tRNA modifying enzymes, NSUN2 and METTL1, determine sensitivity to 5-fluorouracil in HeLa cells.

Nonessential tRNA modifications by methyltransferases are evolutionarily conserved and have been reported to stabilize mature tRNA molecules and prevent rapid tRNA decay (RTD). The tRNA modifying enzymes, NSUN2 and METTL1, are mammalian orthologs of yeast Trm4 and Trm8, which are required for protecting tRNA against RTD. A simultaneous overexpression of NSUN2 and METTL1 is widely observed among human cancers suggesting that targeting of both proteins provides a novel powerful strategy for cancer chemotherapy. Here, we show that combined knockdown of NSUN2 and METTL1 in HeLa cells drastically potentiate sensitivity of cells to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) whereas heat stress of cells revealed no effects. Since NSUN2 and METTL1 are phosphorylated by Aurora-B and Akt, respectively, and their tRNA modifying activities are suppressed by phosphorylation, overexpression of constitutively dephosphorylated forms of both methyltransferases is able to suppress 5-FU sensitivity. Thus, NSUN2 and METTL1 are implicated in 5-FU sensitivity in HeLa cells. Interfering with methylation of tRNAs might provide a promising rationale to improve 5-FU chemotherapy of cancer.