Abstract

The global downregulation of microRNAs (miRNAs) is a hallmark of many cancers, yet the mechanisms governing mature miRNA degradation remain poorly understood. Post-translational modifications (PTMs) have emerged as key regulators of RNA metabolism. However, the specific role of stress-responsive PTMs in driving miRNA degradation within the complex stress landscape of the tumor microenvironment is a critical unanswered question. We demonstrate that the endonuclease SND1 is SUMOylated at K513 in response to stresses such as oxidative stress and Cisplatin. This inducible modification enhances the miRNA-degrading activity of SND1 by promoting its interaction with AGO2 and UPF1, thereby facilitating mature miRNA decay. A key consequence is the degradation of a novel tumor-suppressive miRNA, miR-chr5_25226, leading to elevated MAPK10 expression that fuels tumor cell proliferation, migration, and Cisplatin resistance. Functional rescue experiments confirmed that restoring miR-chr5_25226 or silencing MAPK10 reverses these oncogenic effects. Furthermore, the SUMOylation inhibitor 2-D08 effectively restored miR-chr5_25226 expression and sensitized tumor cells to Cisplatin. Together, our findings reveal a novel oncogenic axis in which stress-induced SUMOylation of SND1 links tumor microenvironment stress to miRNA degradation. This SUMO1–SND1/miR-chr5_25226/MAPK10 pathway identifies the targeting of SND1 SUMOylation as a potential therapeutic strategy to modulate oncogenic miRNA decay and enhance chemosensitivity.