The roles of the proteasome pathway in signal transduction and neurodegenerative diseases
Department of Pharmacology and Laboratory of Aging and Nervous Diseases, Soochow University School of Medicine, Suzhou 215123
Abstract
There are two degradation systems in mammalian cells, autophagy/lysosomal pathway and ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. Proteasome is consist of multiple protein subunits and plays important roles in degradation of short-lived cellular proteins. Recent studies reveal that proteasomal degradation system is also involved in signal transduction and regulation of various cellular functions. Dysfunction or dysregulation of proteasomal function may thus be an important pathogenic mechanism in certain neurological disorders. This paper reviews the biological functions of proteasome in signal transduction and its potential roles in neurodegenerative diseases.
Keywords
proteasome; signal transduction; protein misfolding; neurodegenerative disease
