BackgroundThe ubiquitin protein ligase E3C (UBE3C) has been reported to play an oncogenic role in breast cancer (BRCA). This work further investigates the effect of UBE3C on the radioresistance of BRCA cells.MethodsMolecules linking to radioresistance in BRCA were identified by analyzing two GEO datasets, GSE31863 and GSE101920. UBE3C overexpression or knockdown was induced in parental or radioresistant BRCA cells, followed by irradiation treatment. The malignant properties of cells in vitro, and the growth and metastatic activity of cells in nude mice, were analyzed. Downstream target proteins, as well as upstream transcriptional regulators of UBE3C, were predicted by bioinformatics tools. Molecular interactions were confirmed by immunoprecipitation and immunofluorescence assays. Furthermore, artificial alterations of TP73 and FOSB were induced in the BRCA cells for functional rescue assays.ResultsAccording to bioinformatics analyses, UBE3C expression was linked to radioresistance in BRCA. UBE3C knockdown in radioresistant BRCA cells reduced while its overexpression in parental BRCA cells increased the radioresistance of cells in vitro and in vivo. UBE3C, which induced ubiquitination-dependent protein degradation of TP73, was transcriptionally activated by FOSB. The radioresistance of cancer cells was blocked by TP73 overexpression or FOSB knockdown. Additionally, LINC00963 was found to be responsible for the recruitment of FOSB to the UBE3C promoter for transcription activation.ConclusionThis work demonstrates that LINC00963 induces nuclear translocation of FOSB and the consequent transcription activation of UBE3C, which enhances radioresistance of BRCA cells by inducing ubiquitination-dependent protein degradation of TP73.Graphical Abstract