Ubiquitination is a critical biological process in post-translational modification of
proteins and involves multiple signaling pathways in
protein metabolism, apoptosis, DNA damage, cell-cycle progression, and
cancer development.
Deubiquitinase, a specific
enzyme that regulates the ubiquitination process, is also thought to be closely associated with the development and progression of various
cancers. In this article, we systematically review the emerging role of the
deubiquitinase ubiquitin-specific peptidase 11 (USP11) in many
cancer-related pathways. The results show that USP11 promotes or inhibits the progression and chemoresistance of different
cancers, including colorectal, breast, ovarian, and
hepatocellular carcinomas, via deubiquitinating several critical
proteins of
cancer-related pathways. We initially summarize the role of USP11 in different
cancers and further discuss the possibility of USP11 as a therapeutic strategy.