USP15 inhibits multiple myeloma cell apoptosis through activating a feedback loop with the transcription factor NF-κBp65

Abstract

Experimental & molecular medicine Researchers may have found a new target for treatment of multiple myeloma (MM), a common type of blood cancer. MM develops in plasma cells, white blood cells that fight infection, and is very difficult to treat. Ubiquitins, small regulatory proteins which tag proteins for destruction, have been implicated in development of many cancers. Jian Hou at Ren Ji Hospital and Weijun Fu at Changzheng Hospital, both in Shanghai, China, investigated how one ubiquitin, USP15, is involved in MM. Patients with MM showed higher levels of USP15, and MM cells supplied with additional USP15 multiplied more rapidly. Treating MM mice with USP15 inhibitors slowed tumor growth. Further investigation showed that USP15 interacts with another molecule known to be involved in development of many cancers. These results may help to develop alternative treatments for multiple myeloma.