Deficiency of the UBE2C/F264 Axis Underlies Intrinsic Radioresistance in Cervical Carcinoma

Intrinsic radiotherapy resistance remains a persistent challenge to the treatment of cervical cancer (CC), as the underlying mechanisms remain largely elusive. In this study, proteomic profiling was combined with in vitro and in vivo experiments to clarify the potential mechanisms driving radiotherapy resistance. Initially, Orbitrap Astral-based proteomic profiling of clinical specimens revealed markedly decreased UBE2C expression in radioresistant tumors. Subsequent functional validation with cellular and animal models of UBE2C deficiency revealed that UBE2C is critical for preserving radiosensitivity and its knockdown directly induced the radioresistance of CC. Furthermore, proteomic analysis of UBE2C-knockdown CC cell lines, combined with multilayer intersection analysis of the clinical proteomic data, revealed that the glycolysis-associated protein F264 is potentially regulated by UBE2C. Mechanistically, F264 regulates tumor cell dormancy to evade radiation-induced damage. Finally, immunohistochemical analysis of an independent clinical cohort confirmed aberrant F264 protein expression patterns. Therefore, we hypothesize that altered UBE2C protein levels during cervical carcinogenesis modulate F264 expression, which partially activates tumor dormancy mechanisms, ultimately contributing to the intrinsic radiotherapy resistance observed in a subset of CC patients during initial treatment.