scholarly journals Killing by Degradation: Regulation of Apoptosis by the Ubiquitin-Proteasome-System

Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 3465
Author(s):  
Ruqaia Abbas ◽  
Sarit Larisch
Keyword(s):  
Apoptotic Cell ◽  
Ubiquitin Proteasome System ◽  
Cancer Therapies ◽  
E3 Ligases ◽  
Ubiquitin Proteasome ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Positive And Negative Feedback ◽  
Apoptotic Proteins ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Cell Suicide

Apoptosis is a cell suicide process that is essential for development, tissue homeostasis and human health. Impaired apoptosis is associated with a variety of human diseases, including neurodegenerative disorders, autoimmunity and cancer. As the levels of pro- and anti-apoptotic proteins can determine the life or death of cells, tight regulation of these proteins is critical. The ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS) is essential for maintaining protein turnover, which can either trigger or inhibit apoptosis. In this review, we will describe the E3 ligases that regulate the levels of pro- and anti-apoptotic proteins and assisting proteins that regulate the levels of these E3 ligases. We will provide examples of apoptotic cell death modulations using the UPS, determined by positive and negative feedback loop reactions. Specifically, we will review how the stability of p53, Bcl-2 family members and IAPs (Inhibitor of Apoptosis proteins) are regulated upon initiation of apoptosis. As increased levels of oncogenes and decreased levels of tumor suppressor proteins can promote tumorigenesis, targeting these pathways offers opportunities to develop novel anti-cancer therapies, which act by recruiting the UPS for the effective and selective killing of cancer cells.

scholarly journals The E3 Ligases Spsb1 and Spsb4 Regulate RevErbα Degradation and Circadian Period

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 610-621 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tsedey Mekbib ◽  
Ting-Chung Suen ◽  
Aisha Rollins-Hairston ◽  
Jason P. DeBruyne
Keyword(s):  
Circadian Clock ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Ubiquitin Proteasome System ◽  
E3 Ligases ◽  
Clock Proteins ◽  
Ubiquitin Proteasome ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Circadian Clock Proteins ◽  
The Stability

The time-dependent degradation of core circadian clock proteins is essential for the proper functioning of circadian timekeeping mechanisms that drive daily rhythms in gene expression and, ultimately, an organism’s physiology. The ubiquitin proteasome system plays a critical role in regulating the stability of most proteins, including the core clock components. Our laboratory developed a cell-based functional screen to identify ubiquitin ligases that degrade any protein of interest and have started screening for those ligases that degrade circadian clock proteins. This screen identified Spsb4 as a putative novel E3 ligase for RevErbα. In this article, we further investigate the role of Spsb4 and its paralogs in RevErbα stability and circadian rhythmicity. Our results indicate that the paralogs Spsb1 and Spsb4, but not Spsb2 and Spsb3, can interact with and facilitate RevErbα ubiquitination and degradation and regulate circadian clock periodicity.

scholarly journals Cullin Deneddylation Suppresses the Necroptotic Pathway in Cardiomyocytes

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan T. Lewno ◽  
Taixing Cui ◽  
Xuejun Wang
Keyword(s):  
Ubiquitin Proteasome System ◽  
Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia ◽  
Cop9 Signalosome ◽  
E3 Ligases ◽  
Protein Subunits ◽  
Unique Protein ◽  
Recent Advances ◽  
Regulated Necrosis ◽  
Ubiquitin Proteasome ◽  
Apoptosis And Necrosis

Cardiomyocyte death in the form of apoptosis and necrosis represents a major cellular mechanism underlying cardiac pathogenesis. Recent advances in cell death research reveal that not all necrosis is accidental, but rather there are multiple forms of necrosis that are regulated. Necroptosis, the earliest identified regulated necrosis, is perhaps the most studied thus far, and potential links between necroptosis and Cullin-RING ligases (CRLs), the largest family of ubiquitin E3 ligases, have been postulated. Cullin neddylation activates the catalytic dynamic of CRLs; the reverse process, Cullin deneddylation, is performed by the COP9 signalosome holocomplex (CSN) that is formed by eight unique protein subunits, COPS1/CNS1 through COPS8/CNS8. As revealed by cardiomyocyte-restricted knockout of Cops8 (Cops8-cko) in mice, perturbation of Cullin deneddylation in cardiomyocytes impairs not only the functioning of the ubiquitin–proteasome system (UPS) but also the autophagic–lysosomal pathway (ALP). Similar cardiac abnormalities are also observed in Cops6-cko mice; and importantly, loss of the desmosome targeting of COPS6 is recently implicated as a pathogenic factor in arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia/cardiomyopathy (ARVD/C). Cops8-cko causes massive cardiomyocyte death in the form of necrosis rather than apoptosis and rapidly leads to a progressive dilated cardiomyopathy phenotype as well as drastically shortened lifespan in mice. Even a moderate downregulation of Cullin deneddylation as seen in mice with Cops8 hypomorphism exacerbates cardiac proteotoxicity induced by overexpression of misfolded proteins. More recently, it was further demonstrated that cardiomyocyte necrosis caused by Cops8-cko belongs to necroptosis and is mediated by the RIPK1–RIPK3 pathway. This article reviews these recent advances and discusses the potential links between Cullin deneddylation and the necroptotic pathways in hopes of identifying potentially new therapeutic targets for the prevention of cardiomyocyte death.

