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Query: EC:6.3.2.19 (ubiquitin-protein ligase)
 799 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

ts85, a cell-line that harbors a mutant thermolabile ubiquitin-activating enzyme, E1, fails to degrade short-lived proteins at the restrictive temperature (Ciechanover, A., Finley, D., and Varshavsky, A. (1984) Cell 37, 57-66). It is not known whether the ubiquitin system is also involved in the degradation of long-lived proteins. In the present study we show that upon shifting the mutant cells to the restrictive temperature, there is no change in the rate of degradation of long-lived proteins. In contrast, shifting the wild-type cells (FM3A) to the high temperature is accompanied by a 2-fold increase in the rate of proteolysis of this group of proteins. This heat-induced accelerated degradation can be completely inhibited by NH4Cl and chloroquine. Similarly, exposure of the cells to starvation, a stimulus that activates the autophagic-lysosomal pathway, has no effect on the degradation of long-lived proteins in the mutant cells following inactivation of E1. Under the same conditions, the degradation rate in the wild-type cells increases almost 4-fold. A revertant of the ts85 cells behaved in a similar manner to the wild-type cells. Analogous results were obtained using a different cell line that also harbors a thermolabile E1 (ts20) (Kulka, R. G. et al. (1988) J. Biol. Chem. 263, 15726-15731). Cycloheximide and 3-methyladenine, inhibitors of formation of autophagic vacuoles, suppress the heat-induced accelerated degradation in the wild-type cells. Taken together, the results suggest that: 1. heat stress induces enhanced degradation of intracellular proteins, 2. the process occurs most probably in autophagic vacuoles, 3. activation of ubiquitin is required for enhanced degradation to occur, and 4. the activation is involved most probably in formation of the autophagic vacuoles.
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PMID:The ubiquitin-activating enzyme is required for lysosomal degradation of cellular proteins under stress. 180 98

ts85, a cell line that harbors a mutant thermolabile ubiquitin-activating enzyme, E1, fails to degrade short lived proteins at the restrictive temperature (Ciechanover, A., Finley, D., and Varshavsky, A. (1984) Cell 37, 57-66). However, the involvement of the ubiquitin system in the degradation of long lived proteins (most cellular proteins fall in this category) has not been addressed. In the present study we show that upon shifting the mutant cells to the restrictive temperature, there is no change in the rate of degradation of long lived proteins. In contrast, shifting the wild-type cells (FM3A) to the high temperature is accompanied by a 2-fold increase in the rate of proteolysis of this group of proteins. This heat-induced accelerated degradation can be inhibited completely by NH4Cl and chloroquine. Similarly, exposure of the cells to starvation, a stimulus that activates the autophagic-lysosomal pathway, has no effect on the degradation of long lived proteins in the mutant cells after inactivation of E1. Under the same conditions, the degradation rate in the wild-type cells increases almost 4-fold. Analogous results were obtained using a different cell line that also harbors a thermolabile E1 (ts20 (Kulka, R. G., Raboy, B., Schuster, R., Parag, H. A., Diamond, G., Ciechanover, A., and Marcus, M. (1988) J. Biol. Chem. 263, 15726-15731)). Cycloheximide and 3-methyladenine, known inhibitors of formation of autophagic vacuoles, inhibit the heat-induced accelerated degradation of long lived proteins in wild-type cells. Taken together, the results suggest that 1) heat stress induces enhanced degradation of intracellular proteins; 2) the process occurs most probably in autophagic vacuoles; and 3) activation of ubiquitin is required for the formation of these vacuoles. As there is no change in the basal rate of degradation of intracellular proteins in the mutant cells at the restrictive temperature, it appears that the ubiquitin system is not involved in their breakdown.
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PMID:The ubiquitin-activating enzyme, E1, is required for stress-induced lysosomal degradation of cellular proteins. 184 80

