SNORD18B/SNORD18C-RPL23A promotes homologous recombination repair by regulating BRCA1 translation in colorectal cancer cellsDownload PDF Download PDF ArticleOpen accessPublished: 06 August 2026Chuxian Lin ORCID: orcid.org/0009-0008-9399-13391 na1,Junyan He2 na1,Lei Wu1,Xin Liu1,Ying Fan1,Dan Cai3,Meng Jia1,Wencheng Zhang1,Qi Wang1,Yaqiong Li1,Ruixue Liu1,Wenqing Lu1,Jianan Ma1,MaoXiang Zhu1,Pingkun Zhou1,Zhenhua Qi1,Liping Shen ORCID: orcid.org/0009-0004-0019-720X1 &…Zhidong Wang ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-4542-09521,3 Cell Death Discovery (2026) Cite this articleSave articleView saved research We are providing an unedited version of this manuscript to give early access to its findings. Before final publication, the manuscript will undergo further editing. Please note there may be errors present which affect the content, and all legal disclaimers apply.AbstractHomologous recombination (HR) is one of the classical pathways for repairing DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs), a type of lesion that poses a severe threat to genomic stability and cell survival. The role of small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs), particularly their interactions with ribosomal proteins, in the HR repair has not been reported. This is the first study to report the role of snoRNA genes SNORD18B and SNORD18C (SNORD18B/C) in HR repair, demonstrating that they exert an oncogenic function in colorectal cancer (CRC) by promoting cell proliferation and radioresistance. Mechanistically, SNORD18B/C directly interacts with the ribosomal protein RPL23A to enhance the translation of BRCA1 independent of the canonical 2′-O-methylation of 28S rRNA, thereby promoting HR efficiency to facilitate radiation-induced DSB repair. Collectively, our findings confirm that the SNORD18B/C-RPL23A-BRCA1 axis is crucial for HR repair and highlight the SNORD18B/C as potential CRC therapeutic targets.AcknowledgementsWe thank Dr. QT Zhang (Liaoning Cancer Hospital) for kindly providing clinical samples. The images for the graphic abstract were provided by Servier Medical Art (https://smart.servier.com), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).FundingThis work was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China [32071240 to ZW, 82304083 to JH, and 82373526 to LS] and the Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province (2023JJ40584 to JH).Author informationAuthor notesThese authors contributed equally: Chuxian Lin, Junyan He.Authors and AffiliationsBeijing Institute of Radiation Medicine, Beijing, ChinaChuxian Lin, Lei Wu, Xin Liu, Ying Fan, Meng Jia, Wencheng Zhang, Qi Wang, Yaqiong Li, Ruixue Liu, Wenqing Lu, Jianan Ma, MaoXiang Zhu, Pingkun Zhou, Zhenhua Qi, Liping Shen & Zhidong WangDepartment of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, ChinaJunyan HeGraduate Collaborative Training Base of Academy of Military Sciences, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, ChinaDan Cai & Zhidong WangAuthorsChuxian LinView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarJunyan HeView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarLei WuView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarXin LiuView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarYing FanView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarDan CaiView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarMeng JiaView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarWencheng ZhangView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarQi WangView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarYaqiong LiView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarRuixue LiuView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarWenqing LuView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarJianan MaView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarMaoXiang ZhuView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarPingkun ZhouView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarZhenhua QiView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarLiping ShenView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarZhidong WangView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarCorresponding authorsCorrespondence to Liping Shen or Zhidong Wang.Ethics declarationsCompeting interestsThe authors declare no competing interests.Ethics approval and consent to participateAll samples and clinical information were obtained with the approval of the Ethics Committee on Human Investigation of the Liaoning Cancer Hospital (20190970). The experimental protocols were in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, and the patients provided their informed consent for the use of their samples. All animal experiments were approved by the Ethics Committee (IACUC-DWZX-2020-549) of the Academy of Military Medical Science (AMMS, China). All methods were performed in accordance with the relevant guidelines and regulations.Additional informationPublisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.Supplementary informationRights and permissionsOpen Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. 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