PAQR4 has a tumorigenic effect in human breast cancers in association with reduced CDK4 degradation.

Progestin and adipoQ receptor 4 (PAQR4) is a member of the PAQR family, and the members within this family are involved in the regulation of a number of biological processes including metabolism and cancer development. The potential function of PAQR4 in human cancers is unknown. Analysis of ONCOMINE database reveals that PAQR4 is highly expressed in human breast cancers. We confirmed this finding by analyzing 82 human breast cancers samples. PAQR4 mRNA level was significantly upregulated in human breast cancer samples compared with their corresponding para-cancerous histological normal tissues (P < 0.0001). The mRNA level of PAQR4 was negatively correlated with disease-free survival (P < 0.0001) and overall survival of the patients (P = 0.001). Knockdown of PAQR4 in human breast cancer cells SUM159 and MCF7 suppressed cell proliferation. In contrast, overexpression of PAQR4 in SUM159 cells enhanced cell proliferation and colony formation. In a tumor xenograft model, overexpression of PAQR4 promoted tumor growth of SUM159 cells in vivo, while PAQR4 knockdown suppressed the tumor growth. PAQR4 was able to negatively regulate cyclin-dependent kinases 4 (CDK4) protein level in the breast cancer cells. Knockdown of PAQR4 accelerated degradation of CDK4 together with upregulation of CDK4 polyubiquitination. On the other hand, overexpression of PAQR4 slowed down CDK4 protein degradation and reduced CDK4 polyubiquitination. Collectively, these data at the cellular, animal and human levels indicate that PAQR4 has a tumorigenic effect on human breast cancers, and such effect is associated with a modulatory activity of PAQR4 on protein degradation of CDK4.