Biochemical and cellular effects of inhibiting Nedd8 conjugation

The conjugation of proteins with the ubiquitin-like protein Nedd8 is an essential cellular process and an important anti-cancer therapeutic target. The major known role of Nedd8 is the attachment to and activation of Cullin RING E3 ubiquitin ligases (CRL). The attachment of Nedd8 to its substrates occurs via a process analogous to ubiquitin transfer, involving a Nedd8 E1 activating enzyme and a Nedd8 E2 conjugating enzyme, Ubc12, which transfers Nedd8 onto lysine residues of target proteins. In this study, we utilize dominant-negative Ubc12 (dnUbc12) and the Nedd8 E1 inhibitor MLN4924 to inhibit cellular neddylation. We demonstrate that dnUbc12 functions by depleting cellular Nedd8 concentrations. Inhibition of cellular neddylation leads to rapid accumulation of CRL substrates and an enlarged and flattened morphology in HEK293 cells. Inhibiting Nedd8 conjugation also causes abnormalities in the actin cytoskeleton. This is likely at least partially mediated via accumulation of the small GTPase RhoA, a recently identified CRL substrate. We indeed found that siRNA mediated knockdown of RhoA can reverse the morphological changes observed upon inhibition of cellular neddylation. In conclusion, the Nedd8 pathway plays an important role in regulating the actin cytoskeleton and cellular morphology. Dysfunction of the actin cytoskeleton may contribute to the anti-cancer effect of Nedd8 inhibition.

Research highlights
► Inhibiting the Nedd8 pathway genetically or with MLN4924 has identical cellular effects.
► Inhibition of the Nedd8 pathway with dominant-negative Ubc12 is due to Nedd8 depletion.
► Inhibiting the Nedd8 pathway causes altered cell morphology due to actin filament reorganization.