Proteasomes are protein complexes which degrade unneeded or damaged proteins by proteolysis, a chemical reaction that breaks peptide bonds. Enzymes that help such reactions are called proteases.
Ubiquitin is a small regulatory protein found in most tissues of eukaryotic organisms, i.e., it is found ubiquitously. It was discovered in 1975 by Gideon Goldstein and further characterized throughout the late 1970s and 1980s. Four genes in the human genome code for ubiquitin: UBB, UBC, UBA52 and RPS27A.
Post-translational modification (PTM) refers to the covalent and generally enzymatic modification of proteins following protein biosynthesis. Proteins are synthesized by ribosomes translating mRNA into polypeptide chains, which may then undergo PTM to form the mature protein product. PTMs are important components in cell signaling, as for example when prohormones are converted to hormones.
Ubiquitin-like modifier activating enzyme 1 (UBA1) is an enzyme which in humans is encoded by the UBA1 gene. UBA1 participates in ubiquitination and the NEDD8 pathway for protein folding and degradation, among many other biological processes. This protein has been linked to X-linked spinal muscular atrophy type 2, neurodegenerative diseases, and cancers.
Deubiquitinating enzymes (DUBs), also known as deubiquitinating peptidases, deubiquitinating isopeptidases, deubiquitinases, ubiquitin proteases, ubiquitin hydrolases, ubiquitin isopeptidases, are a large group of proteases that cleave ubiquitin from proteins. Ubiquitin is attached to proteins in order to regulate the degradation of proteins via the proteasome and lysosome; coordinate the cellular localisation of proteins; activate and inactivate proteins; and modulate protein-protein interactions. DUBs can reverse these effects by cleaving the peptide or isopeptide bond between ubiquitin and its substrate protein. In humans there are nearly 100 DUB genes, which can be classified into two main classes: cysteine proteases and metalloproteases. The cysteine proteases comprise ubiquitin-specific proteases (USPs), ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolases (UCHs), Machado-Josephin domain proteases (MJDs) and ovarian tumour proteases (OTU). The metalloprotease group contains only the Jab1/Mov34/Mpr1 Pad1 N-terminal+ (MPN+) (JAMM) domain proteases.
Small Ubiquitin-like Modifier proteins are a family of small proteins that are covalently attached to and detached from other proteins in cells to modify their function. This process is called SUMOylation. SUMOylation is a post-translational modification involved in various cellular processes, such as nuclear-cytosolic transport, transcriptional regulation, apoptosis, protein stability, response to stress, and progression through the cell cycle.
An isopeptide bond is an amide bond that can form for example between a carboxyl group of one amino acid and an amino group of another. At least one of these joining groups is part of the side chain of one of these amino acids, unlike in a peptide bond which is sometimes called a eupeptide bond, especially when discussing about both of these bond types in the same context to make a distinction between the two.
The family of heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1) consists of highly conserved proteins, which have important functions in the cell nucleus. These functions include gene repression by heterochromatin formation, transcriptional activation, regulation of binding of cohesion complexes to centromeres, sequestration of genes to the nuclear periphery, transcriptional arrest, maintenance of heterochromatin integrity, gene repression at the single nucleosome level, gene repression by heterochromatization of euchromatin, and DNA repair. HP1 proteins are fundamental units of heterochromatin packaging that are enriched at the centromeres and telomeres of nearly all eukaryotic chromosomes with the notable exception of budding yeast, in which a yeast-specific silencing complex of SIR proteins serve a similar function. Members of the HP1 family are characterized by an N-terminal chromodomain and a C-terminal chromoshadow domain, separated by a hinge region. HP1 is also found at some euchromatic sites, where its binding can correlate with either gene repression or gene activation. HP1 was originally discovered by Tharappel C James and Sarah Elgin in 1986 as a factor in the phenomenon known as position effect variegation in Drosophila melanogaster.
Nuclear RNA export factor 1, also known as NXF1 or TAP, is a protein which in humans is encoded by the NXF1 gene.
SUMO-conjugating enzyme UBC9 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the UBE2I gene. It is also sometimes referred to as "ubiquitin conjugating enzyme E2I" or "ubiquitin carrier protein 9", even though these names do not accurately describe its function.
Ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme E2 variant 2 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the UBE2V2 gene. Ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme E2 variant proteins constitute a distinct subfamily within the E2 protein family.
NEDD8-activating enzyme E1 catalytic subunit is a protein that in humans is encoded by the UBA3 gene.
NEDD8-conjugating enzyme Ubc12 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the UBE2M gene.
Ubiquitin-fold modifier 1, also known as UFM1, is a protein which in humans is encoded by the UFM1 gene.
Protein aggregation is a biological phenomenon in which intrinsically disordered proteins or mis-folded proteins aggregate either intra- or extracellularly. Mis-folded protein aggregates are often correlated with diseases. In fact, protein aggregates have been implicated in a wide variety of disease known as amyloidoses, including ALS, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and prion disease.
CTU2 is a human gene located on chromosome 16. The mRNA encodes the longer isoform. The gene encodes a cytoplasmic protein that plays a probable role in tRNA modification.
Ubiquitin-like 1-activating enzyme E1B (UBLE1B) also known as SUMO-activating enzyme subunit 2 (SAE2) is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the UBA2 gene.
Prokaryotic ubiquitin-like protein (Pup) is a functional analog of ubiquitin found in the prokaryote Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Like ubiquitin, Pup serves to direct proteins to the proteasome for degradation in the Pup-proteasome system (PPS). However, the enzymology of ubiquitylation and pupylation is different, owing to their distinct evolutionary origins. In contrast to the three-step reaction of ubiquitylation, pupylation requires only two steps, and thus only two enzymes are involved in pupylation. The enzymes involved in pupylation are descended from glutamine synthetase.
CXorf26, also known as MGC874, is a well conserved human gene found on the plus strand of the short arm of the X chromosome. The exact function of the gene is poorly understood, but the polysaccharide biosynthesis domain that spans a major portion of the protein product, as well as the yeast homolog, YPL225, offer insights into its possible function.
Ubiquitin-like proteins (UBLs) are a family of small proteins involved in post-translational modification of other proteins in a cell, usually with a regulatory function. The UBL protein family derives its name from the first member of the class to be discovered, ubiquitin (Ub), best known for its role in regulating protein degradation through covalent modification of other proteins. Following the discovery of ubiquitin, many additional evolutionarily related members of the group were described, involving parallel regulatory processes and similar chemistry. UBLs are involved in a widely varying array of cellular functions including autophagy, protein trafficking, inflammation and immune responses, transcription, DNA repair, RNA splicing, and cellular differentiation.
