NADK is activated by oncogenic signaling to sustain pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Author Tanya Schild, Melanie McReynolds, Christie Shea, Vivien Low, Bethany Schaffer, John Asara, Elena Piskounova, Noah Dephoure, Joshua Rabinowitz, Ana Gomes, John Blenis Publication Year 2021 Type Journal Article Abstract Metabolic adaptations and the signaling events that control them promote the survival of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) at the fibrotic tumor site, overcoming stresses associated with nutrient and oxygen deprivation. Recently, rewiring of NADPH production has been shown to play a key role in this process. NADPH is recycled through reduction of NADP+ by several enzymatic systems in cells. However, de novo NADP+ is synthesized only through one known enzymatic reaction, catalyzed by NAD+ kinase (NADK). In this study, we show that oncogenic KRAS promotes protein kinase C (PKC)-mediated NADK phosphorylation, leading to its hyperactivation, thus sustaining both NADP+ and NADPH levels in PDAC cells. Together, our data show that increased NADK activity is an important adaptation driven by oncogenic signaling. Our findings indicate that NADK could serve as a much-needed therapeutic target for PDAC. Keywords Animals, Humans, Signal Transduction, Cell Proliferation, Phosphorylation, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Female, Male, HEK293 Cells, Cell Line, Tumor, Phosphotransferases (Alcohol Group Acceptor), Biosynthetic Pathways, NADP, Carcinogenesis, Proto-Oncogene Proteins p21(ras), Mice, Nude, Carcinoma, Pancreatic Ductal, Pancreatic Neoplasms, Protein Kinase C, Adenocarcinoma, Phosphoserine Journal Cell Rep Volume 35 Issue 11 Pages 109238 Date Published 2021 Jun 15 ISSN Number 2211-1247 DOI 10.1016/j.celrep.2021.109238 Alternate Journal Cell Rep PMID 34133937 PubMedGoogle ScholarBibTeXEndNote X3 XML