How does ubiquitin regulate synapses? Let me count the ways

摘要

Ubiquitination is a 'ubiquitous' cellular signalling system that can regulate the abundance and/or activity of proteins. Ubiquitin, either as a single molecule or in poly-ubiquitin chains, can be attached to proteins and alter their turnover, cellular localization or function. Perhaps the best known activity of ubiquitination is to regulate the degradation of proteins by the proteasome. Ubiquitination is a dynamic process that is regulated by different families of enzymes, some of which attach ubiquitin to proteins and build ubiquitin chains and others which remove ubiquitin from proteins. The many potential functions of ubiquitination are suggested by the observation that ubiquitin chains can be constructed in a variety of topologies, each of which has unique signalling consequences.