Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41890053›Full record

ArticlebioRxiv : the preprint server for biology2026

UFMylation of Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Regulates Mitochondrial Metabolism.

Phong T Nguyen, Zheng Wu, Dohun Kim, Tamaratare Ogu, Siyu Yin, Varun Sondhi, Feng Cai, Trevor S Tippetts, Annie Jen, Evgenia Shishkova and 9 more

Abstract readPreprint
In one paragraph

Article in bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

19 authors.

Phong T NguyenChildren's Medical Center Research Institute, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, 75390, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-6390-7350
Zheng WuChildren's Medical Center Research Institute, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, 75390, USA.
Dohun KimChildren's Medical Center Research Institute, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, 75390, USA.
Tamaratare OguChildren's Medical Center Research Institute, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, 75390, USA.
Siyu YinChildren's Medical Center Research Institute, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, 75390, USA.
Varun SondhiChildren's Medical Center Research Institute, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, 75390, USA.
Feng CaiChildren's Medical Center Research Institute, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, 75390, USA.
Trevor S TippettsChildren's Medical Center Research Institute, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, 75390, USA.
Annie JenDepartment of Biomolecular Chemistry, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53506, USA.
Evgenia ShishkovaDepartment of Biomolecular Chemistry, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53506, USA.
Ling CaiChildren's Medical Center Research Institute, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, 75390, USA.
Dennis DumesnilChildren's Medical Center Research Institute, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, 75390, USA.
Margaret CervantesChildren's Medical Center Research Institute, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, 75390, USA.
Hongli ChenChildren's Medical Center Research Institute, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, 75390, USA.
Prashant MishraChildren's Medical Center Research Institute, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, 75390, USA.
Joshua J CoonDepartment of Biomolecular Chemistry, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53506, USA.
Gerta HoxhajChildren's Medical Center Research Institute, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, 75390, USA.
Min NiDepartment of Oncology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
Ralph J DeBerardinisChildren's Medical Center Research Institute, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, 75390, USA.

Funding

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS--SPORE IN LUNG CANCERP50CA070907 · NCI · UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER · PI HEYMACH, JOHN V. · 1996 to 2024
$57.4M
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center SPORE in Kidney CancerP50CA196516 · NCI · UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER · PI Payal Kapur, Payal Kapur · 2016 to 2026
$24.7M
TR&D 2 Metabolic Labels for Ultraplexed Protein Quantification p. 453P41GM108538 · NIGMS · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · PI COON, JOSHUA J · 2016 to 2025
$13.1M
Metabolic Regulators of Tumor Growth and ProgressionR35CA220449 · NCI · UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER · PI RALPH J DEBERARDINIS · 2017 to 2026
$9.4M
Construction of A Lung Cancer Preclinical Model Cross-comparison PlatformR01CA285336 · NCI · UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER · PI Ling Cai · 2024 to 2026
$3.1M
Revealing the essential functions of mitochondrial NADPH and NADK2 for cell growth and proliferationR01GM143236 · NIGMS · UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER · PI HOXHAJ, GERTA N/A · 2021 to 2025
$1.8M
The roles of the UFM1 post-translational modification in cellular metabolismK99GM151439 · NIGMS · UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER · PI NGUYEN, PHONG THANH · 2023 to 2024
$250k
Novel mechanisms of purine regulation and their roles in human pathophysiologyK99GM154116 · NIGMS · UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER · PI WU, ZHENG · 2025 to 2025
$125k
NCI NIH HHS P50 CA070907NCI NIH HHS P50 CA196516NCI NIH HHS R01 CA285336NCI NIH HHS R35 CA220449NIGMS NIH HHS K99 GM151439NIGMS NIH HHS K99 GM154116NIGMS NIH HHS P41 GM108538NIGMS NIH HHS R01 GM143236
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The ubiquitin-fold modifier 1 (UFM1) post-translational modification (PTM), or UFMylation, regulates protein homeostasis and is essential for human development. Yet the roles of the de-UFMylase, UFM1-specific peptidase 2 (UFSP2), which removes UFM1 from UFMylated proteins, remain poorly characterized. Here, we demonstrate that UFMylation and UFSP2 regulate mitochondrial metabolism. Quantitative proteomics in UFSP2-deficient cells revealed the accumulation of many proteins previously unknown to be impacted by UFMylation. These included components of the mitochondrial ribosome, electron transport chain (ETC), and pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) complex. Functional analyses demonstrated that excessive UFMylation in UFSP2-deficient cells increases mitochondrial respiration, glucose oxidation in the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, and PDH enzymatic activity. We identified dihydrolipoamide S-acetyltransferase (DLAT), the E2 component of PDH, as a direct UFMylation substrate, with lysine 118 (K118) as the primary conjugation site. Mutating K118 to arginine (K118R) abolished DLAT UFMylation and reduced pyruvate oxidation, identifying this modification as an activator of PDH. These findings reveal a UFMylation-based regulatory mechanism that controls mitochondrial function by inducing utilization of pyruvate as a TCA cycle fuel.

Indexed as

Dihydrolipoamide S-Acetyltransferase (DLAT)mitochondrial metabolismmitochondrial respirationPyruvate Dehydrogenase (PDH)Tricarboxylic Acid (TCA) cycleUFM1UFMylationUFSP2

Identifiers

PMID41890053
PMCPMC13015560

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.