Methionine dependence in tumor cells: The potential role of cobalamin and MMACHC

Methionine dependence of tumor cell lines, the inability to grow in tissue culture media lacking methionine but supplemented with homocysteine, has been known for decades, but an understanding of the mechanism underlying this phenomenon remains incomplete. Methionine dependence of certain glioma and melanoma cell lines has been linked to alterations in the metabolism of cobalamin (vitamin B12). In the MeWo LC1 melanoma line, complementation analysis demonstrated that the genetic defect affected the same locus mutated in the cblC inborn error of cobalamin metabolism; hypermethylation of the MMACHC promoter was subsequently demonstrated. Analysis of data in the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia showed increased MMACHC methylation levels in melanoma lines compared to other types of cancer. RNA sequencing data from isolated tumors, tabulated at the cBioPortal for Cancer Genomics website, showed decreased MMACHC expression compared to other tumors; and methylation data tabulated at the TGGA Wanderer website demonstrated increased MMACHC methylation. These data suggest that disruptions in cobalamin metabolism might play a more general role in methionine dependence, and potentially in the pathogenesis of melanoma cell lines and primary tumors.