Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:6.3.2.19 (ubiquitin-protein ligase)
799 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The retinoids are natural and synthetic derivatives of vitamin A. These cancer therapeutic and chemopreventive agents exert anti-proliferative, differentiation-inducing, pro-apoptotic and other biological effects. The retinoids act through nuclear retinoid receptors to activate target genes that signal retinoid biological effects. Direct retinoid targets contain retinoid responsive elements in their promoters, are directly regulated by retinoids and reproduce retinoid biological effects once introduced into a responsive cell context. Through studies conducted in in vitro models, a proteolytic mechanism was linked to retinoid induced tumor cell differentiation and chemopreventive effects. Retinoid treatments can activate the proteasome-dependent degradation pathway. In acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), all-trans-retinoic acid (RA) can also trigger degradation of the oncogenic protein, PML-RARalpha. Microarray analysis revealed involvement of an E1-like ubiquitin-activating enzyme, UBE1L, in this induction. Retinoid chemopreventive activity in human bronchial epithelial cells was linked to triggering of G(1) cell cycle arrest, concomitant growth suppression, and a decline in expression of G(1) cyclins. This can engage proteasome-dependent cyclin degradation, causing G(1) arrest and this permits repair of genomic DNA damage. The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) was also identified as a retinoid target. Retinoids exert diverse biological effects. Different retinoid target genes likely trigger distinct effects. Identification of target genes is the next step towards a molecular understanding of mechanisms of retinoid response or resistance in cancer therapy and chemoprevention.
Cancer Biol Ther
PMID:Retinoid targets in cancer therapy and chemoprevention. 1450 93

Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) cases expressing the t(15,17) product, promyelocytic leukemia (PML)/retinoic acid receptor alpha (RARalpha), have clinical remissions through leukemic cell differentiation after all-trans-retinoic acid (RA) treatment. This differentiation therapy propelled interest in uncovering molecular mechanisms for RA-dependent APL differentiation. We previously identified the ubiquitin-activating enzyme-E1-like protein (UBE1L) as an RA-regulated target gene in APL that triggers PML/RARalpha degradation and apoptosis. This study reports that conjugation of the ubiquitin-like species, interferon-stimulated gene, 15-kDa protein (ISG15), also occurs during RA-induced APL differentiation. Knock-down of UBE1L expression inhibited this conjugation. RA treatment of APL and other RA-responsive leukemic cells induced expression of UBE1L and ISG15 as well as intracellular ISG15 conjugates. Notably, ISG15 conjugation did not occur in RA-resistant NB4-R1 APL cells. Induction of UBE1L and ISG15 along with ISG15 conjugation in RA-sensitive NB4-S1 APL cells were detected following treatment with specific retinoids and type I interferon (IFN). UBE1L and ISG15 mRNAs were co-expressed in normal human tissues that were examined. In contrast, UBE1L mRNA expression was markedly repressed in several cancer cell lines. A physical association was found between UBE1L and ISG15 in vivo. This required the conserved diglycine motif in the carboxyl terminus of ISG15. Targeting UBE1L expression with small inhibitory RNA or small hairpin RNA inhibited IFN and RA-induced ISG15 conjugation. Formation of ISG15 conjugates through induction of an activating enzyme represents a novel pharmacologic mechanism for regulation of this ubiquitin-related species. Taken together, the observed rela tionship between expression of UBE1L and ISG15, their physical association and coordinate regulation, and induced ISG15 conjugation during leukemic cell differentiation implicate an important role for these proteins in retinoid response.
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PMID:Involvement of UBE1L in ISG15 conjugation during retinoid-induced differentiation of acute promyelocytic leukemia. 1497 9

Mutations in the parkin gene cause autosomal-recessive juvenile parkinsonism. Parkin encodes a ubiquitin-protein ligase characterized by having the RBR domain, composed of two RING fingers plus an IBR/DRIL domain. The RBR family is defined as the group of genes whose products contain an RBR domain. RBR family members exist in all eukaryotic species for which significant sequence data is available, including animals, plants, fungi, and several protists. The integration of comparative genomics with structural and functional data allows us to conclude that RBR proteins have multiple roles, not only in protein quality control mechanisms, but also as indirect regulators of transcription. A recently formulated hypothesis, based on a case of gene fusion, suggested that RBR proteins may be often part of cullin-containing ubiquitin ligase complexes. Recent data on Parkin protein agrees with that hypothesis. We discuss the involvement of RBR proteins in several neurodegenerative diseases and cancer.
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PMID:Parkin and relatives: the RBR family of ubiquitin ligases. 1515 79

