Regulation of NRF2 by stably associated phosphoinositides and small heat shock proteins in response to stress.

Reactive oxygen species are generated by aerobic metabolism, and their deleterious effects are buffered by the cellular antioxidant response, which prevents oxidative stress. The nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2) is a master transcriptional regulator of the antioxidant response. Basal levels of NRF2 are kept low by ubiquitin-dependent degradation of NRF2 by E3 ligases, including the Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (KEAP1). Here, we show that the stability and function of NRF2 is regulated by the type I phosphatidylinositol phosphate kinase γ (PIPKIγ), which binds NRF2 and is required to stably couple phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate to NRF2 in response to oxidative stress. Stress also induces the interaction of the small heat shock protein HSP27 and NRF2, and this interaction is enhanced by phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate. Silencing PIPKIγ or HSP27 destabilizes NRF2, reduces expression of its target gene heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), and sensitizes cells to oxidative stress. These data demonstrate an unexpected collaboration between phosphoinositides, which are stably coupled to NRF2, and HSP27, which is recruited to NRF2 by a phosphoinositide-dependent mechanism to regulate NRF2 stability and function. These findings also point to PIPKIγ and HSP27 as drug targets to destabilize NRF2 in cancer.