The Role of Primary Cilia in the Crosstalk between the Ubiquitin⁻Proteasome System and Autophagy
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Updated: Jan 27, 2026

Quantifying Subcellular Ubiquitin-proteasome Activity in the Rodent Brain
Published on: May 21, 2019
Antonia Wiegering1, Ulrich Rüther2, Christoph Gerhardt3
1Institute for Animal Developmental and Molecular Biology, Heinrich Heine University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany. antonia.wiegering@hhu.de.
Abstract:
Protein degradation is a pivotal process for eukaryotic development and homeostasis. The majority of proteins are degraded by the ubiquitin⁻proteasome system and by autophagy. Recent studies describe a crosstalk between these two main eukaryotic degradation systems which allows for establishing a kind of safety mechanism. If one of these degradation systems is hampered, the other compensates for this defect. The mechanism behind this crosstalk is poorly understood. Novel studies suggest that primary cilia, little cellular protrusions, are involved in the regulation of the crosstalk between the two degradation systems. In this review article, we summarise the current knowledge about the association between cilia, the ubiquitin⁻proteasome system and autophagy.
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