Ubiquitin Polyclonal Antibody – 200 µg

Ubiquitin is a small protein that occurs in all eukaryotic cells. The ubiquitin protein itself consists of 76 amino acids and has a molecular mass of about 8.5 kDa. Key features include its C-terminal tail and the 7 Lys residues. It is highly conserved among eukaryotic species: human and yeast ubiquitin share 96% sequence identity.{17707} The main function of ubiquitin is to clear abnormal, foreign and improperly folded proteins by targeting them for degradation by the 26S proteasome.{17708} Ubiquitination represents an essential cellular process affected by a multi-enzyme cascade involving classes of enzymes known as ubiquitin-activating enzymes (E1s), ubiquitin-conjugating enzymes (E2s or Ubcs) and ubiquitin-protein ligases (E3s). Ubiquitin is activated in a two-step reaction by an E1 ubiquitin-activating enzyme in a process requiring ATP as an energy source. The initial step involves production of a ubiquitin-adenylate intermediate. The second step transfers ubiquitin to the E1 active site cysteine residue, with release of AMP. This step results in a thioester linkage between the C-terminal carboxyl group of ubiquitin and the E1 cysteine sulfhydryl group. The third step is a transfer of ubiquitin from E1 to the active site cysteine of a ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme E2 via a trans(thio)esterification reaction. And the final step of the ubiquitylation cascade creates an isopeptide bond between a lysine of the target protein and the C-terminal glycine of ubiquitin. In general, this step requires the activity of one of the hundreds of E3 ubiquitin-protein ligases (often termed simply ubiquitin ligase). E3 enzymes function as the substrate recognition modules of the system and are capable of interaction with both E2 and substrate.{17708,17709} Ubiquitination also participates in the internalization and degradation of plasma membrane proteins such as some of the TCR subunits while still ER-membrane associated.{17712} Ubiquitin also plays a role in regulating signal transduction cascades through the elimination inhibitor proteins, such as IκBα and p27.{17713}