Deubiquitinase USP7 regulates <italic>Drosophila</italic> aging through ubiquitination and autophagy

Abstract

Ubiquitination-mediated protein degradation is the selective degradation of diverse forms of damaged proteins that are tagged with ubiquitin, while deubiquitinating enzymes reverse ubiquitination-mediated protein degradation by removing the ubiquitin chain from the target protein. The interactions of ubiquitinating and deubiquitinating enzymes are required to maintain protein homeostasis. The ubiquitin-specific protease USP7 is a deubiquitinating enzyme that indirectly plays a role in repairing DNA damage and development. However, the mechanism of its participation in aging has not been fully explored. Regarding this issue, we found that USP7 was necessary to maintain the normal lifespan of <i>Drosophila melanogaster</i>, and knockdown of <i>dusp7</i> shortened the lifespan and reduced the ability of <i>Drosophila</i> to cope with starvation, oxidative stress and heat stress. Furthermore, we showed that the ability of USP7 to regulate aging depends on the autophagy and ubiquitin signaling pathways. Furthermore, 2,5-dimethyl-celecoxib (DMC), a derivative of celecoxib, can partially restore the shortened lifespan and aberrant phenotypes caused by <i>dusp7</i> knockdown. Our results suggest that USP7 is an important factor involved in the regulation of aging, and related components in this regulatory pathway may become new targets for anti-aging treatments.