scholarly journals Keratin 6a reorganization for ubiquitin–proteasomal processing is a direct antimicrobial response

2017 ◽  
Vol 217 (2) ◽  
pp. 731-744 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan K.L. Chan ◽  
Don Yuen ◽  
Priscilla Hiu-Mei Too ◽  
Yan Sun ◽  
Belinda Willard ◽  
...  

Skin and mucosal epithelia deploy antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) to eliminate harmful microbes. We reported that the intermediate filament keratin 6a (K6a) is constitutively processed into antimicrobial fragments in corneal epithelial cells. In this study, we show that K6a network remodeling is a host defense response that directly up-regulates production of keratin-derived AMPs (KAMPs) by the ubiquitin–proteasome system (UPS). Bacterial ligands trigger K6a phosphorylation at S19, S22, S37, and S60, leading to network disassembly. Mutagenic analysis of K6a confirmed that the site-specific phosphorylation augmented its solubility. K6a in the cytosol is ubiquitinated by cullin-RING E3 ligases for subsequent proteasomal processing. Without an appreciable increase in K6a gene expression and proteasome activity, a higher level of cytosolic K6a results in enhanced KAMP production. Although proteasome-mediated proteolysis is known to produce antigenic peptides in adaptive immunity, our findings demonstrate its new role in producing AMPs for innate immune defense. Manipulating K6a phosphorylation or UPS activity may provide opportunities to harness the innate immunity of epithelia against infection.

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (21) ◽  
pp. 7936
Author(s):  
Jordan Blondelle ◽  
Andrea Biju ◽  
Stephan Lange

The well-orchestrated turnover of proteins in cross-striated muscles is one of the fundamental processes required for muscle cell function and survival. Dysfunction of the intricate protein degradation machinery is often associated with development of cardiac and skeletal muscle myopathies. Most muscle proteins are degraded by the ubiquitin–proteasome system (UPS). The UPS involves a number of enzymes, including E3-ligases, which tightly control which protein substrates are marked for degradation by the proteasome. Recent data reveal that E3-ligases of the cullin family play more diverse and crucial roles in cross striated muscles than previously anticipated. This review highlights some of the findings on the multifaceted functions of cullin-RING E3-ligases, their substrate adapters, muscle protein substrates, and regulatory proteins, such as the Cop9 signalosome, for the development of cross striated muscles, and their roles in the etiology of myopathies.


2008 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 1693-1707 ◽  
Author(s):  
Feng Qin ◽  
Yoh Sakuma ◽  
Lam-Son Phan Tran ◽  
Kyonoshin Maruyama ◽  
Satoshi Kidokoro ◽  
...  

Open Biology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 200041 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhuoyao Chen ◽  
Gregory A. Wasney ◽  
Sarah Picaud ◽  
Panagis Filippakopoulos ◽  
Masoud Vedadi ◽  
...  

Wnt signalling is dependent on dishevelled proteins (DVL1-3), which assemble an intracellular Wnt signalosome at the plasma membrane. The levels of DVL1-3 are regulated by multiple Cullin-RING E3 ligases that mediate their ubiquitination and degradation. The BTB-Kelch protein KLHL12 was the first E3 ubiquitin ligase to be identified for DVL1-3, but the molecular mechanisms determining its substrate interactions have remained unknown. Here, we mapped the interaction of DVL1-3 to a ‘PGXPP' motif that is conserved in other known partners and substrates of KLHL12, including PLEKHA4, PEF1, SEC31 and DRD4. To determine the binding mechanism, we solved a 2.4 Å crystal structure of the Kelch domain of KLHL12 in complex with a DVL1 peptide that bound with low micromolar affinity. The DVL1 substrate adopted a U-shaped turn conformation that enabled hydrophobic interactions with all six blades of the Kelch domain β-propeller. In cells, the mutation or deletion of this motif reduced the binding and ubiquitination of DVL1 and increased its stability confirming this sequence as a degron motif for KLHL12 recruitment. These results define the molecular mechanisms determining DVL regulation by KLHL12 and establish the KLHL12 Kelch domain as a new protein interaction module for a novel proline-rich motif.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan T. Lewno ◽  
Taixing Cui ◽  
Xuejun Wang

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.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (24) ◽  
pp. 6354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabine Spänig ◽  
Kristina Kellermann ◽  
Maja-Theresa Dieterlen ◽  
Thilo Noack ◽  
Sven Lehmann ◽  
...  

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.


Cancers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 1579 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ainsley Mike Antao ◽  
Apoorvi Tyagi ◽  
Kye-Seong Kim ◽  
Suresh Ramakrishna

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.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaowei Wu ◽  
Qingyu Luo ◽  
Zhihua Liu

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.


2019 ◽  
Vol 476 (10) ◽  
pp. 1465-1482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sayani Sarkar ◽  
Adaitya Prasad Behera ◽  
Prateeka Borar ◽  
Prerana Agarwal Banka ◽  
Ajit B. Datta

Abstract Ubiquitin RING E3 ligases (E3s) catalyze ubiquitin (Ub) transfer to their substrates by engaging E2∼Ub intermediates with the help of their RING domains. Different E3s have been found to contain a conserved tryptophan residue in their RING that plays an essential role in E2 binding and, hence, enzymatic activity. Many active E3s, however, lack this specific residue. We mined through the existing data to observe that the conservation of the tryptophan and quaternary organization of the RING domains are remarkably correlated. Monomeric RINGs possess the tryptophan while all well-characterized dimeric RINGs, except RNF8, contain other amino acid residues. Biochemical analyses on representative E3s and their mutants reveal that the tryptophan is essential for optimal enzymatic activity of monomeric RINGs whereas dimeric E3s with tryptophan display hyperactivity. Most critically, the introduction of the tryptophan restores the activity of inactive monomeric RNF4 mutants, an obligatory dimeric E3. Binding studies indicate that monomeric RINGs retained the tryptophan for their optimal functionality to compensate for weak Ub binding. On the other hand, tryptophan was omitted from dimeric RINGs during the course of evolution to prevent unwanted modifications and allow regulation of their activity through oligomerization.


2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 317 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sjoerd J L van Wijk ◽  
Sjoerd J de Vries ◽  
Patrick Kemmeren ◽  
Anding Huang ◽  
Rolf Boelens ◽  
...  

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