Posttranslation Modification of

Histone Acetylation. Figure 1 Histone acetylation is a posttranslational modification of lysine residues of histones. This modification is catalyzed by histone actyl transferases (HATs), which transfer an acetyl group (yellow) from acetyl-Coenzyme A onto the E-amino group of the lysine residue. Histone deacetylation is catalyzed by histone deacetylases (HDACs), which hydrolyze the lysine bound acetyl group. HDAC inhibitors like Trichostatin A (TSA) are known to inhibit the deacetylation reaction in vivo and in vitro. 

The transcriptional activity of NRs is also modulated by various posttranslational modifications of the receptors themselves or of their coregulatory proteins. Phosphorylation, as well as several other types of modification, such as acetylation, SUMOylation, ubiquitinylation, and methylation, has been reported to modulate the functions of NRs, potentially constituting an important cellular integration mechanism. In addition to the modifications of the receptors themselves, such modifications have been reported for their coactivators and corepressors. Therefore, these different modes of regulation reveal an unexpected complexity of the dynamics of NR-mediated transcription. 

There has been an extensive search for additional opioid receptor genes with homology to p, 8, and k receptors which was, however, unsuccessfiil. It is likely, therefore, that the functional properties of the subdivision of p, 8, and k receptors as well as that of the e and X receptors results from alternate mRNA processing, posttranslational modification of the receptor, and/ or from the formation of homo- and heterodimeric receptor complexes. 

The core unit of the chromatin, the nucleosome, consists of histones arranged as an octamer consisting of a (H3/ H4)2-tetramer complexed with two histone H2A/H2B dimers. Accessibility to DNA-binding proteins (for replication, repair, or transcription) is achieved by posttranslational modifications of the amino-termini of the histones, the histone tails phosphorylation, acetylation, methylation, ubiquitination, and sumoyla-tion. Especially acetylation of histone tails has been linked to transcriptional activation, leading to weakened interaction of the core complexes with DNA and subsequently to decondensation of chromatin. In contrast, deacetylation leads to transcriptional repression. As mentioned above, transcriptional coactivators either possess HAT activity or recruit HATs. HDACs in turn act as corepressors. 

Posttranslational modifications of primary response gene products. 

Posttranslational modifications of S-layer proteins include cleavage of N- or C-terminal fragments, glycosylation, and phosphorylation of amino acid residues. 

Posttranslational modification of preformed polynucleotides can generate additional bases such as pseudouridine, in which D-ribose is linked to C-5 of uracil by a carbon-to-carbon bond rather than by a P-N-glycosidic bond. The nucleotide pseudouridylic acid T arises by rearrangement of UMP of a preformed tRNA. Similarly, methylation by S-adenosylmethionine of a UMP of preformed tRNA forms TMP (thymidine monophosphate), which contains ribose rather than de-oxyribose. 

Fig. 3. A proposed signal transduction pathway regarding the external Ca effect on ginsenoside Rb synthesis by P. notoginseng cells. Ca signal changes are triggered by external Ca concentrations. The calcium signatures are decoded by calcium sensors, CaM and CDPK. UGRdGT is possibly modulated by the sensors in a direct or indirect (dashed lines) way. Changes of CDPK activity may result from increased synthesis or posttranslational modification of the enzyme (shown as CDPK ).

Triose phosphate isomerase (TPI) catalyzes the interconversion of glyceralde-hyde-3-phosphate and dihydoxyacetone phosphate and has an important role in glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, fatty acid synthesis, and the hexose monophosphate pathway. Red blood cell TPI activity measured in vitro is approximately 1000 times that of Hx, the least active glycolytic enzyme. TPI is a dimer of identical subunits, each of molecular weight 27,000, and does not utilize cofactors or metal ions. Posttranslational modification of one or both subunits may occur by deamidination, resulting in multiple forms of the enzymes and creating a complex multibanded pattern on electrophoresis. 

Walsh, C. 2005. Posttranslational Modification of Proteins. Roberts Company Publishers. 

Larsen, M.R., Trelle, M.B., Thingholm, T.E., and lensen, O.N. 2006. Analysis of posttranslational modifications of proteins by tandem mass spectrometry. BioTechniques 40, 790-798. 

Scheme 1. Posttranslational modification of Ras protein with lipid groups (FPP Farnesyl-pyrophosphate, PalCoA Palmitoyl CoA)...

Although FTase inhibitors influence the farnesylation of Ras they are likely to interfere with the posttranslational modifications of other CAAX-containing proteins as well. Apart from the approximately 20 farnesylated proteins that are known today, farnesylation is also required for normal Ras function which in turn is critical for normal cell viability. For these reasons farnesyltransferase... 

Crawford, R., et. al., 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) alters the regulation and posttranslational modification of p27kipl in lipopolysaccharide-activated B cells, Toxicol. Sci., 75, 333, 2003. 

Zhou Z. and Menard H.A. (2002), Autoantigenic posttranslational modifications of proteins does it apply to rheumatoid arthritis , Curr. Opin. Rheumatol. 14,250-253. 

Cell cycle progression, apoptosis, DNA damage and DNA repair are cellular functions that are regulated by several mechanisms. One such important regulatory mechanism is posttranslational modification of histone and non-histone proteins. Myriad of reports have been shown that acetylation of non-histone proteins apart from histones, contributes in major to these processes. 

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