Overexpression of USP43 induces the growth and stem cell-like properties of cervical cancer by activating ERK1/2 through ZEB1

Cervical cancer (CC) is the most common type of gynecological malignancy in women, and targeting stem cells and inhibiting tumor stem cell-like properties of CC remains an important field of research as an attempt to improve treatment outcomes. This study focused on Ubiquitin-specific-processing Protease 43 (USP43), a member of the deubiquitinase (DUBs) family known to play a role in tumor progression, and analysis of the The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data and survival computations revealed that USP43 was highly expressed in CC and correlated with poor prognosis. However, the role of USP43 in CC has been under-reported, and its underlying mechanism remains unclear. To investigate the effect and mechanism of USP43, its expression in CC cells and tissues were examined, and the results showed that it was significantly upregulated. Subsequently, knockdown experiments revealed that reducing USP43 expression suppressed CC cell proliferation, and depleting USP43 inhibited the stem cell-like properties of CC cells and impaired their migration abilities. Further investigations indicated that USP43 promoted Zinc finger E-box binding protein 1 (ZEB1)-induced activation of Extracellular regulatory kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) signaling in CC. Based on these findings, we propose that USP43 could serve as a promising target for CC.