Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) plays major roles in diverse physiological and pathological processes such as inflammation and tumorigenesis. Transcriptional control of COX-2 has been extensively investigated and characterized, but its post-translational control is less clear. Here, we report a novel mechanism by which COX-2 is degraded. Protein levels of caveolin-1 (Cav-1) and COX-2 showed an inverse relation in colon cancer cell lines. COX-2 proteins in lung and colon tissues were higher in Cav-1 null mice than in wild-type mice. RNAi knockdown of Cav-1 increased COX-2 protein level and decreased ubiquitinated COX-2 accumulation. In addition, deletion of the carboxy (C)-terminus of COX-2, which contains a unique 19-amino acid segment compared with COX-1, resulted in reduced Cav-1 binding and attenuated COX-2 degradation. COX-1 and green fluorescence protein containing the C-terminus of COX-2 resulted in enhanced degradation. Our findings suggest that Cav-1 binds COX-2 in endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and carries it for degradation via ER associated degradation. The C-terminal region of COX-2 is required for Cav-1 binding and degradation. These results indicate a novel function of Cav-1 in controlling COX-2 expression, which may regulate physiological functions and have tumor suppression effects.
(c) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.