Ubiquitin Ligase Activities of WWP1 Germline Variants K740N and N745S

WWP1 is an E3 ubiquitin ligase that has been reported to target the tumor suppressor lipid phosphatase PTEN. K740N and N745S are recently identified germline variants of WWP1 that have been linked to PTEN-associated cancers [Lee, Y. R., et al. (2020) N. Engl. J. Med.]. These WWP1 variants have been suggested to release WWP1 from its native autoinhibited state, thereby promoting enhanced PTEN ubiquitination as a mechanism for driving cancer. Using purified proteins and in vitro enzymatic assays, we investigate the possibility that K740N and N745S WWP1 possess enhanced ubiquitin ligase activity and demonstrate that these variants are similar to the wild type (WT) in both autoubiquitination and PTEN ubiquitination. Furthermore, K740N and N745S WWP1 show dependencies similar to those of WT in terms of allosteric activation by an engineered ubiquitin variant, upstream E2 concentration, and substrate ubiquitin concentration. Transfected WWP1 WT and mutants demonstrate comparable effects on cellular PTEN levels. These findings challenge the idea that K740N and N745S WWP1 variants promote cancer by enhanced PTEN ubiquitination.