Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 7, 2026

Assays for the Degradation of Misfolded Proteins in Cells
Published on: August 28, 2016
'Effective inefficiency': cellular control of protein trafficking as a mechanism of post-translational regulation
P Michael Conn1, Jo Ann Janovick, Shaun P Brothers
1Division of Neuroscience, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health and Science University, OR 97006, USA. connm@ohsu.edu
Abstract:
The great writer and polyglot, W Somerset Maugham said, 'I'll give you my opinion of the human race in a nutshell...their heart's in the right place, but their head is a thoroughly inefficient organ.' If his words are applied to trafficking of the human pituitary gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor, it turns out that he was more right than he knew. Paradoxically, the inefficiency of receptor trafficking to the plasma membrane can bring regulatory advantages to cells. Understanding the mechanism by which cells recognize correctly folded proteins in health and disease opens doors to new therapeutic approaches and provides a more accurate view of mechanisms of normal cell function than is presently available.
Related Concept Videos
Regulated Protein Degradation
Protein degradation plays two important roles in the cells. It helps to protect cells from misfolded or damaged proteins before they lead to a...
Regulated Protein Degradation
Protein degradation plays two important roles in the cells. It helps to protect cells from misfolded or damaged proteins before they lead to a...
Regulation of Expression at Multiple Steps
Regulation of Expression Occurs at Multiple Steps
Transcription results in the generation of precursor (pre-mRNA) that consists of both exons and introns, which needs further processing before being translated to a...
Regulation of Nuclear Protein Sorting
Proteins: From Genes to Degradation
Transcription is the synthesis of RNA molecules by RNA...

