Posttranslational modifications

GPI anchoring is a posttranslational modification occurring in the endoplasmic reticulum where preassembled GPI anchor precursors are transferred to proteins bearing a C-terminal GPI signal sequence. The GPI anchor precursors are synthesized in the endoplasmic reticulum by sequential addition of sugar and other components to phosphatidylinositol. Protein GPI anchors are ubiquitous in eukaryotic cells. In mammalian cells, GPI anchored proteins are often found in lipid rafts which are subdomains of the plasma membrane, containing various signaling components. 

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. 

Histone methylation is a common posttranslational modification fond in histones. Histone methylations have been identified on lysine and arginine residues. In case of lysines S-adenosyl-methionine (SAM) dependent methyl transferases catalyze the transfer of one, two or three methyl groups. Lysine methylation is reversible and lysine specific demethylases have been... 

Histone phosphorylation is a common posttranslational modification fond in histones, primarily on the N-terminal tails. Phosphorylation sites include serine and threonine residues, tyrosine phosphorylation has not been observed so far. Some phosphorylation events occur locally whereas others occur globally throughout all chromosomes during specific events like mitosis. Histone phosphorylation is catalyzed by kinases. Removal of the phosphoryl groups is catalyzed by phosphatases. 

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. 

On the molecular level, all TAARs for which ligands are available, couple to Gas, at least in recombinant systems. Links to other signaling pathways as well as potential heterodimerization within the TAAR family or with other GPCRs have so far not been observed. All TAAR genes have a very similar size of about 1 kb, and posttranslational modification and subcellular trafficking of the receptors are both not well understood. 

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. 

Protein tyrosine kinases (PTKs) are enzymes (EC 2.7.1.112) that catalyze the transfer of the y-phosphate group of ATP to tyrosine residues of protein substrates. The activity of PTKs is controlled in a complex manner by posttranslational modifications and by inter- and intramolecular complex formations. 

Posttranslational modifications of primary response gene products. 

The human HS cycle can be considered broadly as a period which leads to the dramatic shift in activities of the transcriptional and translational machinery followed by eventual recovery and resumption of original activities preceding stress. Figure 1 depicts many of the key events in the HS cycle for a typical human cell line such as cervical carcinoma-derived HeLa cells. Most cells respond in an identical fashion, but some cell types that have distinctive HS responses. These differences are manifested by shifts in the relative concentrations of accumulated HS proteins and possibly in the pattern of posttranslational modifications. In all cases, however, the cellular stress response is heralded by induction of a specific transcription factor whose DNA binding activity facilitates increased expression of one or more of the stress-inducible genes. 

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

While the first 20-30 residues of a peptide can readily be determined by the Edman method, most polypeptides contain several hundred amino acids. Consequently, most polypeptides must first be cleaved into smaller peptides prior to Edman sequencing. Cleavage also may be necessary to circumvent posttranslational modifications that render a protein s a-amino group blocked , or unreactive with the Edman reagent. 

DNA sequencing reveals the order in which amino acids are added to the nascent polypeptide chain as it is synthesized on the ribosomes. However, it provides no information about posttranslational modifications such as proteolytic processing, methylation, glycosylation, phosphorylation, hydroxylation of prohne and lysine, and disulfide bond formation that accompany mamra-tion. While Edman sequencing can detect the presence of most posttranslational events, technical hmitations often prevent identification of a specific modification. 

The maturation of proteins into their final structural state often involves the cleavage or formation (or both) of covalent bonds, a process termed posttranslational modification. Many polypeptides are initially synthesized as larger precursors, called proproteins. The extra polypeptide segments in these proproteins often serve as leader sequences that target a polypeptide... 

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. 

Many other peptides are synthesized as proproteins that require modifications before attaining biologic activity. Many of the posttranslational modifications involve the removal of amino terminal amino acid residues by specific aminopeptidases. Collagen, an abundant protein in the extracellular spaces of higher eukaryotes, is synthesized as procollagen. Three procol-... 

The biogenesis of membranes is thus a complex process about which much remains to be learned. One indication of the complexity involved is to consider the number of posttranslational modifications that membrane proteins may be subjected to prior to attaining their mamre state. These include proteolysis, assembly... 

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