Reversing Neddylation

Posttranslational modification of cellular proteins can play an important role in controlling intracellular processes. Modifications that can be specifically and rapidly reversed would provide versatility in control that may be the key to normal cellular activities. Two reports, by Lyapina et al. and Schwechheimer et al. , examine interactions between a particle known as the signalosome and the SCF ubiquitin ligases. This system is involved in modifying proteins with the ubiquitin-like molecule, NEDD8. Together, these reports show that neddylation can be reversed, that the signalosome is involved in this NEDD8 removal, and that this mechanism appears to be important in controlling the auxin response pathway in plants. The signalosome and SCFs are widely distributed, and the system is likely to be important in controlling many intracellular signaling pathways in a variety of organisms. S. Lyapina, G. Cope, A. Shevchenko, G. Serino, T. Tsuge, C. Zhou, D. A. Wolf, N. Wei, A. Shevchenko, R. J. Deshaies, Promotion of NEDD8-CUL1 conjugate cleavage by COP9 signalosome. Science 292 , 1382-1385 (2001). [Abstract] [Full Text] C. Schwechheimer, G. Serino, J. Callis, W. L. Crosby, S. Lyapina, R. J. Deshaies, W. M. Gray, M. Estelle, X.-W. Deng, Interactions of the COP9 signalosome with the E3 ubiquitin ligase SCF TIR1 in mediating auxin response. Science 292 , 1379-1382 (2001). [Abstract] [Full Text]