{"title":"Emerging tools and methods to study cell signalling mediated by branched ubiquitin chains.","authors":"Matthew R McFarland, Yogesh Kulathu","doi":"10.1042/BST20253015","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Branched ubiquitin chains are complex molecular structures in which two or more ubiquitin moieties are attached to distinct lysine residues of a single ubiquitin molecule within a polyubiquitin chain. These bifurcated architectures significantly expand the signalling capacity of the ubiquitin system. Although branched chains constitute a substantial fraction of cellular polyubiquitin, their biological functions largely remain enigmatic due to their complex nature and the associated technical challenges of studying them. Recent technological innovations have enabled the identification of key molecular players and revealed essential roles for branched chains in diverse cellular processes. In this review, we discuss the bespoke strategies that have driven these discoveries, as well as the technologies needed to advance this rapidly evolving field.</p>","PeriodicalId":8841,"journal":{"name":"Biochemical Society transactions","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8000,"publicationDate":"2025-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Biochemical Society transactions","FirstCategoryId":"99","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1042/BST20253015","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Branched ubiquitin chains are complex molecular structures in which two or more ubiquitin moieties are attached to distinct lysine residues of a single ubiquitin molecule within a polyubiquitin chain. These bifurcated architectures significantly expand the signalling capacity of the ubiquitin system. Although branched chains constitute a substantial fraction of cellular polyubiquitin, their biological functions largely remain enigmatic due to their complex nature and the associated technical challenges of studying them. Recent technological innovations have enabled the identification of key molecular players and revealed essential roles for branched chains in diverse cellular processes. In this review, we discuss the bespoke strategies that have driven these discoveries, as well as the technologies needed to advance this rapidly evolving field.
期刊介绍:
Biochemical Society Transactions is the reviews journal of the Biochemical Society. Publishing concise reviews written by experts in the field, providing a timely snapshot of the latest developments across all areas of the molecular and cellular biosciences.
Elevating our authors’ ideas and expertise, each review includes a perspectives section where authors offer comment on the latest advances, a glimpse of future challenges and highlighting the importance of associated research areas in far broader contexts.