Aldehyde dehydrogenase 1A1 increases NADH levels and promotes tumor growth via glutathione/dihydrolipoic acid-dependent NAD+ reduction

Aldehyde dehydrogenase 1A1 (ALDH1A1) is a member of the aldehyde dehydrogenase superfamily that oxidizes aldehydes to their corresponding acids, reactions that are coupled to the reduction of NAD+ to NADH. We report here that ALDH1A1 can also use glutathione (GSH) and dihydrolipoic acid (DHLA) as electron donors to reduce NAD+ to NADH. The GSH/DHLA-dependent NAD+-reduction activity of ALDH1A1 is not affected by the aldehyde dehydrogenase inhibitor or by mutation of the residues in its aldehyde-binding pocket. It is thus a distinct biochemical reaction from the classic aldehyde-dehydrogenase activity catalyzed by ALDH1A1. We also found that the ectopic expression of ALDH1A1 decreased the intracellular NAD+/NADH ratio, while knockout of ALDH1A1 increased the NAD+/NADH ratio. Simultaneous knockout of ALDH1A1 and its isozyme ALDH3A1 in lung cancer cell line NCI-H460 inhibited tumor growth in a xenograft model. Moreover, the ALDH1A1 mutants that retained their GSH/DHLA-dependent NAD+ reduction activity but lost their aldehyde-dehydrogenase activity were able to decrease the NAD+/NADH ratio and to rescue the impaired growth of ALDH1A1/3A1 double knockout tumor cells. Collectively, these results suggest that this newly characterized GSH/DHLA-dependent NAD+-reduction activity of ALDH1A1 can decrease cellular NAD+/NADH ratio and promote tumor growth.