Serine hydroxymethyltransferase isoforms (SHMT1 & SHMT2α), which serve as scaffold
protein for the formation of a multi-
enzyme complex and generate one-
carbon unit for the de novo thymidylate biosynthesis pathway during
DNA synthesis, are
vitamin B6 (VB6)-dependent
enzyme.
Cancer cells with high proliferation intensity need increased SHMT activation which enforces the facilitated-diffusion of VB6 for the continuous functioning of
thymidylate synthase cycle. Therefore, SHMT knockdown presents an alternative approach to prevent
DNA synthesis in
cancer cells; however, its potential to inhibit
cancer growth remains unknown so far. Here we demonstrated that VB6 coupled to
poly(ester amine) (VBPEA) enforces a high level of VTC (VB6-transporting membrane carriers)-mediated endocytosis of the complexed SHMT1
siRNA (siSHMT1) to interrupt the thymidylate biosynthesis pathway of
cancer cells. The detrimental effect of SHMT1 knockdown on the disintegration of multi-
enzyme complex resulted in cell cycle arrest and a decrease in cell's genomic
DNA content, leading to enhanced apoptotic events in
cancer cells. A reduction in
tumor size was observed with constant SHMT1 suppression in xenograft mice. This study illustrates how silencing the SHMT1 expression inhibits
cancer growth and the increased VB6 channeling for sustenance of
cancer cells promotes VB6-coupled vector to elicit enhanced delivery of siSHMT1.