We have previously shown that stress-induced protein degradation requires a functional ubiquitin-activating enzyme and the autophagic-lysosomal pathway. In this study, we examined the occurrence of ubiquitin-protein conjugates that form during nutrient starvation. Kidney and liver epithelial cells respond to nutrient stress by enhancing autophagy and protein degradation. We have shown that this degradative response was more dramatic in nondividing cultures. In addition, the onset of autophagy was suppressed by pactamycin, cycloheximide, and puromycin. We observed an accumulation of ubiquitinated proteins coincident with the degradative response to amino acid starvation. The stress-induced protein ubiquitination was not affected by cycloheximide, indicating that protein synthesis was not required. The ubiquitinated proteins were localized to the cytosol and subcellular fractions enriched with autophagosomes and lysosomes. The incorporation of the ubiquitinated proteins into autolysosomes was dramatically reduced by 3-methyladenine, an inhibitor of autophagy. The evidence suggests that ubiquitinated proteins are sequestered by autophagy for degradation. We next set out to identify those primary ubiquitinated proteins at 60 kDa and 68 kDa. Polyclonal antibodies were prepared against these proteins that had been immunopurified from rat liver lysosomes. The antibodies prepared against those 68 kDa proteins also recognized a 40 kDa protein in cytosolic fractions. Internal amino acid sequences obtained from two cyanogen bromide fragments of this 40 kDa protein were shown to be identical to sequences in liver fructose1,6-bisphosphate aldolase B. Anti-Ub68 antibodies recognized purified aldolase A and aldolase B. Conversely, antibodies prepared against aldolase B recognized the 40 kDa aldolase as well as four to five high molecular weight forms, including a 68 kDa protein. Finally, we have shown that the degradation of aldolase B was enhanced during amino acid and serum starvation. This degradation was suppressed by chloroquine and 3-methyladenine, suggesting that aldolase B was being degraded within autolysosomes. We propose that aldolase B is ubiquitinated within the cytosol and then transported into autophagosomes and autolysosomes for degradation during nutrient stress.
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PMID:Ubiquitinated aldolase B accumulates during starvation-induced lysosomal proteolysis. 988 86

The fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe has three putative ubiquitin-protein ligases of the Nedd4/Rsp5 family, named Pub1p, Pub2p and Pub3p. Pub1p has been reported to be involved in cell cycle regulation and proliferation under acidic pH conditions. Here we characterize Pub2p, which contains a conserved HECT domain and a WW domain but lacks a C2 domain. Transcription of the pub2(+) gene was constitutive and further enhanced by nitrogen starvation. A pub2-null mutation gave no remarkable phenotypes, but intensified temperature sensitivity in a pub1Delta background. Moderately overexpressed pub2(+) suppressed the temperature sensitivity of pub1Delta cells, which suggests that the function of Pub2p overlaps with that of Pub1p. Overexpression of pub2(+) by a strong nmt1 promoter in wild-type strains caused growth arrest and cell elongation, probably owing to defects in G2 progression or the G2/M transition. Unlike Pub1p, however, overexpression of Pub2p did not reduce the levels of Cdc25p. Pub2-GFP was found throughout the cell, especially at the cell surface in the polar regions. Pub2p contains a conserved cysteine residue (Cys639) in its putative catalytic HECT domain that can be thiol-ubiquitinated. Substitution of Cys639 by alanine (Pub2CA) caused a functional defect, because growth arrest and cell elongation were not induced by overexpression of Pub2CA. A chimeric Pub1 protein, in which the HECT domain was replaced by the Pub2 HECT domain, completely suppressed the temperature sensitivity of pub1Delta cells, suggesting that the HECT domain of Pub2p has the catalytic activity of a ubiquitin ligase. We conclude that Pub2p is a HECT-type ubiquitin-protein ligase that shares partially overlapping function with Pub1p.
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PMID:The novel HECT-type ubiquitin-protein ligase Pub2p shares partially overlapping function with Pub1p in Schizosaccharomyces pombe. 1195 16

