miR-181c-5p/DERL1 pathway controls breast cancer progression mediated by TRAF6-linked K63 ubiquitination of AKT

Aberrant Derlin-1 (DERL1) expression is associated with an overactivation of p-AKT, whose involvement in breast cancer (BRCA) development has been widely speculated. However, the precise mechanism that links DERL1 expression and AKT activation is less well-studied.

Our data confirm that mediation of the miR-181c-5p/DERL1 pathway by TRAF6-linked AKT K63 ubiquitination holds one of the clues to set our focus on toward meeting the therapeutic goals of BRCA.

Bioinformatic analyses hold a promising approach by which to detect genes' expression levels and their association with disease prognoses in patients. In the present work, a dual-luciferase assay was employed to investigate the relationship between DERL1 expression and the candidate miRNA by both in vitro and in vivo methods. Further in-depth studies involving immunoprecipitation-mass spectrum (IP-MS), co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP), as well as Zdock prediction were performed.

Overexpression of DERL1 was detected in all phenotypes of BRCA, and its knockdown showed an inhibitory effect on BRCA cells both in vitro and in vivo. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database reported that DERL1 overexpression was correlated with poor overall survival in BRCA cases, and so the quantification of DERL1 expression could be a potential marker for the clinical diagnosis of BRCA. On the other hand, miR-181c-5p was downregulated in BRCA, suggesting that its overexpression could be a potent therapeutic route to improve the overall survival of BRCA cases. Prior bioinformatic analyses indicated a somewhat positive correlation between DERL1 and TRAF6 as well as between TRAF6 and AKT, but not between miR-181c-5p and DERL1. In retrospect, DERL1 overexpression promoted p-AKT activation through K63 ubiquitination. DERL1 was believed to directly interact with the E3 ligase TRAF6. As Tyr77Ala or Tyr77Ala/Gln81Ala/Arg85Ala/Val158Ala attempts to prevent the interaction between DERL1 and TRAF domain of TRAF6, resulted in a significant reduction in K63-ubiquitinated p-AKT production. However, mutations in Gln81Ala, Arg85Ala, or Val158Ala could possibly interrupt with these processes. Conclusions: Our data confirm that mediation of the miR-181c-5p/DERL1 pathway by TRAF6-linked AKT K63 ubiquitination holds one of the clues to set our focus on toward meeting the therapeutic goals of BRCA.