Weissman A M
Laboratory of Immune Cell Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-1152, USA.
Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol. 2001 Mar;2(3):169-78. doi: 10.1038/35056563.
Ubiquitylation--the conjugation of proteins with a small protein called ubiquitin--touches upon all aspects of eukaryotic biology, and its defective regulation is manifest in diseases that range from developmental abnormalities and autoimmunity to neurodegenerative diseases and cancer. A few years ago, we could only have dreamt of the complex arsenal of enzymes dedicated to ubiquitylation. Why has nature come up with so many ways of doing what seems to be such a simple job?
泛素化——即蛋白质与一种名为泛素的小蛋白质结合——涉及真核生物生物学的方方面面,其调控缺陷在从发育异常、自身免疫到神经退行性疾病和癌症等各种疾病中都有体现。几年前,我们还只能梦想有一系列专门用于泛素化的复杂酶类。大自然为何想出这么多方式来做看似如此简单的一项工作呢?