Abstract.
The highly conserved AAA ATPase Cdc48/p97 acts on ubiquitylated substrate proteins in cellular processes as diverse as the fusion of homotypic membranes and the degradation of misfolded proteins. The ‘Ubiquitin regulatory X’ (UBX) domain-containing proteins constitute the so far largest family of Cdc48/p97 cofactors. UBX proteins are involved in substrate recruitment to Cdc48/p97 and in the temporal and spatial regulation of its activity. In combination with UBX-like proteins and other cofactors, they can assemble into a large variety of Cdc48/p97-cofactor complexes possessing distinct cellular functions. This review gives an overview of the different subfamilies of UBX proteins and their functions, and discusses general principles of Cdc48/p97 regulation by these cofactors.
Keywords. AAA ATPase, valosin-containing protein (VCP), ubiquitin/proteasome system, protein degradation, UBA domain, ubiquitin-like fold
Footnotes
Received 8 February 2008; received after revision 12 March 2008; accepted 14 March 2008
Contributor Information
C. Schuberth, Email: schubert@embl.de
A. Buchberger, Email: buchberg@biochem.mpg.de