scholarly journals A Yeast-Based Functional Assay to Study Plant N-Degron – N-Recognin Interactions

2022 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aida Kozlic ◽  
Nikola Winter ◽  
Theresia Telser ◽  
Jakob Reimann ◽  
Katrin Rose ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ubiquitin Proteasome System ◽  
Functional Assay ◽  
The Novel ◽  
In Planta ◽  
Amino Terminal ◽  
Weak Binding ◽  
Ubiquitin Conjugating Enzyme ◽  
Ubiquitin Proteasome ◽  
The Stability

The N-degron pathway is a branch of the ubiquitin-proteasome system where amino-terminal residues serve as degradation signals. In a synthetic biology approach, we expressed ubiquitin ligase PRT6 and ubiquitin conjugating enzyme 2 (AtUBC2) from Arabidopsis thaliana in a Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain with mutation in its endogenous N-degron pathway. The two enzymes re-constitute part of the plant N-degron pathway and were probed by monitoring the stability of co-expressed GFP-linked plant proteins starting with Arginine N-degrons. The novel assay allows for straightforward analysis, whereas in vitro interaction assays often do not allow detection of the weak binding of N-degron recognizing ubiquitin ligases to their substrates, and in planta testing is usually complex and time-consuming.

scholarly journals The Ubiquitin Proteasome System in Ischemic and Dilated Cardiomyopathy

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (24) ◽  
pp. 6354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabine Spänig ◽  
Kristina Kellermann ◽  
Maja-Theresa Dieterlen ◽  
Thilo Noack ◽  
Sven Lehmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Protein Expression ◽  
Ubiquitin Proteasome System ◽  
Translation Initiation Factor ◽  
Myocardial Tissue ◽  
Activation Markers ◽  
E3 Ligases ◽  
Proteasomal Activity ◽  
Ubiquitin Proteasome ◽  
Statistical Trends ◽  
And Control

Dilated (DCM) and ischemic cardiomyopathies (ICM) are associated with cardiac remodeling, where the ubiquitin–proteasome system (UPS) holds a central role. Little is known about the UPS and its alterations in patients suffering from DCM or ICM. The aim of this study is to characterize the UPS activity in human heart tissue from cardiomyopathy patients. Myocardial tissue from ICM (n = 23), DCM (n = 28), and control (n = 14) patients were used to quantify ubiquitinylated proteins, E3-ubiquitin-ligases muscle-atrophy-F-box (MAFbx)/atrogin-1, muscle-RING-finger-1 (MuRF1), and eukaryotic-translation-initiation-factor-4E (eIF4E), by Western blot. Furthermore, the proteasomal chymotrypsin-like and trypsin-like peptidase activities were determined fluorometrically. Enzyme activity of NAD(P)H oxidase was assessed as an index of reactive oxygen species production. The chymotrypsin- (p = 0.71) and caspase-like proteasomal activity (p = 0.93) was similar between the groups. Trypsin-like proteasomal activity was lower in ICM (0.78 ± 0.11 µU/mg) compared to DCM (1.06 ± 0.08 µU/mg) and control (1.00 ± 0.06 µU/mg; p = 0.06) samples. Decreased ubiquitin expression in both cardiomyopathy groups (ICM vs. control: p < 0.001; DCM vs. control: p < 0.001), as well as less ubiquitin-positive deposits in ICM-damaged tissue (ICM: 4.19% ± 0.60%, control: 6.28% ± 0.40%, p = 0.022), were detected. E3-ligase MuRF1 protein expression (p = 0.62), NADPH-oxidase activity (p = 0.63), and AIF-positive cells (p = 0.50). Statistical trends were detected for reduced MAFbx protein expression in the DCM-group (p = 0.07). Different levels of UPS components, E3 ligases, and UPS activation markers were observed in myocardial tissue from patients affected by DCM and ICM, suggesting differential involvement of the UPS in the underlying pathologies.

