Integration of clearance mechanisms: the proteasome and autophagy

Esther Wong1, Ana Maria Cuervo

  • 1Department of Developmental and Molecular Biology, Institute for Aging Studies, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York 10461, USA.

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The Proteasome01:13

The Proteasome

Eukaryotic cells can degrade proteins through several pathways. One of the most important among these is the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. It helps the cell eliminate the misfolded, damaged, or unwarranted cytoplasmic proteins in a highly specific manner.
In this pathway, the target proteins are first tagged with small proteins called ubiquitin. This involves participation of a series of enzymes including— E1 (ubiquitin-activating enzyme), E2 (ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme), and E3 (ubiquitin...
The Proteasome02:18

The Proteasome

Eukaryotic cells can degrade proteins through several pathways. One of the most important amongst these is the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. It helps the cell eliminate the misfolded, damaged, or unwarranted cytoplasmic proteins in a highly specific manner.
In this pathway, the target proteins are first tagged with small proteins called ubiquitin. A series of enzymes carry out the ubiquitination of the target proteins - E1 (ubiquitin-activating enzyme), E2 (ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme), and E3...
The Proteasome02:18

The Proteasome

Eukaryotic cells can degrade proteins through several pathways. One of the most important amongst these is the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. It helps the cell eliminate the misfolded, damaged, or unwarranted cytoplasmic proteins in a highly specific manner.
In this pathway, the target proteins are first tagged with small proteins called ubiquitin. A series of enzymes carry out the ubiquitination of the target proteins - E1 (ubiquitin-activating enzyme), E2 (ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme), and E3...
Autophagy01:27

Autophagy

Autophagy is a self-digesting process by which a cell protects itself from threats both within and outside the cell, ranging from abnormal proteins to invading bacteria. In this process, obsolete components of the cell and invading microbes are degraded by hydrolytic enzymes active in an acidic environment of the lysosomal lumen.
An autophagic pathway consists of a series of signaling events activated in response to diverse stress and physiological conditions such as food deprivation,...
Cellular Injury V: Apoptosis and Autophagy01:22

Cellular Injury V: Apoptosis and Autophagy

Cells respond to damage and stress through highly coordinated processes that decide whether they survive or undergo controlled self-destruction. Two major pathways involved in this regulation are apoptosis, a type of programmed cell death, and autophagy, a survival mechanism that helps cells adapt to adverse conditions.ApoptosisApoptosis removes aged or injured cells to maintain tissue balance. During this process, the cell shrinks, chromatin condenses and fragments, and membrane-bound...
The Proteasome Structure01:17

The Proteasome Structure

The ubiquitin-proteasome pathway is a well-known mechanism utilized by eukaryotic cells to remove cytoplasmic proteins that are misfolded, damaged, or no longer needed. In this pathway, the protein that needs to be eliminated undergoes a process called ubiquitination, where a chain of ubiquitin molecules is attached to the 48th lysine residue of the target protein. This ubiquitin modification helps the proteasome distinguish between a target protein and a healthy protein.
The proteasome is an...