reduce adverse effect of each drug alone and favor tumor angiogenesis normalization.