The Role of the Ubiquitin–Proteasome Pathway in the Regulation of the Cellular Hypoxia Response

Necroptosis has emerged as a new form of programmed cell death implicated in a number of pathological conditions such as ischemic injury, neurodegenerative disease, and viral infection. Recent studies indicate that TGFβ-activated kinase 1 (TAK1) is nodal regulator of necroptotic cell death, but the underlying molecular regulatory mechanisms remain elusive. Here we reported that TAK1 regulates necroptotic signaling as well as caspase 8 activation through both NFκB-dependent and -independent mechanisms. Inhibition of TAK1 promoted TNFα-induced necroptosis through the induction of RIP1 phosphorylation/activation and necrosome formation, in the presence of ongoing caspase activation. Further, inhibition of TAK1 triggered two caspase 8 activation pathways through the induction of RIP1-FADD-caspase 8 complex as well as FLIP cleavage/degradation. Mechanistically, our data uncovered an essential role of the adaptor protein TRADD in caspase 8 activation and necrosome formation triggered by TAK1 inhibition. Moreover, ablation of the deubiqutinase CYLD prevented both apoptotic and necroptotic signaling induced by TAK1 inhibition, whereas deletion of the E3 ubiquitin ligase TRAF2 had the opposite effect. Finally, blocking the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway prevented the degradation of key necroptotic signaling proteins and necrosome formation. Thus we identified novel regulatory mechanisms underling the critical role of TAK1 in necroptotic signaling through regulation of multiple cell death checkpoints. Targeting key components of the necroptotic pathway (e.g., TRADD and CYLD) and the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway may represent novel therapeutic strategies for pathological conditions driven by necroptosis.

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Participation of the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway in rat oocyte activation

Zygote ◽

10.1017/s0967199405003114 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

pp. 87-95 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Xin Tan ◽

An Peng ◽

Yong-Chao Wang ◽

Yue Wang ◽

Qing-Yuan Sun

Keyword(s):

Meiotic Division ◽

Polar Body ◽

Meiotic Spindle ◽

Oocyte Activation ◽

Parthenogenetic Activation ◽

Ubiquitin Proteasome Pathway ◽

Ubiquitin Proteasome ◽

Proteasome Pathway ◽

Second Polar Body

The role of the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway (UPP) in mitosis is well known. However, its role in meiotic division is still poorly documented, especially in the activation of mammalian oocytes. In this study, the role of proteasome in the spontaneous and parthenogenetic activation of rat oocytes was investigated. We found that ALLN, an inhibitor of proteasome, when applied to metaphase II oocytes, inhibited spontaneous activation, blocked extrusion of the second polar body (PB) and caused the withdrawal of the partially extruded second PB. ALLN also inhibited the parthenogenetic activation induced by cycloheximide, but had no effect on the formation of pronuclei in activated eggs. In metaphase and anaphase, ubiquitin and proteasome localized to the meiotic spindle, concentrating on both sides of the oocyte–second PB boundary during PB extrusion. This pattern of cellular distribution suggests that UPP may have a role in regulating nuclear division and cytokinesis. Ubiquitin was seen to form a ring around the pronucleus, whereas proteasome was evenly distributed in the pronuclear region. Taken together, our results indicate that (1) UPP is required for the transitions of oocytes from metaphase II to anaphase II and from anaphase II to the end of meiosis; and (2) the UPP plays a role in cytokinesis of the second meiotic division.

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