Overexpression of PKM2 promotes mitochondrial fusion through attenuated p53 stability

M2-type pyruvate kinase (PKM2) contributes to the Warburg effect. However, it remains unknown as to whether PKM2 has an inhibitory effect on mitochondrial function. We report in this work that PKM2 overexpression inhibits the expression of Drp1 and results in the mitochondrial fusion. The ATP production was found to be decreased, the mtDNA copy number elevated and the expression level of electron transport chain (ETC) complex I, III, V depressed in PKM2 overexpressed cells. PKM2 overexpression showed a decreased p53 protein level and a shorter p53 half-life. In contrast, PKM2 knockdown resulted in increased p53 expression and prolonged half-life of p53. PKM2 could directly bind with both p53 and MDM2 and promote MDM2-mediated p53 ubiquitination. The dimeric PKM2 significantly suppressed p53 expression compared with the other PKM2 mutants. The reverse relationship between PKM2 and Drp1 was further confirmed in a large number of clinical samples. Taken together, the present results highlight a new mechanism that link PKM2 to mitochondrial function, based on p53-Drp1 axis down regulation, revealing a novel therapeutic target in patients with abnormal mitochondria.