Mitochondrial E3 ubiquitin ligase MARCHF5 controls BAK apoptotic activity independently of BH3-only proteins
- Author(s)
- Huang, AS; Chin, HS; Reljic, B; Djajawi, TM; Tan, IKL; Gong, JN; Stroud, DA; Huang, DCS; van Delft, MF; Dewson, G;
- Journal Title
- Cell Death & Differentiation
- Abstract
- Intrinsic apoptosis is principally governed by the BCL-2 family of proteins, but some non-BCL-2 proteins are also critical to control this process. To identify novel apoptosis regulators, we performed a genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 library screen, and it identified the mitochondrial E3 ubiquitin ligase MARCHF5/MITOL/RNF153 as an important regulator of BAK apoptotic function. Deleting MARCHF5 in diverse cell lines dependent on BAK conferred profound resistance to BH3-mimetic drugs. The loss of MARCHF5 or its E3 ubiquitin ligase activity surprisingly drove BAK to adopt an activated conformation, with resistance to BH3-mimetics afforded by the formation of inhibitory complexes with pro-survival proteins MCL-1 and BCL-XL. Importantly, these changes to BAK conformation and pro-survival association occurred independently of BH3-only proteins and influence on pro-survival proteins. This study identifies a new mechanism by which MARCHF5 regulates apoptotic cell death by restraining BAK activating conformation change and provides new insight into how cancer cells respond to BH3-mimetic drugs. These data also highlight the emerging role of ubiquitin signalling in apoptosis that may be exploited therapeutically.
- Publisher
- NPG
- Research Division(s)
- Ubiquitin Signalling; Blood Cells And Blood Cancer
- PubMed ID
- 36171332
- Publisher's Version
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41418-022-01067-z
- NHMRC Grants
- NHMRC/361646,
- Terms of Use/Rights Notice
- Refer to copyright notice on published article.
Creation Date: 2022-09-30 12:15:20
Last Modified: 2022-10-05 02:27:17