Ubiquilin proteins regulate EGFR levels and activity in lung adenocarcinoma cells

Ubiquilin (UBQLN) proteins are involved in diverse cellular processes like endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation, autophagy, apoptosis, and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. UBQLNs interact with a variety of substrates, including cell surface receptors, transcription factor regulators, proteasomal machinery proteins, and transmembrane proteins. In addition, previous work from our lab shows that UBQLN1 interacts with insulin-like growth factor receptor family members (IGF1R, IGF2R, and INSR) and this interaction regulates the activity and proteostasis of IGFR family members. We wondered whether UBQLN proteins could also bind and regulate additional receptor tyrosine kinases. Thus, we investigated a link between UBQLN and the oncogene epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in lung adenocarcinoma cells. Loss of UBQLN1 occurs at high frequency in human lung cancer patient samples and we have shown that the loss of UBQLN1 is capable of altering processes involved in cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in lung adenocarcinoma cell lines. Here, we present data that loss of UBQLN1 resulted in increased turnover of total EGFR while increasing the relative amount of phosphorylated EGFR in lung adenocarcinoma cells, especially in the presence of its ligand EGF. Furthermore, the loss of UBQLN1 led to a more invasive cell phenotype as manifested by increased proliferation, migration, and speed of movement of these lung adenocarcinoma cells. Taken together, UBQLN1 regulates the expression and stability of EGFR in lung cancer cells.