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Molecular Cancer

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Open Access 01-12-2021 | Ovarian Cancer | Research

FBW7 suppresses ovarian cancer development by targeting the N⁶-methyladenosine binding protein YTHDF2

Authors: Fei Xu, Jiajia Li, Mengdong Ni, Jingyi Cheng, Haiyun Zhao, Shanshan Wang, Xiang Zhou, Xiaohua Wu

Published in: Molecular Cancer | Issue 1/2021

Abstract

Background

The tumor suppressor FBW7 is the substrate recognition component of the SCF E3-ubiquitin ligase complex that mediates proteolytic degradation of various oncogenic proteins. However, the role of FBW7 in ovarian cancer progression remains inadequately understood.

Methods

IP-MASS, co-IP, immunohistochemistry, and western blotting were used to identify the potential substrate of FBW7 in ovarian cancer. The biological effects of FBW7 were investigated using in vitro and in vivo models. LC/MS was used to detect the m⁶A levels in ovarian cancer tissues. MeRIP-Seq and RNA-Seq were used to assess the downstream targets of YTHDF2.

Results

We unveil that FBW7 is markedly down-regulated in ovarian cancer tissues and its high expression is associated with favorable prognosis and elevated m⁶A modification levels. Consistently, ectopic FBW7 inhibits ovarian cancer cell survival and proliferation in vitro and in vivo, while ablation of FBW7 empowers propagation of ovarian cancer cells. In addition, the m⁶A reader protein, YTHDF2, is identified as a novel substrate for FBW7. FBW7 counteracts the tumor-promoting effect of YTHDF2 by inducing proteasomal degradation of the latter in ovarian cancer. Furthermore, YTHDF2 globally regulates the turnover of m⁶A-modified mRNAs, including the pro-apoptotic gene BMF.

Conclusions

Our study has demonstrated that FBW7 suppresses tumor growth and progression via antagonizing YTHDF2-mediated BMF mRNA decay in ovarian cancer.

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Title: FBW7 suppresses ovarian cancer development by targeting the N6-methyladenosine binding protein YTHDF2
Authors: Fei Xu
Jiajia Li
Mengdong Ni
Jingyi Cheng
Haiyun Zhao
Shanshan Wang
Xiang Zhou
Xiaohua Wu
Publication date: 01-12-2021
Publisher: BioMed Central
Keywords: Ovarian Cancer
Ovarian Cancer
Published in: Molecular Cancer / Issue 1/2021
Electronic ISSN: 1476-4598
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12943-021-01340-8

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Abstract

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