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Ubiquitin-Proteasome System

E1-E2-E3 enzyme cascade tags damaged proteins with polyubiquitin; 26S proteasome shreds them.

A free, animated ubiquitin-proteasome system you can read here or embed on any website, from Scrollchart.

Ubiquitin-Proteasome System

Ubiquitin-Proteasome SystemE1-E2-E3 cascade tags damaged proteins; 26S proteasome unfolds and degrades them to peptidesUBIQUITIN TAGGING CASCADEDEGRADATION

E1 activates ubiquitin (ATP); E2 carries; E3 ligase confers substrate specificity and transfers Ub to target lysine; K48-linked polyubiquitin chain forms; 26S proteasome (20S core + 19S caps) unfolds and degrades target to 3-25 aa peptides.

Good for

  • Protein quality-control and proteostasis explainers
  • Cancer-drug mechanism articles (bortezomib, carfilzomib in myeloma)
  • Neurodegenerative-disease content covering misfolded-protein accumulation

Source & accuracy

This ubiquitin-proteasome system is an editorial illustration built to represent the concept accurately. Where it shows figures, they are typical or representative values chosen to make the relationship clear, not a single underlying dataset. The diagram and its explainer are reviewed and maintained centrally, and updated over time as understanding improves.

A three-enzyme tagging cascade

The ubiquitin-proteasome system is the main route for degrading specific proteins in the cytosol and nucleus. Tagging runs through three enzyme classes: E1 activates ubiquitin using ATP, E2 carries it, and an E3 ligase recognizes the target protein and transfers ubiquitin onto it.

Repeating this builds a polyubiquitin chain. A chain linked in a particular way acts as the signal that the protein should be destroyed, while the very large number of distinct E3 ligases provides the selectivity for which proteins get marked.

Feeding the shredder

Tagged proteins are delivered to the 26S proteasome, a barrel-shaped complex with a regulatory cap that recognizes the ubiquitin chain, unfolds the protein, and feeds it into an inner chamber where proteases cut it into short peptides. The ubiquitin tags are recycled.

This controlled destruction governs the cell cycle, the stress response, and the supply of antigen fragments to the immune system. Proteasome inhibitor drugs are used in certain cancers, underscoring how essential this turnover is to dividing cells.

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Reference

What this is
A free, embeddable, animated ubiquitin-proteasome system for any website.
Who uses it
Medical educators, Biology educators, Biohacker blogs.
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License
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URL
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Frequently asked questions

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Scrollchart provides "Ubiquitin-Proteasome System" as a free, embeddable animated diagram you can add to any website with one line of HTML. No signup is required and there is no watermark. The diagram and its explainer text are served from scrollchart.com, so the embed stays current without any maintenance on your end.
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