Wu Jilin, Huang Ming, Dong Wen, Chen Yuelong, Zhou Qianghua, Zhang Qiang, Zheng Junjiong, Liu Yeqing, Zhang Yangjie, Liu Sen, Yang Chenwei, Chen Siting, Huang Jian, Lin Tianxin, Chen Xu
Department of Urology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510120, China.
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Malignant Tumor Epigenetics and Gene Regulation, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510120, China.
Int J Biol Sci. 2024 Jul 15;20(10):3986-4006. doi: 10.7150/ijbs.98772. eCollection 2024.
Lymph node (LN) metastasis is the dominant cause of death in bladder cancer (BCa) patients, but the underlying mechanism remains largely unknown. In recent years, accumulating studies have confirmed that bidirectional mitochondria-nucleus communication is essential for sustaining multiple function of mitochondria. However, little has been studied regarding whether and how the translocation of mitochondrial proteins is involved in LN metastasis. In this study, we first identified that the SUMO E3 ligase MUL1 was significantly downregulated in LN-metastatic BCa tissues and correlated with a good prognosis. Mechanistically, MUL1 SUMOylated HSPA9 at the K612 residue, leading to HSPA9 export from mitochondria and interaction with SUZ12 and in the nucleus. Consequently, MUL1 induced the ubiquitination-mediated degradation of SUZ12 and EZH2 and induced downstream STAT3 pathway inhibition in a HSPA9-dependent manner. Importantly, mutation of HSPA9 SUMO-conjugation motifs limited the translocation of mitochondrial HSPA9 and blocked the HSPA9-SUZ12 and HSPA9-EZH2 interactions. With mutation of the HSPA9 K612 site, the suppressive role of MUL1 overexpression was lost in BCa cells. Further and assays revealed that MUL1 inhibits the metastasis and proliferation of BCa cells. Overall, our study reveals a novel function and molecular mechanism of SUMO E3 ligases in LN metastasis.
淋巴结(LN)转移是膀胱癌(BCa)患者死亡的主要原因,但其潜在机制在很大程度上仍不清楚。近年来,越来越多的研究证实,线粒体与细胞核之间的双向通讯对于维持线粒体的多种功能至关重要。然而,关于线粒体蛋白的转位是否以及如何参与LN转移的研究很少。在本研究中,我们首先发现SUMO E3连接酶MUL1在LN转移的BCa组织中显著下调,且与良好的预后相关。机制上,MUL1在K612残基处使HSPA9发生SUMO化,导致HSPA9从线粒体输出并与细胞核中的SUZ12相互作用。因此,MUL1诱导SUZ12和EZH2的泛素化介导降解,并以HSPA9依赖的方式诱导下游STAT3途径抑制。重要的是,HSPA9 SUMO结合基序的突变限制了线粒体HSPA9的转位,并阻断了HSPA9与SUZ12和HSPA9与EZH2的相互作用。随着HSPA9 K612位点的突变,MUL1过表达在BCa细胞中的抑制作用丧失。进一步的实验和分析表明,MUL1抑制BCa细胞的转移和增殖。总体而言,我们的研究揭示了SUMO E3连接酶在LN转移中的新功能和分子机制。