How can a constitutively active ‘master’ kinase with numerous downstream targets preferentially phosphorylate one or more of these without influencing all simultaneously? How might such a system be switched off? The characterization of the role of deubiquitination in regulating the phosphorylation and activation of AMPK (AMP-activated protein kinase)-related kinases by LKB1 suggests a novel and interesting mechanism for conferring signal transduction specificity and control at the kinase substrate level. In this issue of the Biochemical Journal, Al-Hakim et al. show that the AMPK-related kinases NUAK1 (AMPK-related kinase 5) and MARK4 (microtubule-affinity-regulating kinase 4) are polyubiquitinated in vivo and that they serve as substrates of the deubiquitinating enzyme USP9X; furthermore, the first evidence is provided for regulation of AMPK-related kinase family members mediated via unusual Lys29/Lys33 polyubiquitin chains, rather than the more common Lys48/Lys63 linkages.
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April 2008
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March 27 2008
Regulation of the AMPK-related protein kinases by ubiquitination
David M. Thomson;
David M. Thomson
1Department of Physiology and Developmental Biology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, U.S.A.
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Marc D. H. Hansen;
Marc D. H. Hansen
1Department of Physiology and Developmental Biology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, U.S.A.
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William W. Winder
William W. Winder
1
1Department of Physiology and Developmental Biology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, U.S.A.
1To whom correspondence should be addressed (william_winder@byu.edu).
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Publisher: Portland Press Ltd
Received:
March 03 2008
Accepted:
March 04 2008
Online ISSN: 1470-8728
Print ISSN: 0264-6021
© The Authors Journal compilation © 2008 Biochemical Society
2008
Biochem J (2008) 411 (2): e9–e10.
Article history
Received:
March 03 2008
Accepted:
March 04 2008
Connected Content
A commentary has been published:
Control of AMPK-related kinases by USP9X and atypical Lys29/Lys33-linked polyubiquitin chains
Citation
David M. Thomson, Marc D. H. Hansen, William W. Winder; Regulation of the AMPK-related protein kinases by ubiquitination. Biochem J 15 April 2008; 411 (2): e9–e10. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/BJ20080459
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