Pro-apoptotic and anti-apoptotic regulation mediated by deubiquitinating enzymes.

Although damaged cells can be repaired, cells that are considered unlikely to be repaired are eliminated through apoptosis, a type of predicted cell death found in multicellular organisms. Apoptosis is a structured cell death involving alterations to the cell morphology and internal biochemical changes. This process involves the expansion and cracking of cells, changes in cell membranes, nuclear fragmentation, chromatin condensation, and chromosome cleavage, culminating in the damaged cells being eaten and processed by other cells. The ubiquitin–proteasome system (UPS) is a major cellular pathway that regulates the protein levels through proteasomal degradation. This review proposes that apoptotic proteins are regulated through the UPS and describes a unique direction for cancer treatment by controlling proteasomal degradation of apoptotic proteins, and small molecules targeted to enzymes associated with UPS. Similar content being viewed by others Availability of data and materials As this is a review article, there is no requirement for data availability.

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We would like to thank members of Baek’s laboratory for their comments on the manuscript. Funding This research was supported by Basic Science Program Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (2020R1I1A207500311). Author information Authors and Affiliations Contributions Both HSC and KHB contributed to the writing and design of the article. HSC prepared the figures and tables. KHB obtained the funding. Corresponding author Ethics declarations Conflict of interest The authors have no competing interests to declare. Ethical approval and consent to participate As this is a review article, no ethical approval was necessary. Consent for publication All authors have confirmed consent for publication. Additional information Publisher's Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Rights and permissions About this article Cite this article Choi, HS., Baek, KH. Pro-apoptotic and anti-apoptotic regulation mediated by deubiquitinating enzymes. Cell. Mol. Life Sci. 79, 117 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-022-04132-5 Received: Revised: Accepted: Published: Version of record: DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-022-04132-5