The SOCS box: a tale of destruction and degradation

Although initially identified in the suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS) family of proteins, the C-terminal SOCS box has now been identified in more than 40 proteins in nine different families. Growing evidence suggests that the SOCS box, similar to the F-box, acts as a bridge between specific substrate-binding domains and the more generic proteins that comprise a large family of E3 ubiquitin protein ligases. In this way, SOCS proteins regulate protein turnover by targeting proteins for polyubiquitination and, therefore, for proteasome-mediated degradation.