LncRNA HOTTIP modulated by Hedgehog signaling drives colorectal cancer progression by promoting HUWE1-mediated ubiquitin‒proteasome degradation of p53

Abstract The Hedgehog (Hh) pathway plays critical roles in regulating appropriate tissue morphogenesis and organ formation in the gastrointestinal tract, and its dysregulation has been closely linked to the malignant progression of colorectal cancer. However, the underlying mechanisms are poorly und...

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Main Authors: Hui Wang, Weiwei Jiao, Defu Li, Zhengping Yu, Huqiao Luo, Jie Zhang, Yuanbing Zhang, Hai Rao, Quqin Lu, Bing Zhao, Shiwen Luo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Publishing Group 2025-07-01
Series:Cell Death and Disease
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41419-025-07817-4
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author Hui Wang
Weiwei Jiao
Defu Li
Zhengping Yu
Huqiao Luo
Jie Zhang
Yuanbing Zhang
Hai Rao
Quqin Lu
Bing Zhao
Shiwen Luo
author_facet Hui Wang
Weiwei Jiao
Defu Li
Zhengping Yu
Huqiao Luo
Jie Zhang
Yuanbing Zhang
Hai Rao
Quqin Lu
Bing Zhao
Shiwen Luo
author_sort Hui Wang
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The Hedgehog (Hh) pathway plays critical roles in regulating appropriate tissue morphogenesis and organ formation in the gastrointestinal tract, and its dysregulation has been closely linked to the malignant progression of colorectal cancer. However, the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Here, we report that the long noncoding RNA HOXA distal transcript antisense RNA (lncRNA HOTTIP) is a novel Hh target gene and a Hh pathway effector. Activation of Hh signaling induced the expression of the lncRNA HOTTIP. The overexpression of the lncRNA HOTTIP promoted colorectal cancer cell proliferation and tumor growth, whereas HOTTIP knockout exerted the opposite effects in vitro and in vivo. Compared with control mice, AOM/DSS-colorectal cancer model mice with lncRNA Hottip overexpression in Villin-Cre epithelial cells presented notable increases in tumor number and size. Moreover, lncRNA HOTTIP overexpression increased the proliferation and viability of organoids derived from colorectal cancer patients. Mechanistically, the lncRNA HOTTIP binds to HUWE1 and promotes its E3 ubiquitin ligase activity toward p53 and mediating HUWE1-dependent proteasomal turnover of p53, which decreases the level and activity of p53 and results in the overexpression of p53 pathway downstream target genes important for cell proliferation and survival. From a clinical perspective, high levels of the lncRNA HOTTIP were detected in colorectal cancer tissues and were strongly correlated with poor prognosis in colorectal cancer patients. Together, our findings demonstrate that the lncRNA HOTTIP, a novel effector of the Hh pathway, drives colorectal cancer progression by promoting HUWE1-dependent ubiquitin‒proteasome degradation of p53. These findings reveal critical roles of the Hh-HOTTIP-p53 signaling axis in colorectal cancer progression and suggest a potential therapeutic target for colorectal cancer.
