Department of Pathology, School of Basic Medical Sciences and Qilu Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong Province, China.
Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery IV, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, 100142, China.
Cell Death Dis. 2024 Aug 6;15(8):565. doi: 10.1038/s41419-024-06932-y.
Autophagy is closely related to the occurrence and development of human malignancies; however, the detailed mechanisms underlying autophagy in cervical cancer require further investigation. Previously, we found that the ectopic expression of NCAPH, a regulatory subunit of condensed protein complexes, significantly enhanced the proliferation of tumor cells; however, the underlying mechanisms were unclear. Here, we revealed that NCAPH is a novel autophagy-associated protein in cervical cancer that promotes cell proliferation by inhibiting autophagosome formation and reducing autophagy, with no effect on the cell cycle, apoptosis, or aging. Tripartite motif-containing protein 21 (TRIM21) is well known to be involved in inflammation, autoimmunity and cancer, mainly via its E3 ubiquitin ligase activity. Mass spectrometry and immunoprecipitation assays showed that TRIM21 interacted with NCAPH and decreased the protein stability of NCAPH via ubiquitination at the K11 lysine residue. Structural domain mutation analysis revealed that TRIM21 combined with NCAPH through its PRY/SPRY and CC domains and accelerated the degradation of NCAPH through the RING domain. Furthermore, TRIM21 promoted autophagosome formation and reduced cell proliferation by inhibiting NCAPH expression and the downstream AKT/mTOR pathway in cervical cancer cells. Immunohistochemical staining revealed that the protein expression of TRIM21 was negatively correlated with that of NCAPH and positively correlated with that of beclin-1 in cervical cancer tissues. Therefore, we provide evidence for the role of the TRIM21-NCAPH axis in cervical cancer autophagy and proliferation and the involvement of the AKT/mTOR signaling pathway in this process. These results deepen our understanding of the carcinogenesis of cervical cancer, broaden the understanding of the molecular mechanisms of TRIM21 and NCAPH, and provide guidance for individualized treatment of cervical cancer in the future.
自噬与人类恶性肿瘤的发生和发展密切相关;然而,宫颈癌中自噬的确切机制仍需进一步研究。此前,我们发现,作为凝聚蛋白复合物的调节亚基,NCAPH 的异位表达显著增强了肿瘤细胞的增殖;然而,其潜在机制尚不清楚。在这里,我们揭示了 NCAPH 是宫颈癌中一种新的自噬相关蛋白,通过抑制自噬体的形成和减少自噬来促进细胞增殖,而对细胞周期、细胞凋亡或衰老没有影响。三结构域蛋白 21(TRIM21)通过其 E3 泛素连接酶活性,主要参与炎症、自身免疫和癌症,这一点已得到广泛认可。质谱和免疫沉淀实验表明,TRIM21 与 NCAPH 相互作用,并通过 K11 赖氨酸残基的泛素化降低 NCAPH 的蛋白稳定性。结构域突变分析表明,TRIM21 通过其 PRY/SPRY 和 CC 结构域与 NCAPH 结合,并通过 RING 结构域加速 NCAPH 的降解。此外,TRIM21 通过抑制 NCAPH 的表达及其下游 AKT/mTOR 通路,促进自噬体的形成并减少宫颈癌细胞的增殖。免疫组织化学染色显示,TRIM21 的蛋白表达与 NCAPH 的表达呈负相关,与宫颈癌组织中 beclin-1 的表达呈正相关。因此,我们为 TRIM21-NCAPH 轴在宫颈癌自噬和增殖中的作用以及 AKT/mTOR 信号通路在此过程中的参与提供了证据。这些结果加深了我们对宫颈癌发生的认识,拓宽了对 TRIM21 和 NCAPH 分子机制的理解,并为未来宫颈癌的个体化治疗提供了指导。
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