BECN1 promotes the migration of NSCLC cells through regulating the ubiquitination of Vimentin.

Abstract

BECN1/Beclin1 is one of the key proteins in autophagy regulation. However, the biological functions of BECN1 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were obscure. Here, we found that neither BECN1 knockdown nor overexpression affected the proliferation of NSCLC cells. Surprisingly, BECN1 overexpression increased cell migration and knocking down BECN1 significantly reduced the migratory ability of NSCLC cells. We further demonstrated that BECN1 could interact with Vimentin and affected its K48-linked ubiquitination. What's more, BECN1 could also interact with ubiquitin-specific peptidase 14 (USP14), the key de-ubiquitinase of Vimentin, and regulated USP14 mediated de-ubiquitination of Vimentin. Thus, our studies revealed an oncosupportive role of BECN1 in the migration of NSCLC cells through regulating the ubiquitination of Vimentin.