scholarly journals Advances in Deubiquitinating Enzyme Inhibition and Applications in Cancer Therapeutics

Cancers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 1579 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ainsley Mike Antao ◽  
Apoorvi Tyagi ◽  
Kye-Seong Kim ◽  
Suresh Ramakrishna
Keyword(s):  
Protein Interactions ◽  
Cancer Therapeutics ◽  
Ubiquitin Proteasome System ◽  
Deubiquitinating Enzyme ◽  
Protein Protein Interactions ◽  
Deubiquitinating Enzymes ◽  
Cellular Functions ◽  
E3 Ligases ◽  
Ubiquitin Proteasome ◽  
Target Cancer

Since the discovery of the ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS), the roles of ubiquitinating and deubiquitinating enzymes (DUBs) have been widely elucidated. The ubiquitination of proteins regulates many aspects of cellular functions such as protein degradation and localization, and also modifies protein-protein interactions. DUBs cleave the attached ubiquitin moieties from substrates and thereby reverse the process of ubiquitination. The dysregulation of these two paramount pathways has been implicated in numerous diseases, including cancer. Attempts are being made to identify inhibitors of ubiquitin E3 ligases and DUBs that potentially have clinical implications in cancer, making them an important target in the pharmaceutical industry. Therefore, studies in medicine are currently focused on the pharmacological disruption of DUB activity as a rationale to specifically target cancer-causing protein aberrations. Here, we briefly discuss the pathophysiological and physiological roles of DUBs in key cancer-related pathways. We also discuss the clinical applications of promising DUB inhibitors that may contribute to the development of DUBs as key therapeutic targets in the future.

scholarly journals Ubiquitination and deubiquitination of MCL1 in cancer: deciphering chemoresistance mechanisms and providing potential therapeutic options

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaowei Wu ◽  
Qingyu Luo ◽  
Zhihua Liu
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Practice ◽  
Cancer Cells ◽  
Therapeutic Target ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
Ubiquitin Proteasome System ◽  
Therapeutic Strategies ◽  
E3 Ligases ◽  
Ubiquitin Proteasome ◽  
Specific Inhibitors

Abstract MCL1 is an important antiapoptotic member of the BCL-2 family that is distinguishable from other family members based on its relatively short half-life. Emerging studies have revealed the crucial role of MCL1 in the chemoresistance of cancer cells. The antiapoptotic function of MCL1 makes it a popular therapeutic target, although specific inhibitors have begun to emerge only recently. Notably, emerging studies have reported that several E3 ligases and deubiquitinases modulate MCL1 stability, providing an alternate means of targeting MCL1 activity. In addition, the emergence and development of proteolysis-targeting chimeras, the function of which is based on ubiquitination-mediated degradation, has shown great potential. In this review, we provide an overview of the studies investigating the ubiquitination and deubiquitination of MCL1, summarize the latest evidence regarding the development of therapeutic strategies targeting MCL1 in cancer treatment, and discuss the promising future of targeting MCL1 via the ubiquitin–proteasome system in clinical practice.

scholarly journals Chronological aging leads to apoptosis in yeast

2004 ◽  
Vol 164 (4) ◽  
pp. 501-507 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Herker ◽  
Helmut Jungwirth ◽  
Katharina A. Lehmann ◽  
Corinna Maldener ◽  
Kai-Uwe Fröhlich ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Apoptotic Cell ◽  
Selective Advantage ◽  
Yeast Cells ◽  
Unicellular Organism ◽  
Chronological Aging ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Yeast Cultures ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Cell Suicide

During the past years, yeast has been successfully established as a model to study mechanisms of apoptotic regulation. However, the beneficial effects of such a cell suicide program for a unicellular organism remained obscure. Here, we demonstrate that chronologically aged yeast cultures die exhibiting typical markers of apoptosis, accumulate oxygen radicals, and show caspase activation. Age-induced cell death is strongly delayed by overexpressing YAP1, a key transcriptional regulator in oxygen stress response. Disruption of apoptosis through deletion of yeast caspase YCA1 initially results in better survival of aged cultures. However, surviving cells lose the ability of regrowth, indicating that predamaged cells accumulate in the absence of apoptotic cell removal. Moreover, wild-type cells outlast yca1 disruptants in direct competition assays during long-term aging. We suggest that apoptosis in yeast confers a selective advantage for this unicellular organism, and demonstrate that old yeast cells release substances into the medium that stimulate survival of the clone.

