Piwi proteins are normally restricted in germ cells to suppress transposons through associations with Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs), but they are also frequently activated in many types of human cancers. A great puzzle is the lack of significant induction of corresponding piRNAs in cancer cells, as we document here in human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDACs), which implies that such germline-specific proteins are somehow hijacked to promote tumorigenesis through a different mode of action. Here, we show that in the absence of piRNAs, human PIWIL1 in PDAC functions as an oncoprotein by activating the anaphase promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C) E3 complex, which then targets a critical cell adhesion-related protein, Pinin, to enhance PDAC metastasis. This is in contrast to piRNA-dependent PIWIL1 ubiquitination and removal by APC/C during late spermiogenesis. These findings unveil a piRNA-dependent mechanism to switch PIWIL1 from a substrate in spermatids to a co-activator of APC/C in human cancer cells.
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