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Waltho A, Sommer T. Getting to the Root of Branched Ubiquitin Chains: A Review of Current Methods and Functions. Methods Mol Biol 2023; 2602:19-38. [PMID: 36446964 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2859-1_2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Nearly 20 years since the first branched ubiquitin (Ub) chains were identified by mass spectrometry, our understanding of these chains and their function is still evolving. This is due to the limitations of classical Ub research techniques in identifying these chains and the vast complexity of potential branched chains. Considering only lysine or N-terminal methionine attachment sites, there are already 28 different possible branch points. Taking into account recently discovered ester-linked ubiquitination, branch points of more than two linkage types, and the higher-order chain structures within which branch points exist, the diversity of branched chains is nearly infinite. This review breaks down the complexity of these chains into their general functions, what we know so far about the different linkage combinations, branched chain-optimized methodologies, and the future perspectives of branched chain research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anita Waltho
- Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association, Berlin-Buch, Germany.
- Institute for Biology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Thomas Sommer
- Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association, Berlin-Buch, Germany.
- Institute for Biology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
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Fottner M, Weyh M, Gaussmann S, Schwarz D, Sattler M, Lang K. A modular toolbox to generate complex polymeric ubiquitin architectures using orthogonal sortase enzymes. Nat Commun 2021; 12:6515. [PMID: 34764289 PMCID: PMC8585875 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-26812-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2021] [Accepted: 10/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The post-translational modification of proteins with ubiquitin (Ub) and Ub-like modifiers (Ubls) represents one of the most important regulators in eukaryotic biology. Polymeric Ub/Ubl chains of distinct topologies control the activity, stability, interaction and localization of almost all cellular proteins and elicit a variety of biological outputs. Our ability to characterize the roles of distinct Ub/Ubl topologies and to identify enzymes and receptors that create, recognize and remove these modifications is however hampered by the difficulty to prepare them. Here we introduce a modular toolbox (Ubl-tools) that allows the stepwise assembly of Ub/Ubl chains in a flexible and user-defined manner facilitated by orthogonal sortase enzymes. We demonstrate the universality and applicability of Ubl-tools by generating distinctly linked Ub/Ubl hybrid chains, and investigate their role in DNA damage repair. Importantly, Ubl-tools guarantees straightforward access to target proteins, site-specifically modified with distinct homo- and heterotypic (including branched) Ub chains, providing a powerful approach for studying the functional impact of these complex modifications on cellular processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maximilian Fottner
- grid.6936.a0000000123222966Department of Chemistry, Lab for Synthetic Biochemistry, Technical University of Munich, Institute for Advanced Study, TUM-IAS, Lichtenberg Str. 4, 85748 Garching, Germany ,grid.5801.c0000 0001 2156 2780Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zürich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 3, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Maria Weyh
- grid.6936.a0000000123222966Department of Chemistry, Lab for Synthetic Biochemistry, Technical University of Munich, Institute for Advanced Study, TUM-IAS, Lichtenberg Str. 4, 85748 Garching, Germany
| | - Stefan Gaussmann
- grid.6936.a0000000123222966Bavarian NMR Center, Department of Chemistry, Technical University of Munich, Lichtenberg Str. 4, 85748 Garching, Germany ,grid.4567.00000 0004 0483 2525Institute of Structural Biology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Ingolstädter Landstrasse 1, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Dominic Schwarz
- grid.6936.a0000000123222966Department of Chemistry, Lab for Synthetic Biochemistry, Technical University of Munich, Institute for Advanced Study, TUM-IAS, Lichtenberg Str. 4, 85748 Garching, Germany
| | - Michael Sattler
- grid.6936.a0000000123222966Bavarian NMR Center, Department of Chemistry, Technical University of Munich, Lichtenberg Str. 4, 85748 Garching, Germany ,grid.4567.00000 0004 0483 2525Institute of Structural Biology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Ingolstädter Landstrasse 1, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Kathrin Lang
- Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zürich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 3, 8093, Zurich, Switzerland.