scholarly journals HSF-1 activates the ubiquitin proteasome system to promote non-apoptotic developmental cell death in C. elegans

eLife ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maxime J Kinet ◽  
Jennifer A Malin ◽  
Mary C Abraham ◽  
Elyse S Blum ◽  
Melanie R Silverman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Death ◽  
Apoptotic Cell ◽  
Ubiquitin Proteasome System ◽  
Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase ◽  
Death Process ◽  
Heat Shock Factor 1 ◽  
Vertebrate Development ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Ubiquitin Proteasome ◽  
Developmental Cell Death

Apoptosis is a prominent metazoan cell death form. Yet, mutations in apoptosis regulators cause only minor defects in vertebrate development, suggesting that another developmental cell death mechanism exists. While some non-apoptotic programs have been molecularly characterized, none appear to control developmental cell culling. Linker-cell-type death (LCD) is a morphologically conserved non-apoptotic cell death process operating in Caenorhabditis elegans and vertebrate development, and is therefore a compelling candidate process complementing apoptosis. However, the details of LCD execution are not known. Here we delineate a molecular-genetic pathway governing LCD in C. elegans. Redundant activities of antagonistic Wnt signals, a temporal control pathway, and mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase signaling control heat shock factor 1 (HSF-1), a conserved stress-activated transcription factor. Rather than protecting cells, HSF-1 promotes their demise by activating components of the ubiquitin proteasome system, including the E2 ligase LET-70/UBE2D2 functioning with E3 components CUL-3, RBX-1, BTBD-2, and SIAH-1. Our studies uncover design similarities between LCD and developmental apoptosis, and provide testable predictions for analyzing LCD in vertebrates.

scholarly journals The F-box protein Ppa is a common regulator of core EMT factors Twist, Snail, Slug, and Sip1

2011 ◽  
Vol 194 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Lander ◽  
Kara Nordin ◽  
Carole LaBonne
Keyword(s):  
Structural Diversity ◽  
Ubiquitin Proteasome System ◽  
Common Mechanism ◽  
Rich Domain ◽  
Transcriptional Regulatory ◽  
Snail Family ◽  
Ubiquitin Proteasome ◽  
Snail Proteins ◽  
The Stability ◽  
F Box Protein

A small group of core transcription factors, including Twist, Snail, Slug, and Sip1, control epithelial–mesenchymal transitions (EMTs) during both embryonic development and tumor metastasis. However, little is known about how these factors are coordinately regulated to mediate the requisite behavioral and fate changes. It was recently shown that a key mechanism for regulating Snail proteins is by modulating their stability. In this paper, we report that the stability of Twist is also regulated by the ubiquitin–proteasome system. We found that the same E3 ubiquitin ligase known to regulate Snail family proteins, Partner of paired (Ppa), also controlled Twist stability and did so in a manner dependent on the Twist WR-rich domain. Surprisingly, Ppa could also target the third core EMT regulatory factor Sip1 for proteasomal degradation. Together, these results indicate that despite the structural diversity of the core transcriptional regulatory factors implicated in EMT, a common mechanism has evolved for controlling their stability and therefore their function.

scholarly journals EVI/WLS function is regulated by ubiquitination and linked to ER-associated degradation by ERLIN2

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucie M. Wolf ◽  
Annika M. Lambert ◽  
Julie Haenlin ◽  
Michael Boutros
Keyword(s):  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Secretory Pathway ◽  
Ubiquitin Proteasome System ◽  
E3 Ligases ◽  
Wnt Proteins ◽  
Interaction Partners ◽  
Ubiquitin Proteasome ◽  
Endogenous Substrate ◽  
Ubiquitin Conjugating Enzymes ◽  
Ubiquitination Machinery

WNT signalling is important for development in all metazoan animals and is associated with various human diseases. The Ubiquitin-Proteasome System (UPS) and regulatory ER-associated degradation (ERAD) have been implicated in the production of WNT proteins. Here, we investigated how the WNT secretory factor EVI/WLS is ubiquitinated, recognised by ERAD components and subsequently removed from the secretory pathway. We performed a focused, immunoblot-based RNAi screen for factors that influence EVI/WLS protein stability. We identified the VCP-binding proteins FAF2 and UBXN4 as novel interaction partners of EVI/WLS and showed that ERLIN2 links EVI/WLS to the ubiquitination machinery. Interestingly, we found in addition that EVI/WLS is ubiquitinated and degraded in cells irrespective of their level of WNT production. This K11, K48, and K63-linked ubiquitination is mediated by the E2 ubiquitin conjugating enzymes UBE2J2, UBE2K, and UBE2N, but independent of the E3 ligases HRD1/SYVN or GP78/AMFR. Taken together, our study identified factors that link the UPS to the WNT secretory pathway and provides mechanistic details on the fate of an endogenous substrate of regulatory ERAD in mammalian cells.

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