Abstract

N-acetyltransferase 10 (NAT10)-catalyzed N4-acetylcytidine (ac4C) modification has been reported to drive tumor metastasis. Lysosomal dysregulation plays an important role in human diseases, but its function in esophageal cancer metastasis is unclear. It remains unknown whether NAT10 regulates lysosomal function, and the underlying mechanism and treatment strategy warrants investigation. Here, a novel role of NAT10 in inducing lysosomal acidification is revealed, and the clinical and biological significance of ATP6V0E1 in tumor metastasis is uncovered. Mechanistically, NAT10 promotes the translation efficiency of ATPase H⁺ transporting V0 subunit e1 (ATP6V0E1) mRNA in an ac4C-dependent manner to facilitate ATP6V0E1 expression and vacuolar H⁺-ATPase (v-ATPase) activity, enhancing the lysosomal degradation of E-cadherin, ultimately accelerating tumor metastasis. Furthermore, G-749 is screened and identified as a novel NAT10 inhibitor capable of effectively impeding lysosomal acidification and tumor metastasis by disrupting the NAT10-Ubiquitin-specific Peptidase 39 (USP39) interaction. Overall, the results unveil a novel role of ac4C modifications in regulating lysosomal acidification and propose a potential strategy by targeting NAT10 to inhibit esophageal cancer metastasis.