To make the appropriate developmental decisions or maintain homeostasis, cells and organisms must coordinate the expression of their genome and metabolic state. However, the molecular mechanisms that relay environmental cues such as nutrient availability to the appropriate gene expression response remain poorly understood. There is a growing awareness that central components of intermediary metabolism are cofactors or cosubstrates of chromatin-modifying enzymes. As such, their concentrations constitute a potential regulatory interface between the metabolic and chromatin states. In addition, there is increasing evidence for a direct involvement of classic metabolic enzymes in gene expression control. These dual-function proteins may provide a direct link between metabolic programing and the control of gene expression. Here, we discuss our current understanding of the molecular mechanisms connecting metabolism to gene expression and their implications for development and disease.Metabolism and gene regulation are two fundamental biological processes that are essential to all living organisms. Homeostasis, cell growth, and differentiation all require the coordination of metabolic state and gene expression programs. Nevertheless, how expression of the genome adapts to metabolic state or environmental changes is not well understood. One level of regulation involves signal transduction pathways that control key transcription factors that act as master regulators of gene expression programs. In addition, post-translational modifications (PTMs) of chromatin play a major role in the activation or repression of gene transcription. These include acetylation, methylation, and phosphorylation of the histones and DNA methylation. Some of these chromatin modifications are involved in the maintenance of stable patterns of gene expression, usually referred to as epigenetic regulation. Pertinently, the activity of enzymes that modulate chromatin is critically dependent on central metabolites as cofactors or cosubstrates. Thus, the availability of metabolites that are required for the activity of histone-modifying enzymes may connect metabolism to chromatin structure and gene expression. Finally, selective metabolic enzymes act in the nucleus to adjust gene transcription in response to changes in metabolic state. Here, we review the interface between metabolism and gene transcription. We focus on the molecular mechanisms involved and discuss unresolved issues and implications for development and disease.
The basics of metabolism and gene expression controlMetabolism is the total of all chemical reactions in cells and organisms that maintain life. Metabolism can be divided into two classes: catabolic processes (the breakdown of molecules that usually results in the release of energy) and anabolic processes (the synthesis of components such as proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids, which costs energy). Cellular (or intermediary) metabolism is organized in separate chemical pathways formed by a chain of linked enzymatic reactions in wh...