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Wang YS, Wu KP, Jiang HK, Kurkute P, Chen RH. Branched Ubiquitination: Detection Methods, Biological Functions and Chemical Synthesis. Molecules 2020; 25:E5200. [PMID: 33182242 PMCID: PMC7664869 DOI: 10.3390/molecules25215200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2020] [Revised: 11/05/2020] [Accepted: 11/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Ubiquitination is a versatile posttranslational modification that elicits signaling roles to impact on various cellular processes and disease states. The versatility is a result of the complexity of ubiquitin conjugates, ranging from a single ubiquitin monomer to polymers with different length and linkage types. Recent studies have revealed the abundant existence of branched ubiquitin chains in which one ubiquitin molecule is connected to two or more ubiquitin moieties in the same ubiquitin polymer. Compared to the homotypic ubiquitin chain, the branched chain is recognized or processed differently by readers and erasers of the ubiquitin system, respectively, resulting in a qualitative or quantitative alteration of the functional output. Furthermore, certain types of branched ubiquitination are induced by cellular stresses, implicating their important physiological role in stress adaption. In addition, the current chemical methodologies of solid phase peptide synthesis and expanding genetic code approach have been developed to synthesize different architectures of branched ubiquitin chains. The synthesized branched ubiquitin chains have shown their significance in understanding the topologies and binding partners of the branched chains. Here, we discuss the recent progresses on the detection, functional characterization and synthesis of branched ubiquitin chains as well as the future perspectives of this emerging field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yane-Shih Wang
- Institute of Biological Chemistry, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan; (H.-K.J.); (P.K.)
- Institute of Biochemical Sciences, College of Life Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
- Chemical Biology and Molecular Biophysics Program, Taiwan International Graduate Program, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan
| | - Kuen-Phon Wu
- Institute of Biological Chemistry, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan; (H.-K.J.); (P.K.)
- Institute of Biochemical Sciences, College of Life Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
| | - Han-Kai Jiang
- Institute of Biological Chemistry, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan; (H.-K.J.); (P.K.)
- Chemical Biology and Molecular Biophysics Program, Taiwan International Graduate Program, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan
- Department of Chemistry, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30044, Taiwan
| | - Prashant Kurkute
- Institute of Biological Chemistry, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan; (H.-K.J.); (P.K.)
- Chemical Biology and Molecular Biophysics Program, Taiwan International Graduate Program, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan
- Department of Chemistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
| | - Ruey-Hwa Chen
- Institute of Biological Chemistry, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan; (H.-K.J.); (P.K.)
- Institute of Biochemical Sciences, College of Life Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
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Conibear AC. Deciphering protein post-translational modifications using chemical biology tools. Nat Rev Chem 2020; 4:674-695. [PMID: 37127974 DOI: 10.1038/s41570-020-00223-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 104] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/27/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Proteins carry out a wide variety of catalytic, regulatory, signalling and structural functions in living systems. Following their assembly on ribosomes and throughout their lifetimes, most eukaryotic proteins are modified by post-translational modifications; small functional groups and complex biomolecules are conjugated to amino acid side chains or termini, and the protein backbone is cleaved, spliced or cyclized, to name just a few examples. These modifications modulate protein activity, structure, location and interactions, and, thereby, control many core biological processes. Aberrant post-translational modifications are markers of cellular stress or malfunction and are implicated in several diseases. Therefore, gaining an understanding of which proteins are modified, at which sites and the resulting biological consequences is an important but complex challenge requiring interdisciplinary approaches. One of the key challenges is accessing precisely modified proteins to assign functional consequences to specific modifications. Chemical biologists have developed a versatile set of tools for accessing specifically modified proteins by applying robust chemistries to biological molecules and developing strategies for synthesizing and ligating proteins. This Review provides an overview of these tools, with selected recent examples of how they have been applied to decipher the roles of a variety of protein post-translational modifications. Relative advantages and disadvantages of each of the techniques are discussed, highlighting examples where they are used in combination and have the potential to address new frontiers in understanding complex biological processes.
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