In this study, the role of ubiquitin conjugating enzyme E2 M (UBE2M) and molecular mechanisms associated with osteoarthritis (OA) were explored. Cartilage tissues and corresponding healthy tissues from OA patients were isolated. Our data suggested that the expression level of UBE2M in OA patients was significantly higher compared to that in healthy individuals (P < 0.01). The apoptosis of human OA chondrocytes was inhibited when silencing UBE2M and increased when overexpressing UBE2M. XAV939, as a tankyrase 1 inhibitor, could block the signaling pathway of Wnt/beta-catenin, which signifi-cantly reversed the change introduced by UBE2M. The expression level of cytoplasmic beta-catenin in siUBE2M cells dramatically increased, and the expression levels of nuclear beta-catenin, cleaved caspase-3 (C-caspase-3), and MMP13 remarkably downregulated. Moreover, the ubiquitination of Axin was enhanced by the overexpression of UBE2M. The expression level of Axin significantly decreased in OA chondrocytes with UBE2M overexpression and increased after MG132 treatment. Moreover, UBE2M enhanced the apoptosis of OA chondrocytes by activating the Axin-dependent Wnt/beta-catenin pathway. In this process, UBE2M downregulated Axin in an ubiquitination-dependent degradation pathway and subsequently activated Wnt/beta-catenin signaling. (C) 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.