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Published on: May 19, 2016
Akt-phosphorylated UFL1 UFMylates ArpC4 to promote metastasis
Kailiang Zhao1,2, Hao Hu1, Debao Fang1
1Department of Thoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, National Key Laboratory of Immune Response and Immunotherapy, Center for Advanced Interdisciplinary Science and Biomedicine of IHM, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China.
Abstract:
The role of modification by ubiquitin-fold modifier ('UFMylation') in regulating metastasis has remained enigmatic. Cell migration, a critical step in metastasis, is driven by actin polymerization mediated by actin-related proteins 2 and 3 (Arp2/3) at the leading edge of lamellipodia. Here, we report that UFM1-specific E3 ligase 1 (UFL1) interacts with and catalyzes the UFMylation of ArpC4, a core subunit of the Arp2/3 complex. Akt has a key role in this process, which involves phosphorylating UFL1 at T426, thereby enhancing its interaction with ArpC4 and inducing ArpC4 UFMylation. Through ArpC4 UFMylation and potentially other targets, UFL1 facilitates lamellipodia formation and promotes cell migration, invasion and metastasis, making UFL1 an attractive therapeutic target for cancer.
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