Human homolog of mouse double minute 2 (HDM2) is an oncogene frequently overexpressed in cancers with poor prognosis, but mechanisms of controlling its abundance remain elusive. In an unbiased biochemical search, we discovered Skp1-Cullin 1-FBXO22-ROC1 (SCF FBXO22 ) as the most dominating HDM2 E3 ubiquitin ligase from human proteome. The results of protein decay rate analysis, ubiquitination, siRNA-mediated silencing, and coimmunoprecipitation experiments support a hypothesis that FBXO22 targets cellular HDM2 for ubiquitin-dependent degradation. In human breast cancer cells, FBXO22 knockdown (KD) increased cell invasiveness, which was driven by elevated levels of HDM2. Moreover, mouse 4T1 breast tumor model studies revealed that FBXO22 KD led to a significant increase of breast tumor cell metastasis to the lung. Finally, low FBXO22 expression is correlated with worse survival and high HDM2 expression in human breast cancer. Altogether, these findings suggest that SCF FBXO22 targets HDM2 for degradation and possesses inhibitory effects against breast cancer tumor cell invasion and metastasis.HDM2 abundance | E3 SCF-FBXO22 | breast cancer metastasis M ouse double minute 2 (MDM2; human homolog, HDM2) is defined as a RING-type E3 ubiquitin ligase with a prominent role in tumorigenesis, acting both as an oncogene and a tumor suppressor (1). MDM2/HDM2 is best understood for its oncogenic role, which is executed predominantly via a mechanism that utilizes the intrinsic E3 ligase activity to target the p53 tumor suppressor for ubiquitin-dependent degradation (2, 3). However, accumulating evidence suggests p53-independent mechanisms that contribute to MDM2/HDM2's oncogene function as well (4).As noted by a large body of clinical studies, HDM2 amplification and overexpression are common to a variety of cancers that often have a poor prognosis (4-6). Elevated levels of HDM2 are regarded as a significant risk factor in distant metastasis (7). Although, mechanistically, such phenomena can be attributed to the ability of HDM2 to drive p53 degradation (5), emerging studies have revealed additional contributing mechanisms involving previously underappreciated activity by MDM2/ HDM2 to promote tumor cell invasiveness (8). In this regard, MDM2 was shown to act as an E3 ligase to target epithelial marker E-cadherin for ubiquitin-dependent degradation (8). However, a subsequent study suggests that, in renal cell carcinoma, MDM2 can promote cell motility and invasiveness without the function of MDM2 RING finger domain (9). Another mechanism may involve matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) capable of degrading membrane-associated extracellular proteins, a process critically implicated for metastasis (10). Intriguingly, MDM2 overexpression was found to transcriptionally up-regulate the expression of MMP-9 (11), although the precise mechanism remains to be elucidated.The compelling association between HDM2 overexpression and aggressive cancer malignancy argues for a potentially critical importance concerning cellular mechanisms for the contro...