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Updated: Dec 18, 2025

Profiling Ubiquitin and Ubiquitin-like Dependent Post-translational Modifications and Identification of Significant Alterations
Published on: November 7, 2019
Ubiquilin Networking in Cancers
Salinee Jantrapirom1, Luca Lo Piccolo2, Dumnoensun Pruksakorn2,3,4
1Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Muang, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand.
Abstract:
Ubiquilins or UBQLNs, members of the ubiquitin-like and ubiquitin-associated domain (UBL-UBA) protein family, serve as adaptors to coordinate the degradation of specific substrates via both proteasome and autophagy pathways. The UBQLN substrates reveal great diversity and impact a wide range of cellular functions. For decades, researchers have been attempting to uncover a puzzle and understand the role of UBQLNs in human cancers, particularly in the modulation of oncogene's stability and nucleotide excision repair. In this review, we summarize the UBQLNs' genetic variants that are associated with the most common cancers and also discuss their reliability as a prognostic marker. Moreover, we provide an overview of the UBQLNs networks that are relevant to cancers in different ways, including cell cycle, apoptosis, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, DNA repairs and miRNAs. Finally, we include a future prospective on novel ubiquilin-based cancer therapies.
Insights
Ubiquilins (UBQLNs) are key proteins coordinating cellular degradation pathways. This review explores their diverse roles in human cancers, focusing on genetic variants, prognostic potential, and therapeutic strategies.
Area of Science:
- Molecular Biology
- Cancer Research
- Cellular Biology
Background:
- Ubiquilins (UBQLNs), part of the UBL-UBA protein family, act as adaptors in proteasome and autophagy degradation pathways.
- UBQLN substrates are diverse, influencing numerous cellular functions, including oncogene stability and DNA repair.
- The role of UBQLNs in human cancers has been a long-standing research focus.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review genetic variants of UBQLNs associated with common cancers.
- To evaluate UBQLNs as potential prognostic markers in cancer.
- To provide an overview of UBQLN networks relevant to cancer pathways.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of genetic variants and cancer associations.
- Analysis of UBQLN network involvement in cancer-related cellular processes.
- Discussion of UBQLN-based therapeutic strategies.
Main Results:
- Summary of UBQLN genetic variants linked to major cancer types.
- Assessment of UBQLN reliability as a prognostic indicator.
- Identification of UBQLN networks impacting cell cycle, apoptosis, EMT, DNA repair, and miRNAs in cancer.
Conclusions:
- Ubiquilins play multifaceted roles in cancer development and progression.
- UBQLN genetic variants and network interactions offer insights into cancer biology.
- Targeting ubiquilins presents a promising avenue for novel cancer therapies.
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