Selective nitration of Hsp90 acts as a metabolic switch promoting tumor cell proliferation

Tumors develop in an oxidative environment characterized by peroxynitrite production and downstream protein tyrosine (Y) nitration. We showed that tyrosine nitration supports schwannoma cell proliferation and regulates cell metabolism in the inheritable tumor disorder NF2-related Schwannomatosis (NF2-SWN). Here, we identified the chaperone Heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) as the first nitrated protein that acts as a metabolic switch to promote schwannoma cell proliferation. Doubling the endogenous levels of nitrated Hsp90 in schwannoma cells or supplementing nitrated Hsp90 into normal Schwann cells increased their proliferation. Metabolically, nitration on either Y33 or Y56 conferred Hsp90 distinct functions; nitration at Y33 (Hsp90_NY33) down-regulated mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation, while nitration at Y56 (Hsp90_NY56) increased glycolysis by activating the purinergic receptor P2X7 in both schwannoma and normal Schwann cells. Hsp90_NY33 and Hsp90_NY56 showed differential subcellular and spatial distribution corresponding with their metabolic and proliferative functions in schwannoma three-dimensional cell culture models. Collectively, these results underscore the role of tyrosine nitration as a post-translational modification regulating critical cellular processes. Nitrated proteins, particularly nitrated Hsp90, emerge as a novel category of tumor-directed therapeutic targets.