Fatty acid elongation regulates mitochondrial 13-oxidation and cell viability in prostate cancer by controlling malonyl-CoA levels

Recently, the fatty acid elongation enzyme ELOVL5 was identified as a critical pro-metastatic factor in prostate cancer, required for cell growth and mitochondrial homeostasis. The fatty acid elongation reaction catalyzed by ELOVL5 utilizes malonyl-CoA as the carbon donor. Here, we demonstrate that ELOVL5 knockdown causes malonyl-CoA accumulation. Malonyl-CoA is a cellular substrate that can inhibit fatty acid 13-oxidation in the mitochondria through allosteric inhibition of carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1A (CPT1A), the enzyme that controls the rate-limiting step of the long chain fatty acid 13-oxidation cycle. We hypothesized that changes in malonyl-CoA abundance following ELOVL5 knockdown could influence mitochondrial 13-oxidation rates in prostate cancer cells, and regulate cell viability. Accordingly, we find that ELOVL5 knockdown is associated with decreased mitochondrial 13-oxidation in prostate cancer cells. Combining ELOVL5 knockdown with FASN inhibition to increase malonyl-CoA abundance endogenously enhances the effect of ELOVL5 knockdown on prostate cancer cell viability, while preventing malonyl-CoA production rescues the cells from the effect of ELOVL5 knockdown. Our findings indicate an additional role for fatty acid elongation, in the control of malonyl-CoA homeostasis, alongside its established role in the production of long-chain fatty acid species, to explain the importance of fatty acid elongation for cell viability.