Cullin-4B is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CUL4B gene which is located on the X chromosome. [5] [6] CUL4B has high sequence similarity with CUL4A, with which it shares certain E3 ubiquitin ligase functions. CUL4B is largely expressed in the nucleus and regulates several key functions including: cell cycle progression, chromatin remodeling and neurological and placental development in mice. In humans, CUL4B has been implicated in X-linked intellectual disability and is frequently mutated in pancreatic adenocarcinomas and a small percentage of various lung cancers. Viruses such as HIV can also co-opt CUL4B-based complexes to promote viral pathogenesis. CUL4B complexes containing Cereblon are also targeted by the teratogenic drug thalidomide.
Human CUL4B is 913 amino acids long and shares a high degree of sequence identity (84%) with CUL4A with the exception of its unique N-terminal region. [7] The extreme N-terminus of CUL4B is disordered and, currently, it is unclear what structural and functional qualities it possesses. CUL4B binds to the beta-propeller of the DDB1 adaptor protein which interacts with numerous DDB1-CUL4-Associated Factors (DCAFs). This interaction is crucial for the recruitment of substrates to the ubiquitin ligase complex. At the C-terminal end, CUL4B interacts with the RBX1/ROC1 protein via its RING domain. RBX1 is a core component of Cullin-RING ubiquitin ligase (CRL) complexes and functions to recruit E2 ubiquitin conjugating enzymes. Therefore, the C-terminus of CUL4B - along with RBX1 and activated E2 enzymes - compose the catalytic core of CRL4B complexes. CUL4B is also modified by covalent attachment of a NEDD8 molecule at a highly conserved lysine residue in the C-terminal region. This modification appears to induce conformational changes which promotes flexibility in the RING domain of cullin proteins and enhanced ubiquitin ligase activity. [8]
CUL4B-based E3 ubiquitin ligase complexes often demonstrate overlapping activity with CUL4A-based complexes. Both CRL4 complexes utilize Cdt2 and the DNA processivity factor PCNA to induce the ubiquitination and degradation of replication licensing factor Cdt1 and cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21 in a proteasome-dependent manner. [9] [10] CRL4Cdt2 also degrades PCNA-bound PR-Set7/SET8, which is a histone 4 methyltransferase, and the p12 subunit of DNA polymerase δ, which is crucial for DNA replication. [11] [12] As a result, CRL4 complexes are able to control the onset of DNA replication, chromatin remodeling and progression through the cell cycle.
Loss of Cul4b in mice causes embryonic lethality and defects in placental development. The extra-embryonic tissue of these developing mice also showed increased rates of apoptosis and a decrease in cell proliferation. When Cul4b deletion was limited to the epiblast (only in Sox2-expressing tissue), it was possible to generate living mice. [13]
Mice that do not express CUL4B in epiblast tissue demonstrate normal brain morphology but decrease number of parvalbumin (PV)-positive GABAergic interneurons - particularly in the dentate gyrus. [14] In these mice, certain dendritic features of hippocampal neurons were also affected by Cul4b loss, which may explain the observed increases in epileptic susceptibility and spatial learning defects. These phenotypes resembled features seen in patients with X-linked intellectual disability (see below).
Loss-of-function CUL4B mutation events have been discovered in numerous patients with X-linked intellectual disability, which is characterized by aggressive outbursts, seizures, relative macrocephaly, central obesity, hypogonadism, pes cavus and tremor. [15] [16] [17] CUL4B mutations have also been associated with malformations of cortical development. [18]
After HIV infects a cell, the virus "hijacks" either the CUL4B-DDB1 complex or the CUL4A-DDB1 complex via the same mechanism. Essentially, HIV proteins such as Vpr and Vpx bind to VPRBP (a DDB1-binding substrate receptor protein) and induce the ubiquitination and degradation of SAMHD1 and UNG2 to promote viral replication. [19] These proteins are not degraded by CRL4 complexes in the absence of virus.
According to data from The Cancer Genome Atlas, CUL4B is mutated in 21% of pancreatic carcinomas with a recurring truncating mutation at amino acid 143. CUL4B is also mutated or amplified in 3-5% of lung cancers. The significance of these observed mutations has not been determined.
