The serine hydroxymethyltransferase-2 (SHMT2) initiates lymphoma development through epigenetic tumor suppressor silencing.

Cancer cells adapt their metabolic activities to support growth and proliferation. However, increased activity of metabolic enzymes is not usually considered an initiating event in the malignant process. Here, we investigate the possible role of the enzyme serine hydroxymethyltransferase-2 (SHMT2) in lymphoma initiation. localizes to the most frequent region of copy number gains at chromosome 12q14.1 in lymphoma. Elevated expression of cooperates with in lymphoma development; loss or inhibition of impairs lymphoma cell survival. SHMT2 catalyzes the conversion of serine to glycine and produces an activated one-carbon unit that can be used to support -adenosyl methionine synthesis. SHMT2 induces changes in DNA and histone methylation patterns leading to promoter silencing of previously uncharacterized mutational genes, such as and Together, our findings reveal that amplification of in cooperation with is sufficient in the initiation of lymphomagenesis through epigenetic tumor suppressor silencing.