TRIM8 regulated autophagy modulates the level of cleaved Caspase-3 subunit to inhibit genotoxic stress induced cell death

In cancer patients, treatment modalities like chemotherapy and radiation exert their anticancer effects by inducing DNA damage. The cancer cells can survive under genotoxic stress by inducing DNA damage response (DDR) or can undergo cell death. The process of autophagy is emerging as crucial regulator of cell survival during different stress conditions. Post translational modification through ubiquitin plays an essential role in DDR during genotoxic stress conditions. Ubiquitin ligases regulate autophagy and cell death pathways however their role during genotoxic stress conditions is not understood. In the current study we identified TRIM8, RING E3 Ligase, as a novel regulator of autophagy during DDR. TRIM8 regulates lysosomal biogenesis and autophagy flux. The turnover of TRIM8 is high and is stabilized during genotoxic stress conditions. TRIM8 regulated autophagy is essential for its cytoprotective role during genotoxic stress induced cell death. TRIM8 stabilizes the turnover of XIAP during genotoxic stress and forms complex with XIAP and caspase-3 to inhibit its activation in presence of etoposide. TRIM8 mediated autophagy promotes degradation of cleaved caspase-3 subunits. This study described TRIM8, as a novel regulator of DDR-autophagy crosstalk, which may play role in survival of cancer cells in presence of genotoxic agents.