TY  - JOUR
A1  - Prieto‐Garcia, Cristian
A1  - Hartmann, Oliver
A1  - Reissland, Michaela
A1  - Braun, Fabian
A1  - Fischer, Thomas
A1  - Walz, Susanne
A1  - Schülein‐Völk, Christina
A1  - Eilers, Ursula
A1  - Ade, Carsten P.
A1  - Calzado, Marco A.
A1  - Orian, Amir
A1  - Maric, Hans M.
A1  - Münch, Christian
A1  - Rosenfeldt, Mathias
A1  - Eilers, Martin
A1  - Diefenbacher, Markus E.
T1  - Maintaining protein stability of ∆Np63 via USP28 is required by squamous cancer cells
JF  - EMBO Molecular Medicine
N2  - The transcription factor ∆Np63 is a master regulator of epithelial cell identity and essential for the survival of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of lung, head and neck, oesophagus, cervix and skin. Here, we report that the deubiquitylase USP28 stabilizes ∆Np63 and maintains elevated ∆NP63 levels in SCC by counteracting its proteasome‐mediated degradation. Impaired USP28 activity, either genetically or pharmacologically, abrogates the transcriptional identity and suppresses growth and survival of human SCC cells. CRISPR/Cas9‐engineered in vivo mouse models establish that endogenous USP28 is strictly required for both induction and maintenance of lung SCC. Our data strongly suggest that targeting ∆Np63 abundance via inhibition of USP28 is a promising strategy for the treatment of SCC tumours.
KW  - ∆Np63
KW  - NOTCH
KW  - squamous cell carcinoma
KW  - 28
Y1  - 2020
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-218303
VL  - 12
IS  - 4
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Prieto-Garcia, Cristian
A1  - Hartmann, Oliver
A1  - Reissland, Michaela
A1  - Braun, Fabian
A1  - Bozkurt, Süleyman
A1  - Pahor, Nikolett
A1  - Fuss, Carmina
A1  - Schirbel, Andreas
A1  - Schülein-Völk, Christina
A1  - Buchberger, Alexander
A1  - Calzado Canale, Marco A.
A1  - Rosenfeldt, Mathias
A1  - Dikic, Ivan
A1  - Münch, Christian
A1  - Diefenbacher, Markus E.
T1  - USP28 enables oncogenic transformation of respiratory cells, and its inhibition potentiates molecular therapy targeting mutant EGFR, BRAF and PI3K
JF  - Molecular Oncology
N2  - Oncogenic transformation of lung epithelial cells is a multistep process, frequently starting with the inactivation of tumour suppressors and subsequent development of activating mutations in proto-oncogenes, such as members of the PI3K or MAPK families. Cells undergoing transformation have to adjust to changes, including altered metabolic requirements. This is achieved, in part, by modulating the protein abundance of transcription factors. Here, we report that the ubiquitin carboxyl-terminal hydrolase 28 (USP28) enables oncogenic reprogramming by regulating the protein abundance of proto-oncogenes such as c-JUN, c-MYC, NOTCH and ∆NP63 at early stages of malignant transformation. USP28 levels are increased in cancer compared with in normal cells due to a feed-forward loop, driven by increased amounts of oncogenic transcription factors such as c-MYC and c-JUN. Irrespective of oncogenic driver, interference with USP28 abundance or activity suppresses growth and survival of transformed lung cells. Furthermore, inhibition of USP28 via a small-molecule inhibitor resets the proteome of transformed cells towards a ‘premalignant’ state, and its inhibition synergizes with clinically established compounds used to target EGFR\(^{L858R}\)-, BRAF\(^{V600E}\)- or PI3K\(^{H1047R}\)-driven tumour cells. Targeting USP28 protein abundance at an early stage via inhibition of its activity is therefore a feasible strategy for the treatment of early-stage lung tumours, and the observed synergism with current standard-of-care inhibitors holds the potential for improved targeting of established tumours.
KW  - buparlisib
KW  - c-MYC
KW  - gefitinib
KW  - lung cancer
KW  - USP28
KW  - vemurafenib
Y1  - 2022
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-312777
VL  - 16
IS  - 17
ER  -