Intracellular protein degradation is a tightly regulated process that in many cases is controlled by protein ubiquitylation. The ubiquitin pathway is a major route by which cells not only remove normal proteins at the appropriate time but also abnormally folded normal or mutant, cytoplasmic and membrane, proteins. This has led to a major impetus to identify constituents of the pathway. The key components that regulate substrate ubiquitylation are the ubiquitin-protein ligases. Ligases come in many forms, from single proteins to very large multiprotein complexes. Specificity of targeting can be modulated by the requirement for post-translational modifications such as phosphorylation, hydroxylation or oxidation of the substrate and, in some cases, the ligase itself. The requirement for substrate modification prior to ubiquitylation allows the same ligase to target different substrates within the same cell at different times. Abnormal intracellular protein processing is a common feature of many human diseases including neurodegenerative diseases and cancer. It may not represent the causative factor that initiates the disease process but may be a downstream regulator of the toxic effect. These abnormalities often arise from the loss of a key protein-protein interaction. As a consequence, mutated proteins can have very different half-lives from their normal counterparts. This can affect the levels of their activity and/or lead to the formation of protein aggregates (inclusion bodies/aggresomes). In this review, we aim to highlight examples of diseases where abnormal protein ubiquitylation is proposed to be a key regulator of the disease process. The recent success of the proteasome inhibitor Bortezomib (PS-341) for treatment of relapsed, refractory myeloma suggests that the modulation of individual ubiquitin-protein ligase activities with synthetic agents may represent a novel approach that has enormous potential for the treatment of a wide range of diseases.
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PMID:Ubiquitin-protein ligases--novel therapeutic targets? 1518 May 21

Maintenance of p53 function is important for normal cell growth and development, and loss of p53 function contributes directly to malignant tumor development. The recently discovered Pirh2 protein is an ubiquitin-protein ligase that negatively regulates p53 through activity by targeting it for degradation. To determine how Pirh2 may mediate lung tumorigenesis, we evaluated Pirh2 expression in human and mouse lung tumor samples and paired normal lung tissues using immunoblot analysis and immunohistochemistry. Pirh2 protein expression was higher in 27 (84%) of 32 human lung neoplasms than in matched normal lung tissue and in 14 of 15 mouse lung tumors evaluated. In addition, p53 protein was more ubiquitinated in the mouse lung tumors than in normal tissue, and overall p53 expression was lower than that in normal tissue. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that increased Pirh2 expression affects lung tumorigenesis by reducing p53 activity. To our knowledge, this is the first description of altered Pirh2 expression in human and mouse tumors.
J Natl Cancer Inst 2004 Nov 17
PMID:Expression of Pirh2, a newly identified ubiquitin protein ligase, in lung cancer. 1554 85

5-Azacytidine- and 5-aza-deoxycytidine (5-aza-CdR)-mediated reactivation of tumor suppressor genes silenced by promoter methylation has provided an alternate approach in cancer therapy. Despite the importance of epigenetic therapy, the mechanism of action of DNA-hypomethylating agents in vivo has not been completely elucidated. Here we report that among three functional DNA methyltransferases (DNMT1, DNMT3A, and DNMT3B), the maintenance methyltransferase, DNMT1, was rapidly degraded by the proteasomal pathway upon treatment of cells with these drugs. The 5-aza-CdR-induced degradation, which occurs in the nucleus, could be blocked by proteasomal inhibitors and required a functional ubiquitin-activating enzyme. The drug-induced degradation occurred even in the absence of DNA replication. Treatment of cells with other nucleoside analogs modified at C-5, 5-fluorodeoxyuridine and 5-fluorocytidine, did not induce the degradation of DNMT1. Mutation of cysteine at the catalytic site of Dnmt1 (involved in the formation of a covalent intermediate with cytidine in DNA) to serine (CS) did not impede 5-aza-CdR-induced degradation. Neither the wild type nor the catalytic site mutant of Dnmt3a or Dnmt3b was sensitive to 5-aza-CdR-mediated degradation. These results indicate that covalent bond formation between the enzyme and 5-aza-CdR-incorporated DNA is not essential for enzyme degradation. Mutation of the conserved KEN box, a targeting signal for proteasomal degradation, to AAA increased the basal level of Dnmt1 and blocked its degradation by 5-aza-CdR. Deletion of the catalytic domain increased the expression of Dnmt1 but did not confer resistance to 5-aza-CdR-induced degradation. Both the nuclear localization signal and the bromo-adjacent homology domain were essential for nuclear localization and for the 5-aza-CdR-mediated degradation of Dnmt1. Polyubiquitination of Dnmt1 in vivo and its stabilization upon treatment of cells with a proteasomal inhibitor indicate that the level of Dnmt1 is controlled by ubiquitin-dependent proteasomal degradation. Overexpression of the substrate recognition component, Cdh1 but not Cdc20, of APC (anaphase-promoting complex)/cyclosome ubiquitin ligase reduced the level of Dnmt1 in both untreated and 5-aza-CdR-treated cells. In contrast, the depletion of Cdh1 with small interfering RNA increased the basal level of DNMT1 that blocked 5-aza-CdR-induced degradation. Dnmt1 interacted with Cdh1 and colocalized in the nucleus at discrete foci. Both Dnmt1 and Cdh1 were phosphorylated in vivo, but only Cdh1 was significantly dephosphorylated upon 5-aza-CdR treatment, suggesting its involvement in initiating the proteasomal degradation of DNMT1. These results demonstrate a unique mechanism for the selective degradation of DNMT1, the maintenance DNA methyltransferase, by well-known DNA-hypomethylating agents.
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PMID:5-Aza-deoxycytidine induces selective degradation of DNA methyltransferase 1 by a proteasomal pathway that requires the KEN box, bromo-adjacent homology domain, and nuclear localization signal. 2971 69

