The interaction of SKP2 with p27 enhances the progression and stemness of osteosarcoma

Osteosarcoma is a highly aggressive malignancy for which treatment has remained essentially unchanged for years. Our previous studies found that the F-box protein SKP2 is overexpressed in osteosarcoma, acting as a proto-oncogene; p27^Kip1 (p27) is an inhibitor of cyclin-dependent kinases and a downstream substrate of SKP2-mediated ubiquitination. Overexpression of SKP2 and underexpression of p27 are common characteristics of cancer cells. The SCF^SKP2 E3 ligase ubiquitinates Thr187-phosphorylated p27 for proteasome degradation, which can be abolished by a Thr187Ala knock-in (p27^T187A KI) mutation. RB1 and TP53 are two major tumor suppressors commonly coinactivated in osteosarcoma. We generated a mouse model with a double knockout (DKO) of Rb1 and Trp53 within cells of the osteoblastic lineage, which developed osteosarcoma with full penetrance. When p27^T187A KI mice were crossed on to the DKO background, p27^T187A protein was found to accumulate in osteosarcoma tumor tissues. Furthermore, p27^T187A promoted apoptosis in DKO tumors, slowed disease progression, and significantly prolonged overall survival. RNA sequencing analysis also linked the SCF^SKP2–p27^T187A axis to potentially reduced cancer stemness. Given that RB1 and TP53 loss or coinactivation is common in human osteosarcoma, our study suggests that inhibiting the SKP2–p27 axis may represent a desirable therapeutic strategy for this cancer.