Parkin regulates IGF2BP3 through ubiquitination in the tumourigenesis of cervical cancer

Abstract Background Insulin‐like growth Factor 2 mRNA‐binding protein 3 (IGF2BP3) is a highly conserved RNA‐binding protein and plays a critical role in regulating posttranscriptional modifications. Methods Immunoprecipitation was used to examine the interaction of Parkin and IGF2BP3. Mass spectrometry was performed to identify the ubiquitination sites of IGF2BP3. RNA‐immunoprecipitation was conducted to examine the target genes of IGF2BP3. Xenograft mouse model was constructed to determine the tumorigenesis of IGF2BP3. Results IGF2BP3 expression is negatively correlated with Parkin expression in human cervical cancer cells and tissues. Parkin directly interacts with IGF2BP3, and overexpression of Parkin causes the proteasomal degradation of IGF2BP3, while knockdown of PARK2 increases the protein levels of IGF2BP3. Mechanistically, in vivo and in vitro ubiquitination assays demonstrated that Parkin is able to ubiquitinate IGF2BP3. Moreover, the ubiquitination site of IGF2BP3 was identified at K213 in the first KH domain of IGF2BP3. IGF2BP3 mutation results in the loss of its oncogenic function as an m6A reader, resulting in the inactivation of the phosphoinositide 3‐kinase (PI3K) and mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) signalling pathways. In addition, IGF2BP3 mutation results in the attenuation of Parkin‐mediated mitophagy, indicating its inverse role in regulating Parkin. Consequently, the tumourigenesis of cervical cancer is also inhibited by IGF2BP3 mutation. Conclusion IGF2BP3 is ubiquitinated and regulated by the E3 ubiquitin ligase Parkin in human cervical cancer and ubiquitination modification plays an important role in modulating IGF2BP3 function. Thus, understanding the role of IGF2BP3 in tumourigenesis could provide new insights into cervical cancer therapy.