scholarly journals Cellular functions and molecular mechanisms of non-lysine ubiquitination

Open Biology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 190147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amie J. McClellan ◽  
Sophie Heiden Laugesen ◽  
Lars Ellgaard

Protein ubiquitination is of great cellular importance through its central role in processes such as degradation, DNA repair, endocytosis and inflammation. Canonical ubiquitination takes place on lysine residues, but in the past 15 years non-lysine ubiquitination on serine, threonine and cysteine has been firmly established. With the emerging importance of non-lysine ubiquitination, it is crucial to identify the responsible molecular machinery and understand the mechanistic basis for non-lysine ubiquitination. Here, we first provide an overview of the literature that has documented non-lysine ubiquitination. Informed by these examples, we then discuss the molecular mechanisms and cellular implications of non-lysine ubiquitination, and conclude by outlining open questions and future perspectives in the field.

2012 ◽  
Vol 52 ◽  
pp. 93-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Snehajyoti Chatterjee ◽  
Parijat Senapati ◽  
Tapas K. Kundu

DNA damage in cells is often the result of constant genotoxic insult. Nevertheless, efficient DNA repair pathways are able to maintain genomic integrity. Over the past decade it has been revealed that it is not only kinase signalling pathways which play a central role in this process, but also the different post-translational modifications at lysine residues of histone (chromatin) and non-histone proteins. These lysine modifications include acetylation, methylation, ubiquitination and SUMOylation. Genomic instability is often the major cause of different diseases, especially cancer, where lysine modifications are altered and thereby have an impact on the various DNA repair mechanisms. This chapter will discuss the recent advances in our understanding of the role of different lysine modifications in DNA repair and its physiological consequences.


Author(s):  
Daffiny Sumam de Oliveira ◽  
Thales Kronenberger ◽  
Giuseppe Palmisano ◽  
Carsten Wrenger ◽  
Edmarcia Elisa de Souza

Malaria is a parasitic disease that represents a public health problem worldwide. Protozoans of the Plasmodium genus are responsible for causing malaria in humans. Plasmodium species have a complex life cycle that requires post-translational modifications (PTMs) to control cellular activities temporally and spatially and regulate the levels of critical proteins and cellular mechanisms for maintaining an efficient infection and immune evasion. SUMOylation is a PTM formed by the covalent linkage of a small ubiquitin-like modifier protein to the lysine residues on the protein substrate. This PTM is reversible and is triggered by the sequential action of three enzymes: E1-activating, E2-conjugating, and E3 ligase. On the other end, ubiquitin-like-protein-specific proteases in yeast and sentrin-specific proteases in mammals are responsible for processing SUMO peptides and for deconjugating SUMOylated moieties. Further studies are necessary to comprehend the molecular mechanisms and cellular functions of SUMO in Plasmodium. The emergence of drug-resistant malaria parasites prompts the discovery of new targets and antimalarial drugs with novel mechanisms of action. In this scenario, the conserved biological processes regulated by SUMOylation in the malaria parasites such as gene expression regulation, oxidative stress response, ubiquitylation, and proteasome pathways, suggest PfSUMO as a new potential drug target. This mini-review focuses on the current understanding of the mechanism of action of the PfSUMO during the coordinated multi-step life cycle of Plasmodium and discusses them as attractive new target proteins for the development of parasite-specific inhibitors and therapeutic intervention toward malaria disease.


Author(s):  
Simon Mitreiter ◽  
Tamara Gigolashvili

Abstract Glucosinolates are secondary defense metabolites produced by plants of the order Brassicales, which includes the model species Arabidopsis and many crop species. In the past 13 years, the regulation of glucosinolate synthesis in plants has been intensively studied, with recent research revealing complex molecular mechanisms that connect glucosinolate production with responses to other central pathways. In this review, we discuss how the regulation of glucosinolate biosynthesis is ecologically relevant for plants, how it is controlled by transcription factors, and how this transcriptional machinery interacts with hormonal, environmental, and epigenetic mechanisms. We present the central players in glucosinolate regulation, MYB and basic helix–loop–helix transcription factors, as well as the plant hormone jasmonate, which together with other hormones and environmental signals allow the coordinated and rapid regulation of glucosinolate genes. Furthermore, we highlight the regulatory connections between glucosinolates, auxin, and sulfur metabolism and discuss emerging insights and open questions on the regulation of glucosinolate biosynthesis.


2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (8) ◽  
pp. 687-698 ◽  
Author(s):  
Houda N. Washah ◽  
Elliasu Y. Salifu ◽  
Opeyemi Soremekun ◽  
Ahmed A. Elrashedy ◽  
Geraldene Munsamy ◽  
...  

For the past few decades, the mechanisms of immune responses to cancer have been exploited extensively and significant attention has been given into utilizing the therapeutic potential of the immune system. Cancer immunotherapy has been established as a promising innovative treatment for many forms of cancer. Immunotherapy has gained its prominence through various strategies, including cancer vaccines, monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), adoptive T cell cancer therapy, and immune checkpoint therapy. However, the full potential of cancer immunotherapy is yet to be attained. Recent studies have identified the use of bioinformatics tools as a viable option to help transform the treatment paradigm of several tumors by providing a therapeutically efficient method of cataloging, predicting and selecting immunotherapeutic targets, which are known bottlenecks in the application of immunotherapy. Herein, we gave an insightful overview of the types of immunotherapy techniques used currently, their mechanisms of action, and discussed some bioinformatics tools and databases applied in the immunotherapy of cancer. This review also provides some future perspectives in the use of bioinformatics tools for immunotherapy.


2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 156-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiaqiang Wang ◽  
Chien-shan Cheng ◽  
Yan Lu ◽  
Xiaowei Ding ◽  
Minmin Zhu ◽  
...  

