Distinct Proteasomal Pathways Drive Oncogenic PPM1D Activation

Abstract

PPM1D is a serine/threonine phosphatase and DNA damage response (DDR) regulator recurrently activated in cancer through amplification or C-terminal truncating mutations that increase its abundance. Here we show that truncating mutations fundamentally rewire PPM1D proteostasis, unmasking an oncogenic function of an alternative protein degradation pathway. While full-length PPM1D undergoes rapid ubiquitin-independent proteasomal degradation via a C-terminal degron, truncating mutations redirect degradation to a slower UBR5-mediated ubiquitin-dependent pathway. The resulting accumulation of PPM1D suppresses DDR signaling and enhances cellular fitness under genotoxic stress, which is further amplified by UBR5 loss. Consistent with selective pressure on this axis, cancers harboring PPM1D truncating mutations are enriched for UBR5 loss-of-function mutations. Together, these findings identify escape from ubiquitin-independent proteasomal degradation as a mechanism of oncogenic adaptation and establish proteostatic routing as a regulatory layer linking protein degradation, DDR signaling, and cancer evolution.