5-Aza-2'-deoxycytidine induced growth inhibition of leukemia cells through modulating endogenous cholesterol biosynthesis

5-Aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5-Aza-CdR), a nucleoside analog that can inhibit DNA cytosine methylation, possesses potent antitumorigenic activities for myeloid disorders. Although 5-Aza-CdR is known to be incorporated into DNA and inhibit DNA (cytosine-5)-methyltransferases, the precise mechanisms underlying the drug's antineoplastic activity remain unclear. Here we utilized a mass spectrometry-based quantitative proteomic method to analyze the 5-Aza-CdR-induced perturbation of protein expression in Jurkat-T cells at the global proteome scale. Among the ≈ 2780 quantified proteins, 188 exhibited significant alteration in expression levels upon a 24-hr treatment with 5 μm 5-Aza-CdR. In particular, we found that drug treatment led to substantially reduced expression of farnesyl diphosphate synthase (FDPS) and farnesyl diphosphate farnesyltransferase (FDFT1), two important enzymes involved in de novo cholesterol synthesis. Consistent with this finding, 5-Aza-CdR treatment of leukemia (Jurkat-T, K562 and HL60) and melanoma (WM-266-4) cells led to a marked decrease in cellular cholesterol content and pronounced growth inhibition, which could be rescued by externally added cholesterol. Exposure of these cells to 5-Aza-CdR also led to epigenetic reactivation of dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4) gene. Additionally, suppression of DPP4 expression with siRNA induced elevated protein levels of FDPS and FDFT1, and increased cholesterol biosynthesis in WM-266-4 cells. Together, the results from the present study revealed, for the first time, that 5-Aza-CdR exerts its cytotoxic effects in leukemia and melanoma cells through epigenetic reactivation of DPP4 gene and the resultant inhibition of cholesterol biosynthesis in these cells.