- Jung, Youn-Sang;
- Jun, Sohee;
- Kim, Moon Jong;
- Lee, Sung Ho;
- Suh, Han Na;
- Lien, Esther M;
- Jung, Hae-Yun;
- Lee, Sunhye;
- Zhang, Jie;
- Yang, Jung-In;
- Ji, Hong;
- Wu, Ji Yuan;
- Wang, Wenqi;
- Miller, Rachel K;
- Chen, Junjie;
- McCrea, Pierre D;
- Kopetz, Scott;
- Park, Jae-Il
Vesicular acidification and trafficking are associated with various cellular processes. However, their pathologic relevance to cancer remains elusive. We identified transmembrane protein 9 (TMEM9) as a vesicular acidification regulator. TMEM9 is highly upregulated in colorectal cancer. Proteomic and biochemical analyses show that TMEM9 binds to and facilitates assembly of vacuolar-ATPase (v-ATPase), a vacuolar proton pump, resulting in enhanced vesicular acidification and trafficking. TMEM9-v-ATPase hyperactivates Wnt/β-catenin signalling via lysosomal degradation of adenomatous polyposis coli (APC). Moreover, TMEM9 transactivated by β-catenin functions as a positive feedback regulator of Wnt signalling in colorectal cancer. Genetic ablation of TMEM9 inhibits colorectal cancer cell proliferation in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo mouse models. Moreover, administration of v-ATPase inhibitors suppresses intestinal tumorigenesis of APC mouse models and human patient-derived xenografts. Our results reveal the unexpected roles of TMEM9-controlled vesicular acidification in hyperactivating Wnt/β-catenin signalling through APC degradation, and propose the blockade of TMEM9-v-ATPase as a viable option for colorectal cancer treatment.