Post-translational Protein Modifications of Rare and Unconventional Types: Implications in Functions and Diseases.

Post-translational Protein Modifications of Rare and Unconventional Types: Implications in Functions and Diseases. Curr Med Chem. 2016 Jan 17; Authors: Basak S, Lu C, Basak A Abstract Protein post-translational modification (PTM) occurs following their biosynthesis and is a key cellular event that defines their ultimate functional properties. It is an important control mechanism for display of biological functions of proteins often in a profound manner. It may switch on or off a protein's function. Several studies have been conducted to understand their mechanisms, physiological pathways and functional properties. PTMs have been shown to alter structural, conformational and physicochemical properties of proteins. So far a variety of protein modifications have been detected in physiological systems. These involve covalent modifications of amino acids via their side chains, backbone peptide bonds and terminal moieties. Following PTM, proteins may become (a) pathologically toxic, (b) biologically active or inactive, (c) more or less susceptible to proteolytic processing, (d) increasingly/decreasingly bound to its partner protein/s, or (e) modified with altered protease activities. These changes may affect pathways linked to cell signaling/transduction, trafficking, storing, expression, binding and/or affinity. Any of these events may be linked to metabolic, growth and/or chronic dysfunctions with serious health consequences that may inc...
Source: Current Medicinal Chemistry - Category: Chemistry Authors: Tags: Curr Med Chem Source Type: research