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Neuronal Ubiquitin Homeostasis

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Abstract

Neurons have highly specialized intracellular compartments that facilitate the development and activity of the nervous system. Ubiquitination is a post-translational modification that controls many aspects of neuronal function by regulating protein abundance. Disruption of this signaling pathway has been demonstrated in neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Angleman Syndrome. Since many neurological disorders exhibit ubiquitinated protein aggregates, the loss of neuronal ubiquitin homeostasis may be an important contributor of disease. This review discusses the mechanisms utilized by neurons to control the free pool of ubiquitin necessary for normal nervous system development and function as well as new roles of protein ubiquitination in regulating the synaptic activity.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, NIH/NINDS Grants NS047533 and NS074456 (S.M.W).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurobiology, Evelyn F. McKnight Institute, Civitan International Research Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1825 University Blvd, Birmingham, AL, 35294, USA

    Jada Hallengren & Scott M. Wilson

  2. Department of Structural Biology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN, 38105-3678, USA

    Ping-Chung Chen

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  1. Jada Hallengren
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  2. Ping-Chung Chen
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  3. Scott M. Wilson
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Correspondence to Scott M. Wilson.

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Hallengren, J., Chen, PC. & Wilson, S.M. Neuronal Ubiquitin Homeostasis. Cell Biochem Biophys 67, 67–73 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12013-013-9634-4

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