{"title":"UBE2S promotes glycolysis in hepatocellular carcinoma by enhancing E3 enzyme-independent polyubiquitination of VHL.","authors":"Renyu Zhang, Can Li, Shuai Zhang, Lingmin Kong, Zekun Liu, Yixiao Guo, Ying Sun, Cong Zhang, Yule Yong, Jianjun Lv, Meng Lu, Man Liu, Dong Wu, Tianjiao Zhang, Haijiao Yang, Ding Wei, Zhinan Chen, Huijie Bian","doi":"10.3350/cmh.2024.0236","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background/aims: </strong>Ubiquitination is widely involved in the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by regulating various cellular processes. However, systematic strategies for screening core ubiquitin-related genes, clarifying their functions and mechanisms, and ultimately developing potential therapeutics for patients with HCC are still lacking.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Cox and LASSO regression analyses were performed to construct a ubiquitin-related gene prediction model for HCC. Loss- and gain-of-function studies, transcriptomic and metabolomics analysis were used to explore the function and mechanism of UBE2S on HCC cell glycolysis and growth.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Based on 1,423 ubiquitin-related genes, a four-gene signature was successfully constructed to evaluate the prognosis of patients with HCC. UBE2S was identified in this signature with the potential to predict the survival of patients with HCC. E2F2 transcriptionally upregulated UBE2S expression by directly binding to its promoter. UBE2S positively regulated glycolysis in a HIF-1α-dependent manner, thus promoting the proliferation of HCC cells. Mechanistically, UBE2S enhanced K11-linkage polyubiquitination at lysine residues 171 and 196 of VHL independent of E3 ligase, thereby indirectly stabilizing HIF-1α protein levels by mediating the degradation of VHL by the proteasome. In particular, the combination of cephalomannine, a small molecule compound that inhibits the expression of UBE2S, and PX-478, an inhibitor of HIF-1α, significantly improved the anti-tumor efficacy.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>UBE2S is identified as a key biomarker in HCC among the thousands of ubiquitin-related genes and promotes glycolysis by E3 enzyme-independent ubiquitination, thus serving as a therapeutic target for the treatment of HCC.</p>","PeriodicalId":10275,"journal":{"name":"Clinical and Molecular Hepatology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":14.0000,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11540382/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Clinical and Molecular Hepatology","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.3350/cmh.2024.0236","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2024/6/25 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"GASTROENTEROLOGY & HEPATOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background/aims: Ubiquitination is widely involved in the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by regulating various cellular processes. However, systematic strategies for screening core ubiquitin-related genes, clarifying their functions and mechanisms, and ultimately developing potential therapeutics for patients with HCC are still lacking.
Methods: Cox and LASSO regression analyses were performed to construct a ubiquitin-related gene prediction model for HCC. Loss- and gain-of-function studies, transcriptomic and metabolomics analysis were used to explore the function and mechanism of UBE2S on HCC cell glycolysis and growth.
Results: Based on 1,423 ubiquitin-related genes, a four-gene signature was successfully constructed to evaluate the prognosis of patients with HCC. UBE2S was identified in this signature with the potential to predict the survival of patients with HCC. E2F2 transcriptionally upregulated UBE2S expression by directly binding to its promoter. UBE2S positively regulated glycolysis in a HIF-1α-dependent manner, thus promoting the proliferation of HCC cells. Mechanistically, UBE2S enhanced K11-linkage polyubiquitination at lysine residues 171 and 196 of VHL independent of E3 ligase, thereby indirectly stabilizing HIF-1α protein levels by mediating the degradation of VHL by the proteasome. In particular, the combination of cephalomannine, a small molecule compound that inhibits the expression of UBE2S, and PX-478, an inhibitor of HIF-1α, significantly improved the anti-tumor efficacy.
Conclusion: UBE2S is identified as a key biomarker in HCC among the thousands of ubiquitin-related genes and promotes glycolysis by E3 enzyme-independent ubiquitination, thus serving as a therapeutic target for the treatment of HCC.
期刊介绍:
Clinical and Molecular Hepatology is an internationally recognized, peer-reviewed, open-access journal published quarterly in English. Its mission is to disseminate cutting-edge knowledge, trends, and insights into hepatobiliary diseases, fostering an inclusive academic platform for robust debate and discussion among clinical practitioners, translational researchers, and basic scientists. With a multidisciplinary approach, the journal strives to enhance public health, particularly in the resource-limited Asia-Pacific region, which faces significant challenges such as high prevalence of B viral infection and hepatocellular carcinoma. Furthermore, Clinical and Molecular Hepatology prioritizes epidemiological studies of hepatobiliary diseases across diverse regions including East Asia, North Asia, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, Southwest Asia, Pacific, Africa, Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Central America, and South America.
The journal publishes a wide range of content, including original research papers, meta-analyses, letters to the editor, case reports, reviews, guidelines, editorials, and liver images and pathology, encompassing all facets of hepatology.