The nucleolar ubiquitin-specific protease USP36 deubiquitinates and stabilizes c-Myc

Abstract

c-Myc is ubiquitinated by SCF Fbw7 and appears to be degraded mainly in the nucleolus, where it acts as a master regulator of ribosomal biogenesis. However, deubiquitination regulation of c-Myc in the nucleolus is previously unknown. Here, we found that ubiquitin-specific protease 36 (USP36), a nucleolar ubiquitin-specific protease, interacts with and deubiquitinates c-Myc in the nucleolus. It also interacts with Fbw7γ but not Fbw7α, yet it abolishes c-Myc degradation mediated by either Fbw7γ or Fbw7α. Ablation of USP36 reduced c-Myc levels and severely inhibited cancer cell proliferation. USP36 is overexpressed in a subset of human breast and lung cancers. Thus, our study reveals USP36 as a novel deubiquitinating enzyme controlling c-Myc’s nucleolar degradation, adding a missing and end-point regulator into the c-Myc degradation pathway.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Mar 09, 2015
Source ID
10.1073/pnas.1411713112

Entities

People

  • Li Yin
  • Masayuki Komada
  • Mu-Shui Dai
  • Rosalie C Sears
  • Xia He
  • Xiao-xin Sun

Organizations

  • Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs
  • Jiangsu Cancer Hospital
  • National Cancer Institute
  • Tokyo Institute of Technology

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Biology

Readers

  • Analytical Chemistry
  • Molecular Biology and Genetics
  • Oncology (Cancer Research).