In 2010, Ito et al. reported that Cereblon, a DCAF protein, was a major target of the teratogenic compound thalidomide. [20] Thalidomide and other derivatives such as pomalidomide and lenalidomide are known as immunomodulatory drugs (or IMiDs) and have been investigated as therapeutic agents for autoimmune diseases and several cancers - particularly myelomas. Recent reports show that IMiDs bind to CRL4CRBN and promote the degradation of IKZN1 and IKZN3 transcription factors, which are not normally targeted by CRL4 complexes. [21] [22]
Human CUL4B forms direct interactions with:
Human CUL4B-DDB1-RBX1 complexes promote the ubiquitination of:
†protein is a CRL4 substrate only when directed by viral proteins
§protein is a CRL4 substrate only when directed by IMiDs
The 2015 version of this article was updated by an external expert under a dual publication model. The corresponding academic peer reviewed article was published in Gene and can be cited as: Jeffrey Hannah; Pengbo Zhou (15 November 2015). "Distinct and overlapping functions of the cullin E3 ligase scaffolding proteins CUL4A and CUL4B". Gene . Gene Wiki Review Series. 573 (1): 33–45. doi:10.1016/J.GENE.2015.08.064. ISSN 0378-1119. PMC 5110433 . PMID 26344709. Wikidata Q28086765. |
Skp, Cullin, F-box containing complex is a multi-protein E3 ubiquitin ligase complex that catalyzes the ubiquitination of proteins destined for 26S proteasomal degradation. Along with the anaphase-promoting complex, SCF has important roles in the ubiquitination of proteins involved in the cell cycle. The SCF complex also marks various other cellular proteins for destruction.
S-phase kinase-associated protein 2 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the SKP2 gene.
Cullin 1, also known as CUL1, is a human protein and gene from cullin family. This protein plays an important role in protein degradation and protein ubiquitination.
RING-box protein 1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the RBX1 gene.
Cullin-4A is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CUL4A gene. CUL4A belongs to the cullin family of ubiquitin ligase proteins and is highly homologous to the CUL4B protein. CUL4A regulates numerous key processes such as DNA repair, chromatin remodeling, spermatogenesis, haematopoiesis and the mitotic cell cycle. As a result, CUL4A has been implicated in several cancers and the pathogenesis of certain viruses including HIV. A component of a CUL4A complex, Cereblon, was discovered to be a major target of the teratogenic agent thalidomide.
DNA damage-binding protein 1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the DDB1 gene.
CDT1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CDT1 gene. It is a licensing factor that functions to limit DNA from replicating more than once per cell cycle.
Cullin-5 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CUL5 gene.
Cullin-2 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CUL2 gene.
Cullin 3 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CUL3 gene.
Cullin-associated NEDD8-dissociated protein 1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CAND1 gene.
Denticleless protein homolog is a protein that in humans is encoded by the DTL gene.
F-box/WD repeat-containing protein 5 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the FBXW5 gene.
Anaphase-promoting complex subunit 11 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ANAPC11 gene.
Protein VPRBP is a protein that in humans is encoded by the VPRBP gene.
Cullins are a family of hydrophobic scaffold proteins which provide support for ubiquitin ligases (E3). All eukaryotes appear to have cullins. They combine with RING proteins to form Cullin-RING ubiquitin ligases (CRLs) that are highly diverse and play a role in myriad cellular processes, most notably protein degradation by ubiquitination.
S-phase kinase-associated protein 1 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the SKP1 gene.
Cereblon is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CRBN gene. The gene that encodes the cereblon protein is found on the human chromosome 3, on the short arm at position p26.3 from base pair 3,190,676 to base pair 3,221,394. CRBN orthologs are highly conserved from plants to humans.
DDB1 and CUL4 associated factor 17 is a protein that in humans is encoded buy the DCAF17 gene.
Nicolas H. Thomä is a German researcher, senior group leader at the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research in Basel, Switzerland. He is a biochemist and structural biologist and a leading researcher in the fields of ubiquitin ligase biology and DNA repair.