Serum UCHL1 and β-catenin were significantly lower, and mtDNA synthesis was significantly higher, in 40 multiple myeloma patients than in 40 healthy controls, and the authors suggest these changes may play a role in MM progression.
Serum UCHL1 and β-catenin levels were significantly decreased in multiple myeloma patients compared with healthy controls.
Mitochondrial DNA synthesis was elevated in MM patients compared with controls.
The authors conclude that decreased serum β-catenin and UCHL1 together with increased mtDNA synthesis seem to have a significant role in MM progression.
This study compared blood samples from 40 people with multiple myeloma, a blood cancer, with samples from 40 healthy people. The researchers measured two proteins, UCHL1 and β-catenin, which are linked to the cell's protein-recycling (ubiquitin) system, along with a measure of mitochondrial DNA synthesis. Mitochondria are the cell's energy-producing structures. The myeloma patients had significantly lower levels of both proteins than healthy controls. They also had higher mitochondrial DNA synthesis. The authors suggest these changes may be involved in how myeloma progresses. This research suggests these blood markers differ between people with and without multiple myeloma. The study was small and compared patients and controls at one point in time, so it cannot show that these changes cause the disease or that the markers could be used for diagnosis or treatment. Larger studies would be needed to test that.
Mahdi W, Jasib Almzaiel A. (2026). Ubiquitin Protease Levels and Mitochondrial DNA Synthesis in Multiple Myeloma.. Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention : APJCP. https://doi.org/10.31557/APJCP.2026.27.10.3517