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IRF2BPL transcriptionally regulates IGFBP2 to promote tumor progression and suppresses immune cell infiltration in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Oncogene volume 45, pages 505–520 (2026)Cite this article

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Abstract

Numerous ubiquitination-related proteases (URPs) have been identified as facilitators of disease progression through the disruption of ubiquitination homeostasis in substrate proteins. Notably, some URPs have exhibited non-classical biological functions. In this study, we experimentally elucidate the role of the E3 ubiquitin ligase IRF2BPL as transcriptional activator that promotes malignant phenotypes in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and inhibits the infiltration of various immune cells within the tumor microenvironment. Specifically, we found that IRF2BPL is highly expressed in ESCC cells and promotes IGFBP2 transcription, thereby facilitating ESCC development both in vivo and in vitro. Moreover, the chemical drug ONC201 was shown to effectively impede ESCC progression induced by the hyperactive IRF2BPL-IGFBP2 axis in tumor cells. Collectively, our findings verified that the IRF2BPL-IGFBP2 axis plays a critical role in enhancing ESCC progression by increasing the malignancy of ESCC cells and fostering an immune-deficient tumor microenvironment. Targeting the IRF2BPL-IGFBP2 axis may represent a promising therapeutic strategy for ESCC.

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Fig. 1: IRF2BPL is upregulated and correlates with poor prognosis in ESCC.
Fig. 2: IRF2BPL promotes ESCC cell proliferation and migration.
Fig. 3: IRF2BPL transcriptionally regulates the expression of IGFBP2.
Fig. 4: Activation of IGFBP2 expression by IRF2BPL through interaction with the IGFBP2 promoter region.
Fig. 5: IRF2BPL promotes ESCC cell proliferation, colony formation and migration via IGFBP2.
Fig. 6: ONC201 enhances ubiquitin-mediated degradation of IRF2BPL and inhibits the malignancy of ESCC cells.
Fig. 7: IRF2BPL-IGFBP2 axis inhibits the infiltration of immune cells in the ESCC tumor microenvironment.
Fig. 8: Functional and mechanistic diagram of IRF2BPL in ESCC.

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Data availability

The data in this study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Shenzhen Bay Laboratory High Performance Computing and Informatics Facility; Computation was mainly carried out at Shenzhen Bay Laboratory High Performance Computing and Informatics Facility. We sincerely thank YOU CLAIRE, an undergraduate at Nanyang Technological University, for her valuable assistance during the experimental work. Her contributions were essential to the successful completion of this research.

Funding

This work was supported by grants from Shenzhen Medical Research Funds (C2303002), National Natural Science Foundation of China (82341024, U21A20372, 82172930, 82302916, 82103143, 82203286), Shenzhen “San-Ming” Project of Medicine (SZSM202311014), Major Program of Shenzhen Bay Laboratory (S201101004), Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (2019B030302012), National Key R&D Program of China (2022YFC3401002), Noncommunicable Chronic Diseases-National Science and Technology Major Project (2023ZD0501101).

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  1. These authors contributed equally: Yueguang Wu, Heyang Cui.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cancer Institute, Shenzhen Peking University-the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (PKU-HKUST) Medical Center, Shenzhen, PR China

    Yueguang Wu, Longlong Wang, Ning Ding, Yongjia Weng, Yikun Cheng, Shanshan Bi, Mingwei Gao, Qiqin Song & Yongping Cui

  2. Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, SAR, PR China

    Heyang Cui & Yikun Cheng

  3. Institute of Cancer Research, Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, Shenzhen, PR China

    Longlong Wang, Ning Ding, Yongjia Weng, Yikun Cheng, Shanshan Bi, Mingwei Gao, Qiqin Song, Weimin Zhang & Yongping Cui

  4. Key Laboratory of Cellular Physiology of the Ministry of Education, Department of Pathology, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, PR China

    Heng Xiao, Huijuan Liu, Weimin Zhang & Yongping Cui

  5. State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, Beijing Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research, Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, PR China

    Weimin Zhang

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Contributions

YGW, HYC, WMZ, and YPC conceptualized and designed the study; YGW drafted the manuscript with critical revisions contributed by YGW, WMZ, HYC, and YPC; Methodology development was conducted by YGW, WMZ, HYC, and ND; Data curation was performed by YGW, SSB, HX, and YKC; Formal analysis was undertaken by HYC, LLW, YJW, and YKC; Investigation tasks were executed by YGW, ND, MWG, HJL, and QQS; YPC and WMZ supervised the research and ensured quality control. All authors reviewed and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Weimin Zhang or Yongping Cui.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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All methods were performed in accordance with the relevant guidelines and regulations. The patient specimens were collected from Shanxi Cancer Hospital, and the approval for the study was granted by the Institutional Review Boards of Shanxi Cancer Hospital (Approval number 2019LL245). All animal experimental procedures were approved by the Animal Welfare and Ethics Committee of Shenzhen PKU-HKUST Medical Center (Approval number 2022-1128). No human subjects were involved in this study.

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Wu, Y., Cui, H., Wang, L. et al. IRF2BPL transcriptionally regulates IGFBP2 to promote tumor progression and suppresses immune cell infiltration in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Oncogene 45, 505–520 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41388-025-03658-9

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