S-phase kinase associated protein 2 (Skp2) is a member of an F-box family of substrate-recognition subunits of SCF ubiquitin-protein ligase complexes that has been implicated in the ubiquitin-mediated degradation of several key regulators of mammalian G1 progression, including the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27Kip1, a dosage-dependent tumor suppressor protein. The anti-sense effect was confirmed in two cell lines of oral cancer cells that also exhibited over-expression of the Skp2 protein. In this study, we examined the mechanism responsible for anti-sense-mediated growth inhibition of oral cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. Skp2-anti-sense treatment induced apoptosis characterized by an increase in the early apoptosis, fragmentation of nuclei and activation of caspase-3, -8 and -9. Moreover, the growth of xenograft tumors was markedly suppressed by Skp2-anti-sense treatment. Furthermore, histological specimen revealed apoptotic cell death was increased in Skp2-anti-sense treated tumors. Our results suggest that down-regulation of Skp2 appears to induce apoptosis in oral cancer cells, targeting this molecule could represent a promising new therapeutic approach for this type of cancer.
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PMID:Down-regulation of S-phase kinase associated protein 2 (Skp2) induces apoptosis in oral cancer cells. 1605 17

p27Kip1 that regulates the G1/S transition of cell cycle and inhibits Rho A signaling is frequently lost in several cancers leading to the deregulation of cell growth and cell motility. Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) regulate the export of p27Kip1 from nucleus to cytoplasm, followed by the degradation with proteases. Skp-2, a subunit of an SCF ubiquitin-protein ligase complex responsible for the ubiquitination of p27Kip1, is upregulated frequently in several cancers, leading to the decrease of p27Kip1. We applied human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) lentivirus-mediated RNA interference (RNAi) to melanoma cells with the BRAF mutation (V599E) and overexpressed Skp-2 and found that the simultaneous suppression of these activated oncogenes resulted in the effective inhibition of in vitro cell growth and invasive ability of melanoma cells accompanied by the additional increase of p27Kip1. Our results suggest that gene therapy against melanoma with the enhanced MAPK and ubiquitin-proteasomal pathways could be a specific and effective therapeutic strategy for cancers.
Int J Cancer 2006 Jan 15
PMID:Effective inhibition of cell growth and invasion of melanoma by combined suppression of BRAF (V599E) and Skp2 with lentiviral RNAi. 1605 31

Ehrlich ascites tumor cells (EATC) is a highly proliferative malignant cell line derived from mouse mammary epithelia, whereas their derivative, 0.28AS-2 cells, expressing antisense glutaminase mRNA, show a less transformed phenotype and loss of their tumorigenic capacity in vivo correlated with an inhibition of glutaminase expression. The mRNA differential display technique was applied to these two cell lines for the identification and isolation of genes whose transcription was altered. Side-by-side comparisons of cDNA patterns among relevant RNA samples revealed four genes significantly downregulated in 0.28AS-2 cells: high-mobility group Hmga2 protein, Fmnl3 or formin-like protein 3, Nedd-4 ubiquitin-protein ligase, and ubiquitin carboxyl-terminal hydrolase Usp-15. These positives were confirmed by Northern analysis. The four targeted genes have relevant functions in cell growth and proliferation. Our results show the validity of mRNA differential display technique to get insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying the acquisition of a more differentiated phenotype by tumor cells after inhibition of glutaminase expression.
Cancer Biol Ther 2006 Jan
PMID:Identification of genes downregulated in tumor cells expressing antisense glutaminase mRNA by differential display. 1629 18

The ubiquitin-proteasome proteolytic pathway plays a major role in selective protein degradation and regulates various cellular events including cell cycle progression, transcription, DNA repair, signal transduction, and immune response. Ubiquitin, a highly conserved small protein in eukaryotes, attaches to a target protein prior to degradation. The polyubiquitin chain tagged to the target protein is recognized by the 26S proteasome, a high-molecular-mass protease subunit complex, and the protein portion is degraded by the 26S proteasome. The potential of specific proteasome inhibitors, which act as anti-cancer agents, is now under intensive investigation, and bortezomib (PS-341), a proteasome inhibitor, has been recently approved by FDA for multiple myeloma treatment. Since ubiquitination of proteins requires the sequential action of three enzymes, ubiquitin-activating enzyme (E1), ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme (E2), and ubiquitin-protein ligase (E3), and polyubiquitination is a prerequisite for proteasome-mediated protein degradation, inhibitors of E1, E2, and E3 are reasonably thought to be drug candidates for treatment of diseases related to ubiquitination. Recently, various compounds inhibiting the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway have been isolated from natural resources. We also succeeded in isolating inhibitors against the proteasome and E1 enzyme from marine natural resources. In this review, we summarize the structures and biological activities of natural products that inhibit the ubiquitin-proteasome proteolytic pathway.
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PMID:Natural products inhibiting the ubiquitin-proteasome proteolytic pathway, a target for drug development. 1661 Oct 64


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