HMMR mediates progression of nasopharyngeal carcinoma by inhibiting FAM83D ubiquitination and activating beta-catenin signaling pathway.

The hyaluronan-mediated motility receptor (HMMR) is widely expressed across various species and plays a crucial role in cancer progression. However, its role in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) remains unexplored. Here, we identified a novel HMMR-FAM83D-β-catenin axis, which drives NPC progression through β-catenin signaling. Using bulk RNA sequencing, single-cell RNA-sequencing, and immunohistochemistry, we determined that HMMR is highly expressed in NPC tissues, correlating with poor survival in NPC patients. In vitro assays demonstrated that modulating HMMR expression influenced NPC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. In vivo, HMMR knockdown significantly inhibited tumor growth and metastasis in NPC models. HMMR was significantly upregulated in NPC tissues and correlated with worse patient survival. Mechanistically, HMMR was found to interact with the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, affecting both pathway activation and β-catenin expression, as evidenced by RNA-seq and western blotting. Co-immunoprecipitation, mass spectrometry, and western blot analyses further revealed that HMMR interacts with Family with Sequence Similarity 83 Member D (FAM83D), stabilizing its expression by inhibiting its ubiquitination. This interaction, in turn, modulates β-catenin levels, driving NPC progression. Our findings reveal a novel HMMR-FAM83D-β-catenin axis that promotes NPC cell progression through Wnt/β-catenin signaling by modulating β-catenin signaling. HMMR could serve as a potential prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for NPC, deepening our understanding of its role in disease progression.