Vitamin B ₆ is governed by the local compartmentalization of metabolic enzymes during growth

Abstract

Vitamin B 6 is a vital micronutrient across cell types and tissues, and dysregulated B 6 levels contribute to human disease. Despite its importance, how B 6 vitamer levels are regulated is not well understood. Here, we provide evidence that B 6 dynamics are rapidly tuned by precise compartmentation of pyridoxal kinase (PDXK), the rate-limiting B 6 enzyme. We show that canonical Wnt rapidly led to the accumulation of inactive B 6 by shunting cytosolic PDXK into lysosomes. PDXK was modified with methyl-arginine Degron (MrDegron), a protein tag for lysosomes, which enabled delivery via microautophagy. Hyperactive lysosomes resulted in the continuous degradation of PDXK and B 6 deficiency that promoted proliferation in Wnt-driven colorectal cancer (CRC) cells. Pharmacological or genetic disruption of the coordinated MrDegron proteolytic pathway was sufficient to reduce CRC survival in cells and organoid models. In sum, this work contributes to the repertoire of micronutrient-regulated processes that enable cancer cell growth and provides insight into the functional impact of B 6 deficiencies for survival.