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publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher Nature Publishing Group
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series Cell Death and Disease
spelling doaj-art-80a4b1706e3748e7a9f71009fb6ddb8c2025-08-20T04:02:44ZengNature Publishing GroupCell Death and Disease2041-48892025-07-0116111810.1038/s41419-025-07817-4LncRNA HOTTIP modulated by Hedgehog signaling drives colorectal cancer progression by promoting HUWE1-mediated ubiquitin‒proteasome degradation of p53Hui Wang0Weiwei Jiao1Defu Li2Zhengping Yu3Huqiao Luo4Jie Zhang5Yuanbing Zhang6Hai Rao7Quqin Lu8Bing Zhao9Shiwen Luo10Center for Experimental Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University; The MOE Basic Research and Innovation Center for the Targeted Therapeutics of Solid Tumors; Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang UniversityState Key Laboratory of Reproductive Regulation and Breeding of Grassland Livestock, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Inner Mongolia UniversityDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Disease Prevention and Public Health, School of Public Health, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang UniversityCenter for Experimental Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University; The MOE Basic Research and Innovation Center for the Targeted Therapeutics of Solid Tumors; Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang UniversitySchool of Medicine, Shanghai UniversityCenter for Experimental Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University; The MOE Basic Research and Innovation Center for the Targeted Therapeutics of Solid Tumors; Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang UniversityCenter for Experimental Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University; The MOE Basic Research and Innovation Center for the Targeted Therapeutics of Solid Tumors; Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang UniversityDepartment of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Southern University of Science and TechnologyDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Disease Prevention and Public Health, School of Public Health, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang UniversityCenter for Experimental Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University; The MOE Basic Research and Innovation Center for the Targeted Therapeutics of Solid Tumors; Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang UniversityCenter for Experimental Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University; The MOE Basic Research and Innovation Center for the Targeted Therapeutics of Solid Tumors; Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang UniversityAbstract The Hedgehog (Hh) pathway plays critical roles in regulating appropriate tissue morphogenesis and organ formation in the gastrointestinal tract, and its dysregulation has been closely linked to the malignant progression of colorectal cancer. However, the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Here, we report that the long noncoding RNA HOXA distal transcript antisense RNA (lncRNA HOTTIP) is a novel Hh target gene and a Hh pathway effector. Activation of Hh signaling induced the expression of the lncRNA HOTTIP. The overexpression of the lncRNA HOTTIP promoted colorectal cancer cell proliferation and tumor growth, whereas HOTTIP knockout exerted the opposite effects in vitro and in vivo. Compared with control mice, AOM/DSS-colorectal cancer model mice with lncRNA Hottip overexpression in Villin-Cre epithelial cells presented notable increases in tumor number and size. Moreover, lncRNA HOTTIP overexpression increased the proliferation and viability of organoids derived from colorectal cancer patients. Mechanistically, the lncRNA HOTTIP binds to HUWE1 and promotes its E3 ubiquitin ligase activity toward p53 and mediating HUWE1-dependent proteasomal turnover of p53, which decreases the level and activity of p53 and results in the overexpression of p53 pathway downstream target genes important for cell proliferation and survival. From a clinical perspective, high levels of the lncRNA HOTTIP were detected in colorectal cancer tissues and were strongly correlated with poor prognosis in colorectal cancer patients. Together, our findings demonstrate that the lncRNA HOTTIP, a novel effector of the Hh pathway, drives colorectal cancer progression by promoting HUWE1-dependent ubiquitin‒proteasome degradation of p53. These findings reveal critical roles of the Hh-HOTTIP-p53 signaling axis in colorectal cancer progression and suggest a potential therapeutic target for colorectal cancer.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41419-025-07817-4
spellingShingle Hui Wang
Weiwei Jiao
Defu Li
Zhengping Yu
Huqiao Luo
Jie Zhang
Yuanbing Zhang
Hai Rao
Quqin Lu
Bing Zhao
Shiwen Luo
LncRNA HOTTIP modulated by Hedgehog signaling drives colorectal cancer progression by promoting HUWE1-mediated ubiquitin‒proteasome degradation of p53
Cell Death and Disease
title LncRNA HOTTIP modulated by Hedgehog signaling drives colorectal cancer progression by promoting HUWE1-mediated ubiquitin‒proteasome degradation of p53
title_full LncRNA HOTTIP modulated by Hedgehog signaling drives colorectal cancer progression by promoting HUWE1-mediated ubiquitin‒proteasome degradation of p53
title_fullStr LncRNA HOTTIP modulated by Hedgehog signaling drives colorectal cancer progression by promoting HUWE1-mediated ubiquitin‒proteasome degradation of p53
title_full_unstemmed LncRNA HOTTIP modulated by Hedgehog signaling drives colorectal cancer progression by promoting HUWE1-mediated ubiquitin‒proteasome degradation of p53
title_short LncRNA HOTTIP modulated by Hedgehog signaling drives colorectal cancer progression by promoting HUWE1-mediated ubiquitin‒proteasome degradation of p53
title_sort lncrna hottip modulated by hedgehog signaling drives colorectal cancer progression by promoting huwe1 mediated ubiquitin proteasome degradation of p53
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41419-025-07817-4
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