When Proteins Change Partners: Competition Between Proteins Maintains Cellular Balance Sep 15, 2009
14, 2009) Dieter Wolf, M.D., and colleagues at Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) have illuminated how competition between proteins enhances combinatorial diversity during ubiquitination -- the process that marks proteins for destruction. See also. (Science Daily)
Researchers identify new, cancer-causing role for protein Aug 28, 2009
Key to Akt activation is ubiquitination by a surprising culprit -- TRAF6 ... "Our novel findings are that Akt undergoes ubiquitination to be activated, and that TRAF6 regulates that process. We've found that TRAF6 is not just involved in the innate immune response, but plays a role in cell growth and carcinogenesis," Lin said ... While ubiquitins are best known for marking a defective protein for death by the cell's proteasome complex, Lin said, ubiquitination of Akt is not tied to the... (EurekAlert!)
Key Protein Can Help Cells Or Cause Cancer Jul 12, 2009
Studies in Liu's laboratory showed that the Plk1 molecule indirectly attacks p53 in a process called ubiquitination ... Topors binds itself to p53 molecules during the ubiquitination process ... Phosphorylation is basically an instruction from Plk1 to increase its ubiquitination activity, which kills p53 molecules. (Science Daily)
Why Low-Calorie Diet Extends Lifespans Jun 28, 2009
This process, called ubiquitination, flags protein substrates for destruction but can also serve as a regulatory signal ... "Overexpression of UBC-18 was not enough to extend the lifespan of worms but depleting it negated the effects of caloric restriction," says Carrano, who is busy looking for potential substrates of the UBC-18-WWP-1 ubiquitination complex. (Science Daily)
Potential New Target For Treatment Of Hormone Refractory Prostate Cancer Apr 15, 2009
The researchers identified RNF6 as an AR associated protein and demonstrated that RNF6 induced ubiquitination of the AR and promoted AR transcriptional activity. Ubiquitination is a common protein modification that mediates a diverse range of cellular activities ... One of the best known functions of ubiquitination is to promote protein degradation. (Science Daily)
A paradigm shift in immune response regulation Mar 20, 2009
Over the past decade, the overall picture of this large puzzle has been gradually pieced together to show that modifications in the cell protein - including the addition of phosphate groups (phosphorylation) or the conjugation of small modifier ubiquitin (ubiquitination) - play a central role in controlling the immune system. Scientists at Frankfurt's Goethe University led by Prof. (EurekAlert!)
