Activation of the IkappaB kinase complex by TRAF6 requires a dimeric ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme complex and a unique polyubiquitin chain

TRAF6 is a signal transducer in the NF-kappaB pathway that activates IkappaB kinase (IKK) in response to proinflammatory cytokines. We have purified a heterodimeric protein complex that links TRAF6 to IKK activation. Peptide mass fingerprinting analysis reveals that this complex is composed of the ubiquitin conjugating enzyme Ubc13 and the Ubc-like protein Uev1A. We find that TRAF6, a RING domain protein, functions together with Ubc13/Uev1A to catalyze the synthesis of unique polyubiquitin chains linked through lysine-63 (K63) of ubiquitin. Blockade of this polyubiquitin chain synthesis, but not inhibition of the proteasome, prevents the activation of IKK by TRAF6. These results unveil a new regulatory function for ubiquitin, in which IKK is activated through the assembly of K63-linked polyubiquitin chains.

Surface hydrophobic residues of multiubiquitin chains essential for proteolytic targeting

Ubiquitin conjugation is a signal for degradation of eukaryotic proteins by the 26S protease. Conjugation of a homopolymeric multiubiquitin chain to a substrate lysine residue results in 10-fold faster degradation than does conjugation of monoubiquitin, but the molecular basis of enhanced targeting by chains is unknown. We show that ubiquitin residues L8, I44, and V70 are critical for targeting. Mutation of pairs of these residues to alanine had little effect on attachment of ubiquitin to substrates but severely inhibited degradation of the resulting conjugates. The same mutations blocked the binding of chains to a specific subunit (S5a) of the regulatory complex of the 26S protease. The side chains implicated in this binding--L8, I44, and V70--form repeating patches on the chain surface. Thus, hydrophobic interactions between these patches and S5a apparently contribute to enhanced proteolytic targeting by multiubiquitin chains.

A 26 S protease subunit that binds ubiquitin conjugates

Ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis provides an important mechanism for regulating a variety of cellular processes. Ubiquitin-conjugated proteins are degraded by a 26 S protease that contains more than 30 different subunits. Of these, a single 50-kDa polypeptide, subunit 5, specifically binds ubiquitin-lysozyme conjugates. Binding is inhibited by short polymeric chains of ubiquitin but not by ubiquitin monomers or by lysozyme. In addition, subunit 5 binds free ubiquitin chains with efficient association requiring at least four ubiquitins. Thus, proteins conjugated to polymers of ubiquitin may be selected for degradation by a single subunit of the 26 S protease complex.

Yeast RAD6 encoded ubiquitin conjugating enzyme mediates protein degradation dependent on the N-end-recognizing E3 enzyme

The RAD6 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae encodes a 20 kd ubiquitin conjugating (E2) enzyme that is required for DNA repair, DNA damage-induced mutagenesis, and sporulation. Here, we demonstrate a novel activity of RAD6 protein--its ability to mediate protein degradation dependent on the N-end-recognizing ubiquitin protein ligase (E3). In reaction mixtures containing E1, E3 and the ubiquitin specific protease from rabbit reticulocytes, RAD6 is as effective as mammalian E214k in E3 dependent ubiquitin--protein conjugate formation and subsequent protein degradation. The ubiquitin conjugating activity of RAD6 is required for these reactions as indicated by the ineffectiveness of the rad6 Ala88 and rad6 Val88 mutant proteins, which lack the ability to form a thioester adduct with ubiquitin and therefore do not conjugate ubiquitin to substrates. We also show that the highly acidic carboxyl-terminus of RAD6 is dispensable for the interaction with E3, and that purified S. cerevisiae E2(30k), product of the UBC1 gene, does not function with E3. These findings demonstrate a specific interaction between RAD6 and E3, and highlight the strong conservation of the ubiquitin conjugating system in eukaryotes. We suggest a function for RAD6 mediated E3 dependent protein degradation in sporulation, and discuss the possible role of this activity during vegetative growth.