miR-495–3p regulates sphingolipid metabolic reprogramming to induce Sphk1/ceramide mediated mitophagy and apoptosis in NSCLC

Sphingolipid metabolism is the forefront area of cancer research, but the underlying mechanisms are not fully explored yet. Sphingolipid metabolites [ceramide, sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P)] are critical players in cell growth and apoptosis. Sphk1 is a key enzyme, catalyzing the phosphorylation of sphingosine to S1P, favoring cell proliferation and survival. Contrarily, ceramide induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. Sphk1 also exerts regulatory roles in numerous cellular processes, wherein microRNAs (miRNAs) play a momentous role. However, miR-mediated regulation of Sphk1 in Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), continues to be elusive. miR-495 is highly downregulated and worsens NSCLC prognosis. The present study demonstrates Sphk1 upregulation and poor prognosis in NSCLC. However, miR-495–3p directly targets Sphk1, and possesses tumor-suppressive roles by decreasing cell proliferation, wound healing, colony formation, LDH-A activity, and inducing G0/G1 phase cell cycle arrest upon restoration. Besides, we also found ceramide accretion upon Sphk1 inhibition, leading to mitochondrial dysregulation. We found a cogent upregulation of Drp-1, PARK2 and LC3β, along with degradation of PINK1 and Mfn2, demonstrating an imbalance in mitochondrial fission/fusion and induction of mitophagy, even during PINK1 deficiency. Later, we found a reduction in mitochondrial energy homeostasis, mitochondrial membrane potential, increased ROS generation and ultimately initiation of apoptosis, upon miR-495–3p overexpression. Overall, we showed that miR-495–3p reprograms sphingolipid rheostat towards ceramide by targeting Sphk1 and induces lethal mitophagy to suppress NSCLC tumorigenesis. The study identified a miR-mediated mechanism of sphingolipid reprogramming that could be beneficial in designing novel therapeutic strategies for NSCLC.