Abstract
Degradation of intracellular proteins through the ubiquitin and ATP-dependent proteolysis pathway involves several steps. Initially, ubiquitin is covalently linked to the proteolytic substrate in an ATP-requiring reaction. Proteins marked by ubiquitin may then be selectively lysed in a reaction that also requires ATP (for reviews see refs 1–3). A major question concerns the structural features of a protein that make it a specific substrate for ubiquitin-mediated degradation. It was shown that a free α-NH2 group is one important feature of the protein structure recognized by the ubiquitin ligation system4,5, and that the half-life in vivo of a protein with an exposed amino terminus depends on its amino terminal residue6. We have previously demonstrated that transfer RNA (tRNA) is essential for conjugation of ubiquitin and for the subsequent degradation of proteins with acidic amino termini (aspartate or glutamate)7,8. We now show that tRNA is required for post-translational conjugation of arginine to acidic amino termini of proteins, a modification that is essential for their degradation by the ubiquitin pathway.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Hershko, A. & Ciechanover, A. A Rev. Biochem. 51, 335–364 (1982).
Ciechanover, A., Finley, D. & Varshavsky, A. J. cell. Biochem. 24, 27–53 (1984).
Hershko, A. & Ciechanover, A. Prog. molec. Biol. Nucleic Acid Res. 33, 19–56 (1986).
Hershko, A., Heller, H., Eytan, E., Kaklij, G. & Rose, I. A. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 81, 7021–7025 (1984).
Hershko, A., Heller, H., Eytan, E. & Reiss, Y. J. biol. Chem. 261, 11992–11999 (1986).
Bachmair, A., Finley, D. & Varshavsky, A. Science 234, 179–186 (1986).
Ciechanover, A., Wolin, S. L., Steitz, J. A. & Lodish, H. F. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 82, 1341–1345 (1985).
Ferber, S. & Ciechanover, A. J. biol. Chem. 261, 3128–3134 (1986).
Ciechanover, A., Elias, S., Heller, H., Ferber, S. & Hershko, A. J. biol. Chem. 255, 7525–7528 (1980).
Wilkinson, K. D., Urban, M. K. & Haas, A. L. J. biol. Chem. 255, 7529–7532 (1980).
Goldstein, G. et al. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 72, 11–15 (1975).
Özkaynak, E., Finley, D. & Varshavsky, A. Nature 312, 663–666 (1984).
Wiborg, O. et al. EMBO J. 4, 755–759 (1985).
Ciechanover, A., Heller, H., Elias, S., Haas, A. L. & Hershko, A. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 77, 1365–1368 (1980).
Hershko, A., Ciechanover, A., Heller, H., Haas, A. L. & Rose, I. A. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 77, 1783–1786 (1980).
Hershko, A., Leshinsky, E., Ganoth, D. & Heller, H. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 81, 1619–1623 (1984).
Hough, R., Pratt, G. & Rechsteiner, M. J. biol. Chem. 261, 2400–2408 (1986).
Hershko, A., Eytan, E., Ciechanover, A. & Haas, A. L. J. biol. Chem. 257, 13964–13970 (1982).
Chin, D. T., Kuehl, L. & Rechsteiner, M. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 79, 5857–5861 (1982).
Ciechanover, A., Finley, D. & Varshavsky, A. Cell 37, 57–66 (1984).
Ciechanover, A., Elias, S., Heller, H. & Hershko, A. J. biol. Chem. 257, 2537–2542 (1982).
Hershko, A., Heller, H., Elias, S. & Ciechanover, A. J. biol. Chem. 258, 8206–8214 (1983).
Shearer, W. T., Bradshaw, R. A., Gurd, F. R. N. & Peters, T. J. biol. Chem. 242, 5451–5459 (1967).
Odani, S. & Ikenaka, S. J. Biochem. 71, 839–848 (1972).
Brew, K., Castellino, F. J., Vanaman, T. C. & Hill, R. L. J. biol. Chem. 245, 4570–4582 (1970).
Soffer, R. L. in Transfer RNA: Biological Aspects (eds Soll, D., Abelson, J. N. & Schimmel, P.) 493–505 (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, New York, 1980).
Kaji, H. Biochemistry 15, 5121–5125 (1976).
Findlay, J. B. C. & Brew, K. Eur. J. Biochem. 27, 65–86 (1972).
Rabat, E. A., Wu, T. T., Bilofsky, H., Reid-Miller, M. & Perry, H. in Sequences of Proteins of Immunological Interest, U.S. DHHS, PHS. 14–29. National Institute of Health (1983).
Glazer, A. N., DeLange, R. J. & Sigman, D. S. in Chemical Modification of Proteins (eds Work, T. S. & Work, E.) 60–64 (North Holland, Amsterdam, 1975).
Shyne-Athwal, S., Riccio, R. V., Chakraborty, G. & Ingoglia, N. A. Science 231, 603–605 (1986).
Hudson, L. & Hay, F. C. (eds) Practical Immunology 157–165 (Blackwell, Oxford, 1980).
Laemmli, U.K. Nature 227, 680–685 (1970).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ferber, S., Ciechanover, A. Role of arginine-tRNA in protein degradation by the ubiquitin pathway. Nature 326, 808–811 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1038/326808a0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/326808a0
This article is cited by
-
Heat stress induced arginylation of HuR promotes alternative polyadenylation of Hsp70.3 by regulating HuR stability and RNA binding
Cell Death & Differentiation (2021)
-
Distinct pathogenic mechanisms of various RARS1 mutations in Pelizaeus-Merzbacher-like disease
Science China Life Sciences (2021)
-
Arginine-dependent immune responses
Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences (2021)
-
Aminoacyl tRNA synthetases as malarial drug targets: a comparative bioinformatics study
Malaria Journal (2019)
-
The N-end rule pathway: emerging functions and molecular principles of substrate recognition
Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology (2011)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.