Deubiquitinating enzymes at the crossroads of lipid metabolism and cancer

Abstract

Deregulated lipid metabolism has been recognized as a critical alteration that supports the development and growth of various types of tumors. Changes in lipid metabolism enable reprogramming of energetics and availability of synthetic intermediates and signaling mediators that can have pleiotropic effects in cellular physiology. The identification of critical factors that reshape lipid metabolism during oncogenesis can provide targets for the development of novel therapeutic protocols. Enzymes are an attractive class of molecules for the development of therapeutic compounds. This review focuses on deubiquitinating enzymes (DUBs) that have been implicated both in lipid and cellular homeostatic processes. In certain cases, a causative link between the two processes is mediated by the deubiquitinating enzyme whereas in other cases we present evidence that support a possible role for the DUB as the underlying linker of lipid content and cell growth deregulation. Collectively, our report highlights critical nodes of deubiquitination-dependent metabolic and growth regulatory processes that can be interrogated further for a detailed understanding of cancer promoting mechanisms and therapeutic exploitation.

Keywords

• cancer
• lipid metabolism
• ubiquitin
• deubiquitinating enzymes