Reduced expression level of p27, a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, is associated with high aggressiveness and poor prognosis of various malignant tumors, including gastric carcinoma. S-phase kinase-associated protein 2 (Skp2), a member of the F-box family of substrate-recognition subunits of Skp1-Cullin-F-box ubiquitin-protein ligase complexes, is necessary for p27 ubiquitination and degradation. In the present study, we examined the clinical and biological significance of Skp2 expression in human gastric carcinoma and the relationship between the expression of Skp2 and p27. Northern blot analysis showed that Skp2 mRNA was overexpressed in carcinoma tissues (P < 0.05), and the high Skp2 expression group showed significantly poorer prognosis in 98 patients with gastric carcinoma (P < 0.05). Immunohistochemical analysis showed that Skp2 protein was expressed predominantly in carcinoma cells. We also found an inverse correlation between the expression of Skp2 mRNA and p27 protein in vivo (P < 0.01). To analyze the biological behavior of Skp2, we established stably Skp2-transfected gastric carcinoma cell lines. Western blot analysis showed that Skp2-transfected cells expressed lower levels of p27 protein than the control cells. Skp2-transfected cells showed significantly higher levels of growth rate (P < 0.05), percentage of bromodeoxyuridine-positive cells after serum starvation (P < 0.01), resistance to apoptosis induction by actinomycin D treatment (P < 0.05), and invasion potential (P < 0.01) than the control cells. These findings indicate that Skp2 expression can modulate the malignant phenotype of gastric carcinoma, possibly via p27 proteolysis. Skp2 can play an important role in gastric carcinoma progression and would be a novel target for the treatment of gastric carcinoma as well as a strong prognostic marker.
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PMID:Clinical and biological significance of S-phase kinase-associated protein 2 (Skp2) gene expression in gastric carcinoma: modulation of malignant phenotype by Skp2 overexpression, possibly via p27 proteolysis. 1209 95

p53-Induced ring-H2 protein (Pirh2), a recently identified ubiquitin-protein ligase, interacts with p27(Kip1) to promote ubiquitination of p27(Kip1) independently of p53. High Pirh2 and low p27(Kip1) immunoreactivity are associated with a poor prognosis in several cancers, including resistant phenotypes. In the present study, we investigated the role of Pirh2 and p27(Kip1) in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) progression. Immunohistochemical analysis was performed on formalin-fixed paraffin sections of 87 specimens. Statistical analysis showed that expression of Pirh2 was negatively related to p27(Kip1) expression (r = 0.787; P < .05), and Pirh2 expression correlated significantly with histologic grade (P < .001), venous invasion (P = .004), tumor size (P = .024), and the presence of multiple tumor-bearing lymph nodes (P = .017), whereas p27(Kip1) expression correlated significantly with histologic grade (P < .001), venous invasion (P = .048), and cirrhosis (P = .028). By Kaplan-Meier analysis, the survival curves of low versus high expressers of Pirh2 and p27(Kip1) showed significant separation (P < .01). Molecular interaction could be demonstrated between Pirh2 and p27(Kip1) in three HCC cell lines. In vitro, following release of two HCC cell lines from serum starvation, the expression of Pirh2 was upregulated, whereas p27(Kip1) was downregulated. Our results suggest that Pirh2 mediates the degradation of p27(Kip1) and participates in cell proliferation in human HCC. These findings provide a rational framework for further development of Pirh2 inhibitors as a novel class of anti-tumor agents.
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PMID:Expression of Pirh2, a p27(Kip1) ubiquitin ligase, in hepatocellular carcinoma: correlation with p27(Kip1) and cell proliferation. 2123 67

To survive and reproduce, living organisms must evolve numerous mechanisms to re-adjust their physiology when encountering adverse conditions that subject them to severe stress. We found that short-term starvation (STS) stress in young adult male Caenorhabditis elegans can significantly improve their vitality (relative to nonstressed males) when they are aged. In addition, we found that stress-treated aged males maintained reproductive activity equivalent to young males, whereas nonstressed aged males quickly lost reproductive ability. STS stress can preserve sperm number and quality in aged male worms. Spermatogenesis involves germ cell mitosis and meiosis. We found that germ cell meiotic activity is more sensitive to aging than mitotic activity and is declining rapidly with age. We examined the role of numerous factors important for spermatogenesis on STS-preserved spermatogenesis during aging. Our results show that mutant strains deficient in anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C) function fail to exhibit the STS stress-enhanced spermatogenesis found in wild-type N2 worms, suggesting that the mechanism underlying starvation-induced spermatogenesis involves the APC/C complex, a conserved ubiquitin-protein ligase E3 complex. Furthermore, transgenic expression of FZY-1/CDC-20, a coactivator of APC/C, ameliorated the age-associated decline of meiosis, similar to the hormetic effect of STS.
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PMID:Short-term starvation stress at young adult stages enhances meiotic activity of germ cells to maintain spermatogenesis in aged male Caenorhabditis elegans. 3081 5