Stabilization of IQGAP1 by the mTORC2 component PRR5 mediates mitogenic LINC01133-to-ERK signaling in triple-negative breast cancer.

Science signaling
Authors
Abstract

Triple-negative breast cancers (TNBCs) lack targeted therapeutics that can inhibit their growth and progression. The long intergenic noncoding RNA LINC01133 promotes TNBC pathogenesis by increasing the abundance of proline-rich protein 5 (PRR5), an mTORC2 component that activates the kinase AKT in a PI3K-independent, mTORC2-dependent manner. Here, however, we found that TNBC cell proliferation was incompletely sensitive to AKT inhibitors alone because PRR5 also stimulated the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade in an mTORC2-dependent manner. PRR5 associated with and prevented the ubiquitin-dependent proteasomal degradation of IQGAP1, an adaptor protein that promotes activation of the MAP kinase ERK. ERK signaling was essential for LINC01133-mediated TNBC proliferation in two- and three-dimensional cultures, and ERK inhibitors synergized with AKT blockade to suppress LINC01133-induced TNBC cell growth. Furthermore, PRR5 abundance was particularly enriched and correlated with that of phosphorylated ERK in samples from patients with TNBC. Our results highlight cross-talk between mTORC2 and ERK signaling downstream of LINC01133 and PRR5 that may be therapeutically targeted to treat TNBC.

Year of Publication
2026
Journal
Science signaling
Volume
19
Issue
924
Pages
eadr4063
Date Published
02/2026
ISSN
1937-9145
DOI
10.1126/scisignal.adr4063
PubMed ID
41666264
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