How Ubiquitin and Ubiquitination Affect Cancer Progression
A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Cancer Biology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2025 | Viewed by 57
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Ubiquitination is crucial in regulating protein stability and function, significantly affecting cancer development and progression. Ubiquitination can occur in various forms, each leading to different outcomes. Mono-ubiquitination involves a single ubiquitin molecule attaching to a substrate, influencing protein interactions, localization, and activity. In contrast, polyubiquitination involves a chain of ubiquitin molecules attaching to a single lysine residue on the substrate, signaling either for proteasomal degradation or other functions depending on the lysine residue used. This process is essential for controlling cellular functions like cell cycle progression, apoptosis, and DNA repair, thereby impacting cancer cell growth and therapeutic responses. Dysregulation in the ubiquitin system can lead to the accumulation of oncogenic proteins or the loss of tumor suppressors, driving tumorigenesis. Mutations and alterations in components of the ubiquitination machinery, such as E3 ubiquitin ligases and deubiquitinating enzymes, are commonly found in cancers.
The PROTAC (proteolysis-targeting chimeras) approach has emerged as a promising strategy to utilize ubiquitination for cancer therapy. This method enables the selective removal of oncogenic proteins, offering a novel therapeutic avenue to combat cancer progression. Understanding these mechanisms is vital for developing new treatments targeting ubiquitin-related pathways, ultimately enhancing the effectiveness of cancer therapies.
Our understanding of the ubiquitin system's role in cancer is rapidly advancing, with recent research delving into ubiquitin signaling mechanisms and therapeutic strategies like PROTACs. This Special Issue will cover the mechanisms of ubiquitination, its effects on cancer progression, and cutting-edge therapeutic approaches, including PROTACs. We will discuss ubiquitination's role in regulating the cell cycle, apoptosis, and DNA repair, along with the consequences of dysregulated ubiquitin pathways in cancer.
The aim of this Special Issue is to consolidate current knowledge on ubiquitin and ubiquitination in cancer, highlight recent advancements, and explore future research and therapy development directions.
Prof. Dr. Anna A. Sablina
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Cancers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- cancer ubiquitinome
- ubiquitin ligases in cancer
- deubiquitinating enzymes in cancer
- proteasome pathway
- protein stability
- non-degrative ubiquitination
- PROTACs for cancer treatment
