TGFbeta signaling controls diverse normal developmental processes and pathogenesis of diseases including cancer and autoimmune and fibrotic diseases. TGFbeta responses are generally mediated through transcriptional functions of Smads. A key step in TGFbeta signaling is ligand-induced phosphorylation of receptor-activated Smads (R-Smads) catalyzed by the TGFbeta type I receptor kinase. However, the potential of Smad dephosphorylation as a regulatory mechanism of TGFbeta signaling and the identity of Smad-specific phosphatases remain elusive. Using a functional genomic approach, we have identified PPM1A/PP2Calpha as a bona fide Smad phosphatase. PPM1A dephosphorylates and promotes nuclear export of TGFbeta-activated Smad2/3. Ectopic expression of PPM1A abolishes TGFbeta-induced antiproliferative and transcriptional responses, whereas depletion of PPM1A enhances TGFbeta signaling in mammalian cells. Smad-antagonizing activity of PPM1A is also observed during Nodal-dependent early embryogenesis in zebrafish. This work demonstrates that PPM1A/PP2Calpha, through dephosphorylation of Smad2/3, plays a critical role in terminating TGFbeta signaling.

Altered metabolism in cancer cells is suspected to contribute to chemoresistance but the precise mechanisms are unclear. Here we show that intracellular ATP levels are a core determinant in the development of acquired cross-drug resistance of human colon cancer cells that harbor different genetic backgrounds. Drug-resistant cells were characterized by defective mitochondrial ATP production, elevated aerobic glycolysis, higher absolute levels of intracellular ATP and enhanced HIF-1α-mediated signaling. Interestingly, direct delivery of ATP into cross-chemoresistant cells destabilized HIF-1α and inhibited glycolysis. Thus, drug-resistant cells exhibit a greater “ATP debt” defined as the extra amount of ATP needed to maintain homeostasis of survival pathways under genotoxic stress. Direct delivery of ATP was sufficient to render drug-sensitive cells drug resistant. Conversely, depleting ATP by cell treatment with an inhibitor of glycolysis, 3-bromopyruvate, was sufficient to sensitize cells cross-resistant to multiple chemotherapeutic drugs. In revealing intracellular ATP levels are a core determinant of chemoresistance in colon cancer cells, our findings may offer a foundation for new improvements to colon cancer treatment.

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