Background: Propofol, a widely used intravenous anesthetic agent, is traditionally applied for sedation and general anesthesia. Explanation: Recent attention has been drawn to explore the effect and mechanisms of propofol against cancer progression in vitro and in vivo. Specifically, the proliferation-inhibiting and apoptosis-inducing properties of propofol in cancer have been studied. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Conclusion: This review focused on the findings within the past ten years and aimed to provide a general overview of propofol's malignance-modulating properties and the potential molecular mechanisms.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abhishek Kumar ◽  
Neeraj Masand ◽  
Vaishali M. Patil

Abstract: Breast cancer is the most common and highly heterogeneous neoplastic disease comprised of several subtypes with distinct molecular etiology and clinical behaviours. The mortality observed over the past few decades and the failure in eradicating the disease is due to the lack of specific etiology, molecular mechanisms involved in initiation and progression of breast cancer. Understanding of the molecular classes of breast cancer may also lead to new biological insights and eventually to better therapies. The promising therapeutic targets and novel anti-cancer approaches emerging from these molecular targets that could be applied clinically in the near future are being highlighted. In addition, this review discusses some of the details of current molecular classification and available chemotherapeutics


Agronomy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 704
Author(s):  
Moumouni Konate ◽  
Jacob Sanou ◽  
Amos Miningou ◽  
David Kalule Okello ◽  
Haile Desmae ◽  
...  

Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is a major food and cash crop in Burkina Faso. Due to the growing demand for raw oilseeds, there is an increasing interest in groundnut production from traditional rain-fed areas to irrigated environments. However, despite implementation of many initiatives in the past to increase groundnut productivity and production, the groundnut industry still struggles to prosper due to the fact of several constraints including minimal development research and fluctuating markets. Yield penalty due to the presence of drought and biotic stresses continue to be a major drawback for groundnut production. This review traces progress in the groundnut breeding that started in Burkina Faso before the country’s political independence in 1960 through to present times. Up to the 1980s, groundnut improvement was led by international research institutions such as IRHO (Institute of Oils and Oleaginous Research) and ICRISAT (International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics). However, international breeding initiatives were not sufficient to establish a robust domestic groundnut breeding programme. This review also provides essential information about opportunities and challenges for groundnut research in Burkina Faso, emphasising the need for institutional attention to genetic improvement of the crop.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ofir Klein ◽  
Ronit Sagi-Eisenberg

Anaphylaxis is a notorious type 2 immune response which may result in a systemic response and lead to death. A precondition for the unfolding of the anaphylactic shock is the secretion of inflammatory mediators from mast cells in response to an allergen, mostly through activation of the cells via the IgE-dependent pathway. While mast cells are specialized secretory cells that can secrete through a variety of exocytic modes, the most predominant mode exerted by the mast cell during anaphylaxis is compound exocytosis—a specialized form of regulated exocytosis where secretory granules fuse to one another. Here, we review the modes of regulated exocytosis in the mast cell and focus on compound exocytosis. We review historical landmarks in the research of compound exocytosis in mast cells and the methods available for investigating compound exocytosis. We also review the molecular mechanisms reported to underlie compound exocytosis in mast cells and expand further with reviewing key findings from other cell types. Finally, we discuss the possible reasons for the mast cell to utilize compound exocytosis during anaphylaxis, the conflicting evidence in different mast cell models, and the open questions in the field which remain to be answered.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 795
Author(s):  
Lukas Gorecki ◽  
Martin Andrs ◽  
Jan Korabecny

Selective killing of cancer cells while sparing healthy ones is the principle of the perfect cancer treatment and the primary aim of many oncologists, molecular biologists, and medicinal chemists. To achieve this goal, it is crucial to understand the molecular mechanisms that distinguish cancer cells from healthy ones. Accordingly, several clinical candidates that use particular mutations in cell-cycle progressions have been developed to kill cancer cells. As the majority of cancer cells have defects in G1 control, targeting the subsequent intra‑S or G2/M checkpoints has also been extensively pursued. This review focuses on clinical candidates that target the kinases involved in intra‑S and G2/M checkpoints, namely, ATR, CHK1, and WEE1 inhibitors. It provides insight into their current status and future perspectives for anticancer treatment. Overall, even though CHK1 inhibitors are still far from clinical establishment, promising accomplishments with ATR and WEE1 inhibitors in phase II trials present a positive outlook for patient survival.


2021 ◽  
Vol 73 (2) ◽  
pp. 323-345
Author(s):  
Samuel Kohtala

AbstractOver the past 50 years, ketamine has solidified its position in both human and veterinary medicine as an important anesthetic with many uses. More recently, ketamine has been studied and used for several new indications, ranging from chronic pain to drug addiction and post-traumatic stress disorder. The discovery of the rapid-acting antidepressant effects of ketamine has resulted in a surge of interest towards understanding the precise mechanisms driving its effects. Indeed, ketamine may have had the largest impact for advancements in the research and treatment of psychiatric disorders in the past few decades. While intense research efforts have been aimed towards uncovering the molecular targets underlying ketamine’s effects in treating depression, the underlying neurobiological mechanisms remain elusive. These efforts are made more difficult by ketamine’s complex dose-dependent effects on molecular mechanisms, multiple pharmacologically active metabolites, and a mechanism of action associated with the facilitation of synaptic plasticity. This review aims to provide a brief overview of the different uses of ketamine, with an emphasis on examining ketamine’s rapid antidepressant effects spanning molecular, cellular, and network levels. Another focus of the review is to offer a perspective on studies related to the different doses of ketamine used in antidepressant research. Finally, the review discusses some of the latest hypotheses concerning ketamine’s action.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document