REVIEW: The Role of Ubiquitin–Proteasome System in the Biology of Stem Cells

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Alexander V. Burov¹, Andrey A. Rodin¹, Vadim L. Karpov¹, and Alexey V. Morozov^1,a*

¹Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 119991 Moscow, Russia

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received September 11, 2023; Revised November 17, 2023; Accepted November 18, 2023

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Selective degradation of cellular proteins by the ubiquitin–proteasome system (UPS) is one of the key regulatory mechanisms in eukaryotic cells. A growing body of evidence indicates that UPS is involved in the regulation of fundamental processes in mammalian stem cells, including proliferation, differentiation, cell migration, aging, and programmed cell death, via proteolytic degradation of key transcription factors and cell signaling proteins and post-translational modification of target proteins with ubiquitin. Studying molecular mechanisms of proteostasis in stem cells is of great importance for the development of new therapeutic approaches aimed at the treatment of autoimmune and neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, and other socially significant pathologies. This review discusses current data on the UPS functions in stem cells.

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KEY WORDS: stem cells, ubiquitin–proteasome system, proteasome

DOI: 10.1134/S0006297923120076

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