Protein homoeostasis Flashcards
What is homeostasis?
Homeostasis is the property of an open system, especially living organisms, to regulate their internal environment to maintain a stable, constant condition by means of multiple feedback controls, regardless of external conditions.
What are the steps of a negative feedback loop?
- Body conditions change from a set point.
- Detection of change in body conditions from a set point.
- Corrective mechanisms activated
- Conditions returned to the set point
- Corrective mechanisms deactivated.
What is protein homeostasis also known as?
Proteostasis
What is the function of protein homeostasis?
maintaining the correct amount of functional proteins within and outside the cell.
Why is protein so important?
It is the main component of the body.
How are protein levels maintained?
Protein turnover.
What is protein turnover?
Amino acids released by by the breakdown of proteins can be reused for protein synthesis with very little loss.
What is p53?
- Transcription factor
- Tumour suppressor
- Involved in the cell cycle arrest, DNA repair and apoptosis
Why is p53 kept at a low basal rate?
Can trigger apoptosis so increased levels can stop the cell cycle.
What is Mdm2?
An E3 ligase.
What is the function of mdm2?
Binds to p53 which marks it for degradation by the proteasome via ubiquitination.
What happens to the levels of p53 during cellular stress?
Increased levels of p53.
How is the maintenance of p53 a negative feedback?
P53 is a transcription factor for Mdm2. High levels of p53 lead to an increase in Mdm2. High levels of Mdm2 lead to a decrease in p53.
When does the negative feedback loop of p53 and Mdm2 stop?
Goes through cycles till the system stabilises to low levels of both molecules.
What is the life cycle of a protein?
- Synthesis
- Folding
- Transport
- Modifications
- Function
- Degradation
What is the AGES pathway?
Oxidative stress-induced pathways.
AGEs induce oxidative stress through the activation of NADPH oxidases.
What is the end result of the AGEs pathway?
Produces deleterious effects on cells.
What is transcription regulated by?
Transcription is regulated by transcription factors which can either promote or inhibit transcription.
What causes changes i translation of proteins?
Dysregulation in signalling pathways.
What happens to translation factors with age?
Activity declines.
What is important about protein structure regarding function and stability?
Each level of complexity within the structure must be perfect otherwise the protein is considered misfolded and will not function properly, therefore will be degraded very quickly.
What are the 3 types of folding?
Chaperone-independent folding.
Hsp70-assisted protein folding.
Folding assisted by HSP70 and chaperonin complexes.
What is chaperone-independent folding?
The protein folds as it is synthesized on the ribosome.
What is hsp70-assisted protein folding?
Hsp70 binds to nascent polypeptide chains as they are synthesized and help folding.
What is the function of chaperones?
Chaperones prevent misfolded or incompletely assembled proteins from exiting the ER.
What is the unfolded protein response?
Maintains the balance of protein folding in the endoplasmic reticulum.
What is the unfolded protein response caused by?
Caused by an increase in misfolded proteins in the ER.
What reversible covalent modifications affect protein function?
Phosphorylation
Acetylation
Glycosylation
Ubiquitination
Why do undesirable protein modification occur?
Due to reactive oxygen or reactive nitrogen species.
What are the 2 major classes of oxidative damage within protein?
Conformational
Covalent.
What is conformational damage?
The unfolding of proteins.
What is conformational damage caused by?
Heating, attack by free radicals, chemicals, pH changes.
What is covalent damage?
A chemical change in the amino acids that make up the protein.
What is covalent damage caused by?
Spontaneous or may be induced and/or accelerated by environmental factors.
When does the AGEs pathway begin?
When proteins are exposed to sugar.
What is the basic process of the AGEs pathway?
Activates a stress response which leads to the chemical attachment of sugar to amino acids.
How may protein homeostasis fail?
Every step of this process can go wrong.
Draw the process of protein synthesis.
What do you think the effect of DNA damage will be on protein synthesis?
Incorrect protein is synthesised.
What does the repair of protein damage depends on?
The ability to recognise a change in a protein as abnormal.
A means of reversing the change.
Why do unsuccessful proteins need to be removed?
To prevent cellular dysfunction and protein aggregation.
What are molecular chaperones?
Known as heat shock proteins, they are in cells.
What is the function of molecular chaperones?
Folding/refolding
Prevent protein aggregation
Assist in targeting proteins for degradation
What is the function of small heat shock proteins?
prevents protein aggregation