Acidosis blocks CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein homologous protein (CHOP)- and c-Jun-mediated induction of p53-upregulated mediator of apoptosis (PUMA) during amino acid starvation.

Cancer cells must avoid succumbing to a variety of noxious conditions within their surroundings. Acidosis is one such prominent feature of the tumor microenvironment that surprisingly promotes tumor survival and progression. We recently reported that acidosis prevents apoptosis of starved or stressed lymphoma cells through regulation of several Bcl-2 family members (Ryder et al., JBC, 2012). Mechanistic studies in that work focused on the acid-mediated upregulation of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL, while additionally showing inhibition of glutamine starvation-induced expression of pro-apoptotic PUMA by acidosis. Herein we report that amino acid (AA) starvation elevates PUMA, an effect that is blocked by extracellular acidity. Knockdown studies confirm that PUMA induction during AA starvation requires expression of both CHOP and c-Jun. Interestingly, acidosis strongly attenuates AA starvation-mediated c-Jun expression, which correlates with PUMA repression. As c-Jun exerts a tumor suppressive function in this and other contexts, its inhibition by acidosis has broader implications for survival of cancer cells in the acidic tumor milieu.