Abstract of related literatures |
1. Activation of the transcription factor nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappaB) is controlled by proteolysis of its inhibitory subunit (IkappaB) via the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. Signal-induced phosphorylation of IkappaBalpha by a large multisubunit complex containing IkappaB kinases is a prerequisite for ubiquitination. Here, we show that FWD1 (a mouse homologue of Slimb/betaTrCP), a member of the F-box/WD40-repeat proteins, is associated specifically with IkappaBalpha only when IkappaBalpha is phosphorylated. The introduction of FWD1 into cells significantly promotes ubiquitination and degradation of IkappaBalpha in concert with IkappaB kinases, resulting in nuclear translocation of NF-kappaB. In addition, FWD1 strikingly evoked the ubiquitination of IkappaBalpha in the in vitro system. In contrast, a dominant-negative form of FWD1 inhibits the ubiquitination, leading to stabilization of IkappaBalpha. These results suggest that the substrate-specific degradation of IkappaBalpha is mediated by a Skp1/Cull 1/F-box protein (SCF) FWD1 ubiquitin-ligase complex and that FWD1 serves as an intracellular receptor for phosphorylated IkappaBalpha. Skp1/Cullin/F-box protein FWD1 might play a critical role in transcriptional regulation of NF-kappaB through control of IkappaB protein stability. PMID: [10097128]
2. This study describes comprehensive polling of transcription start and termination sites and analysis of previously unidentified full-length complementary DNAs derived from the mouse genome. We identify the 5' and 3' boundaries of 181,047 transcripts with extensive variation in transcripts arising from alternative promoter usage, splicing, and polyadenylation. There are 16,247 new mouse protein-coding transcripts, including 5154 encoding previously unidentified proteins. Genomic mapping of the transcriptome reveals transcriptional forests, with overlapping transcription on both strands, separated by deserts in which few transcripts are observed. The data provide a comprehensive platform for the comparative analysis of mammalian transcriptional regulation in differentiation and development. PMID: [16141072]
3. The National Institutes of Health's Mammalian Gene Collection (MGC) project was designed to generate and sequence a publicly accessible cDNA resource containing a complete open reading frame (ORF) for every human and mouse gene. The project initially used a random strategy to select clones from a large number of cDNA libraries from diverse tissues. Candidate clones were chosen based on 5'-EST sequences, and then fully sequenced to high accuracy and analyzed by algorithms developed for this project. Currently, more than 11,000 human and 10,000 mouse genes are represented in MGC by at least one clone with a full ORF. The random selection approach is now reaching a saturation point, and a transition to protocols targeted at the missing transcripts is now required to complete the mouse and human collections. Comparison of the sequence of the MGC clones to reference genome sequences reveals that most cDNA clones are of very high sequence quality, although it is likely that some cDNAs may carry missense variants as a consequence of experimental artifact, such as PCR, cloning, or reverse transcriptase errors. Recently, a rat cDNA component was added to the project, and ongoing frog (Xenopus) and zebrafish (Danio) cDNA projects were expanded to take advantage of the high-throughput MGC pipeline. PMID: [15489334]
4. Signal-induced phosphorylation of IkappaBalpha targets this inhibitor of NF-kappaB for ubiquitination and subsequent degradation, thus allowing NF-kappaB to enter the nucleus to turn on its target genes. We report here the identification of an IkappaB-ubiquitin (Ub) ligase complex containing the F-box/WD40-repeat protein, beta-TrCP, a vertebrate homolog of Drosophila Slimb. beta-TrCP binds to IkappaBalpha only when the latter is specifically phosphorylated by an IkappaB kinase complex. Moreover, immunopurified beta-TrCP ubiquitinates phosphorylated IkappaBalpha at specific lysines in the presence of Ub-activating (E1) and -conjugating (Ubch5) enzymes. A beta-TrCP mutant lacking the F-box inhibits the signal-induced degradation of IkappaBalpha and subsequent activation of NF-kappaB-dependent transcription. Furthermore, Drosophila embryos deficient in slimb fail to activate twist and snail, two genes known to be regulated by the NF-kappaB homolog, Dorsal. These biochemical and genetic data strongly suggest that Slimb/beta-TrCP is the specificity determinant for the signal-induced ubiquitination of IkappaBalpha. PMID: [9990853]
5. The SCF complex is a type of ubiquitin ligase that consists of the invariable components SKP1, CUL1, and RBX1 as well as a variable component, known as an F-box protein, that is the main determinant of substrate specificity. The Caenorhabditis elegans F-box- and WD40-repeat-containing protein SEL-10 functionally and physically associates with LIN-12 and SEL-12, orthologues of mammalian Notch and presenilin, respectively. We have now identified a gene (which we call Fbxw6) that encodes a mouse homologue (F-box-WD40 repeat protein 6, or FBW6) of SEL-10 and is expressed mainly in brain, heart, and testis. Co-immunoprecipitation analysis showed that FBW6 interacts with SKP1 and CUL1, indicating that these three proteins form an SCF complex. Comparison of the genomic organization of Fbxw6, which is located on mouse chromosome 3.3E3, with that of mouse Fbxw1, Fbxw2, and Fbxw4 showed only a low level of similarity, indicating that these genes diverged relatively early and thereafter evolved independently. PMID: [11735228]
6. N-glycosylation of proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) has a central role in protein quality control. Here we report that N-glycan serves as a signal for degradation by the Skp1-Cullin1-Fbx2-Roc1 (SCF(Fbx2)) ubiquitin ligase complex. The F-box protein Fbx2 (ref. 4) binds specifically to proteins attached to N-linked high-mannose oligosaccharides and subsequently contributes to ubiquitination of N-glycosylated proteins. Pre-integrin beta 1 is a target of Fbx2; these two proteins interact in the cytosol after inhibition of the proteasome. In addition, expression of the mutant Fbx2 Delta F, which lacks the F-box domain that is essential for forming the SCF complex, appreciably blocks degradation of typical substrates of the ER-associated degradation pathway. Our results indicate that SCF(Fbx2) ubiquitinates N-glycosylated proteins that are translocated from the ER to the cytosol by the quality control mechanism. PMID: [12140560]
7. Neurons communicate with each other through synapses. To establish the precise yet flexible connections that make up neural networks in the brain, continuous synaptic modulation is required. The ubiquitin-proteasome system of protein degradation is one of the critical mechanisms that underlie this process, playing crucial roles in the regulation of synaptic structure and function. We identified a novel ubiquitin ligase, Fbxo45, that functions at synapses. Fbxo45 is evolutionarily conserved and selectively expressed in the nervous system. We demonstrated that the knockdown of Fbxo45 in primary cultured hippocampal neurons resulted in a greater frequency of miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents. We also found that Fbxo45 induces the degradation of a synaptic vesicle-priming factor, Munc13-1. We propose that Fbxo45 plays an important role in the regulation of neurotransmission by modulating Munc13-1 at the synapse. PMID: [19996097]
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