Structure of the amino-terminal domain of Cbl complexed to its binding site on ZAP-70 kinase

Mechanisms of Cbl-Mediated Ubiquitination of Proteins in T and Natural Killer Cells and Effects on Immune Cell Functions

Post-translational ubiquitination is an essential mechanism for the regulation of protein stability and function, which contributes to the regulation of the immune system. Cbl, an E3 ubiquitin ligase, is particularly well-characterized in the context of T and NK cell signaling, where it serves as a key regulator of receptor downstream signaling events and as a modulator of cell activation. Cbl promotes the proteasomal degradation of TCR/CD3 subunits as well as the protein kinases Fyn and Lck in T cells. Additionally, the scaffold protein linker for activation of T cells (LAT) is a universal target for Cbl-mediated ubiquitination and degradation in both T and NK cells. Recent findings suggest that CrkII-mediated ubiquitination and degradation of C3G by Cbl during early T cell activation may also be relevant to NK cell signaling. Given its role in modulating immune responses and its manageable impact on autoimmunity, Cbl is being investigated as a target for cancer immunotherapy. This review explores the ubiquitin ligase activity of Cbl and its implications for CAR T and NK cell immunotherapies.

Axon guidance receptors: Endocytosis, trafficking and downstream signaling from endosomes

During the development of the nervous system, axons extend through complex environments. Growth cones at the axon tip allow axons to find and innervate their appropriate targets and form functional synapses. Axon pathfinding requires axons to respond to guidance signals and these cues need to be detected by specialized receptors followed by intracellular signal integration and translation. Several downstream signaling pathways have been identified for axon guidance receptors and it has become evident that these pathways are often initiated from intracellular vesicles called endosomes. Endosomes allow receptors to traffic intracellularly, re-locating receptors from one cellular region to another. The localization of axon guidance receptors to endosomal compartments is crucial for their function, signaling output and expression levels. For example, active receptors within endosomes can recruit downstream proteins to the endosomal membrane and facilitate signaling. Also, endosomal trafficking can re-locate receptors back to the plasma membrane to allow re-activation or mediate downregulation of receptor signaling via degradation. Accumulating evidence suggests that axon guidance receptors do not follow a pre-set default trafficking route but may change their localization within endosomes. This re-routing appears to be spatially and temporally regulated, either by expression of adaptor proteins or co-receptors. These findings shed light on how signaling in axon guidance is regulated and diversified - a mechanism which explains how a limited set of guidance cues can help to establish billions of neuronal connections. In this review, we summarize and discuss our current knowledge of axon guidance receptor trafficking and provide directions for future research.

Calcium dependent regulation of protein ubiquitination - Interplay between E3 ligases and calcium binding proteins

The ubiquitination status of proteins and intracellular calcium levels are two factors which keep changing inside any living cell. These two events appear to be independent of each other but recent experimental evidences show that ubiquitination of cellular proteins are influenced by calcium, Calmodulin, Calmodulin-dependent kinase II and other proteins of calcium dependent pathways. E3 ligases like Nedd4, SCF complex, APC, GP78 and ITCH are important regulators of calcium mediated processes. A bioinformatics analysis to inspect sequences and interacting partners of 242 candidate E3 ligases show the presence of calcium and/or Calmodulin binding motifs/domains within their sequences. Building a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network of human E3 ligase proteins identifies Ca²⁺ related proteins as direct interacting partners of E3 ligases. Review of literature, analysis of E3 ligase sequences and their interactome suggests an interconnectivity between calcium signaling and the overall UPS system, especially emphasizing that a subset of E3 ligases have importance in physiological pathways modulated by calcium.