Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42671335›Full record

ArticleClinical and translational medicine2026

TRIM25 facilitates mitochondrial dysfunction and extracellular matrix degradation by enhancing USP7-driven ENO1 deubiquitination during intervertebral disc degeneration.

Xiaoming Liu, Wenyu Zhang, Hang Feng, Linying Lai, Chen Cao, Guang Yang, Yanzheng Gao, Bijun Wang, Hui Wang, Bin Yu and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Clinical and translational medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

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1citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

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3 · Its place in the literature

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1 citing paper in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Xiaoming LiuDepartment of Orthopedics, Tongren Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4869-7014
Wenyu ZhangDepartment of Orthopaedics, Navy 905th Hospital, Shanghai, China.
Hang FengDepartment of Surgery of Spine and Spinal Cord, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, China.
Linying LaiDepartment of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Institute of Digestive Disease, Tongji Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.
Chen CaoDepartment of Surgery of Spine and Spinal Cord, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, China.
Guang YangDepartment of Surgery of Spine and Spinal Cord, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, China.
Yanzheng GaoDepartment of Surgery of Spine and Spinal Cord, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, China.
Bijun WangDepartment of Spine Surgery, Shanghai East Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2826-7295
Hui WangDepartment of Orthopaedics, Navy 905th Hospital, Shanghai, China.
Bin YuDepartment of Spine Surgery, Shanghai East Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0009-5833-0372
Zhenghong YuDepartment of Surgery of Spine and Spinal Cord, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0008-5655-0147

Funding

Key R&D and Promotion Program of Henan Science and Technology Department 242102310406Laboratory Open Fund of Key Technology and Materials in Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery 2024JZWC-YBA03Medical Science and Technology Project of HenanMedical Science and Technology Project of Henan Province LHGJ20230080Promotion Program of Henan Science and TechnologyResearch Fund of Shanghai Tongren Hospital 2020TRYJ (JC)02Science and Technology Development Fund of Shanghai Pudong New Area PKJ2024-Y22Youth Project of Shanghai Changning Health Commission 20234Y011
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe pathology of intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) is characterized by metabolic dysregulation within nucleus pulposus (NP) cells. TRIM25 has been implicated in diverse tumors and pathological processes, yet its precise role in mediating mitochondrial function and metabolic alterations during IDD progression remains unclear.

methodsTranscriptome sequencing was performed to analyze gene expression changes during IDD progression. Molecular biology techniques including co-immunoprecipitation and ubiquitination assays were used to investigate the interaction between TRIM25 and the glycolytic enzyme ENO1 and its regulatory mechanism. Cellular and in vivo animal models were employed to validate the effects of the TRIM25-USP7-ENO1 axis on glycolysis, mitochondrial function, ATP levels, and extracellular matrix degradation.

resultsTranscriptome sequencing revealed that glycolysis-related pathways and TRIM25 were significantly upregulated during IDD progression. Mechanistically, TRIM25 interacted with ENO1. Contrary to its typical E3 ligase function, TRIM25 overexpression stabilized ENO1 by reducing its K48-linked polyubiquitination. Furthermore, TRIM25 enhanced the interaction between USP7 and ENO1, leading to USP7-mediated deubiquitination and stabilization of ENO1. Disruption of the TRIM25-USP7-ENO1 axis suppressed glycolysis, improved mitochondrial function, elevated ATP levels, and inhibited extracellular matrix degradation. In vivo, modulation of this axis correspondingly accelerated or ameliorated IDD progression.

conclusionWe identified a novel TRIM25-USP7-ENO1 axis, through which TRIM25 stabilizes ENO1 by promoting USP7-ENO1 interaction and subsequent USP7-dependent deubiquitination. This non-canonical function expands the known role of TRIM25 and highlights a promising therapeutic target for restoring mitochondrial dysfunction and metabolic homeostasis in IDD. KEY POINTS: TRIM25 recruits the deubiquitinating enzyme USP7 to collaboratively enhance the deubiquitination and stability of the key glycolytic enzyme ENO1, establishing a new regulatory pathway linking inflammation and metabolism. This regulatory axis exacerbates glycolysis, impairs mitochondrial function, disrupts cellular energy homeostasis, and ultimately leads to extracellular matrix degradation, systematically explaining a new pathological mechanism of IDD. Both cellular and animal models confirm that intervention in the TRIM25/USP7/ENO1 axis effectively reverses metabolic imbalance and degenerative progression, offering a promising new therapeutic strategy for IDD. This study extends TRIM25's role from immune regulation to metabolic processes and is the first to report USP7's involvement in glycolytic enzyme regulation, providing a new paradigm for studying "non-canonical" functions of E3 ligases and deubiquitinating enzymes.

Indexed as

DNA-Binding ProteinsExtracellular MatrixIntervertebral Disc DegenerationMitochondriaPhosphopyruvate HydrataseTranscription FactorsTripartite Motif ProteinsTumor Suppressor ProteinsUbiquitin-Protein LigasesUbiquitin-Specific Peptidase 7AnimalsHumansMiceUbiquitinationDNA-Binding ProteinsENO1 protein, humanPhosphopyruvate HydrataseTranscription FactorsTRIM25 protein, humanTripartite Motif ProteinsTumor Suppressor ProteinsUbiquitin-Protein LigasesUbiquitin-Specific Peptidase 7USP7 protein, humanENO1intervertebral disc degenerationTRIM25ubiquitin‐specific protease 7USP7

Identifiers

PMID42671335
PMCPMC13528619

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.