Wang Jiahui, Wu Liangpei, Tian Zhifeng, Chen Jun
Department of Chemoradiotherapy, The Affiliated People's Hospital of Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang 315040, P.R. China.
Cancer Center, Lishui Municipal Central Hospital, Lishui, Zhejiang 323000, P.R. China.
Oncol Lett. 2025 Apr 23;29(6):307. doi: 10.3892/ol.2025.15053. eCollection 2025 Jun.
HNSCC includes nasopharyngeal, laryngeal and oral cancers, and its pathogenesis is influenced by various factors. As an essential part of the ubiquitin (Ub)-proteasome system (UPS), deubiquitinating enzymes (DUBs) maintain the homeostasis of Ub molecules and influence the physiological functions of cells and disease processes by removing ubiquitinated proteins. Accumulating evidence has confirmed that the aberrant expression of DUBs is involved in cell proliferation, metastasis, and apoptosis during the development of HNSCC, with some acting as oncogenes and others as tumor-suppressor genes. In this review, the DUBs implicated in HNSCC were summarized and the mechanisms underlying abnormal DUBs expression in signaling pathways were discussed. In addition, given the important role of DUBs in tumorigenesis, recent studies were reviewed and agonists and inhibitors of DUBs were summarized to identify more effective therapeutic strategies.
头颈部鳞状细胞癌包括鼻咽癌、喉癌和口腔癌，其发病机制受多种因素影响。作为泛素（Ub）-蛋白酶体系统（UPS）的重要组成部分，去泛素化酶（DUBs）通过去除泛素化蛋白维持Ub分子的稳态，并影响细胞的生理功能和疾病进程。越来越多的证据证实，在头颈部鳞状细胞癌发生发展过程中，DUBs的异常表达参与细胞增殖、转移和凋亡，其中一些作为癌基因，另一些作为肿瘤抑制基因。在本综述中，总结了与头颈部鳞状细胞癌相关的DUBs，并讨论了信号通路中DUBs异常表达的潜在机制。此外，鉴于DUBs在肿瘤发生中的重要作用，对近期研究进行了综述，并总结了DUBs的激动剂和抑制剂，以确定更有效的治疗策略。
