Protein degradation in eukaryotes often requires the ubiquitin-selective chaperone p97 for substrate recruitment and ubiquitin-chain assembly. However, the physiological relevance of p97, and its role in developmental processes, remain unclear. Here, we discover an unanticipated function for CDC-48/p97 in myosin assembly and myofibril organization, both in Caenorhabditis elegans and humans. The developmentally regulated assembly of a CDC-48-UFD-2-CHN-1 complex links turnover of the myosin-directed chaperone UNC-45 to functional muscle formation. Our data suggest a similarly conserved pathway regulating myosin assembly in humans. Remarkably, mutations in human p97, known to cause hereditary inclusion-body myopathy, abrogate UNC-45 degradation and result in severely disorganized myofibrils, detrimental towards sarcomeric function. These results identify a key role for CDC-48/p97 in the process of myofibre differentiation and maintenance, which is abolished during pathological conditions leading to protein aggregation and inclusion-body formation in human skeletal muscle.

Since cdc48 mutants were isolated by the first genetic screens for cell division cycle (cdc) mutants in yeast, the requirement of the chaperone-like ATPase Cdc48/p97 during cell division has remained unclear. Here, we discover an unanticipated function for Caenorhabditis elegans CDC-48 in DNA replication linked to cell cycle control. Our analysis of the CDC-48 UFD؊1/NPL؊4 complex identified a general role in S phase progression of mitotic cells essential for embryonic cell division and germline development of adult worms. These developmental defects result from activation of the DNA replication checkpoint caused by replication stress. Similar to loss of replication licensing factors, DNA content is strongly reduced in worms depleted for CDC-48, UFD-1, and NPL-4. In addition, these worms show decreased DNA synthesis and hypersensitivity toward replication blocking agents. Our findings identified a role for CDC-48 UFD؊1/NPL؊4 in DNA replication, which is important for cell cycle progression and genome stability.ATL-1/ATR ͉ C. elegans ͉ CDC-48/p97 ͉ genome stability M any biological processes including development and cell division are tightly controlled by ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation. A central factor for mobilizing and targeting ubiquitylated substrates to the 26S proteasome is Cdc48/p97 (Cdc48 in yeast, CDC-48 in C. elegans, p97 in mammals), a chaperone-like AAA ATPase (1). Its activity is modulated by alternative adaptor proteins, which determine recruitment and processing of specific substrates. Cdc48/p97 forms a complex with the cofactors Ufd1 and Npl4 that is involved in endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-associated protein degradation (ERAD) (2), membrane fusion and cell cycle progression (3, 4). Temperature sensitive cdc48 mutants have already been isolated by early cdc-screens (5) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. However, the essential role of Cdc48 during cell cycle progression remained elusive.Meanwhile, different activities of Cdc48/p97 in mitosis have been addressed by several studies. Early observations in yeast and recent findings using Xenopus egg extracts suggested that Cdc48/p97 regulates spindle disassembly during exit from mitosis (6, 7). For example, spindle regulators such as the Polo-like kinase Plx remain attached and probably stabilize the spindle in the absence of p97 Ufd1/Npl4 . However, contradictory evidence exists concerning a specific role of the p97 Ufd1/Npl4 complex in spindle dynamics (8,9). Beside spindle function, p97 together with its Ufd1-Npl4 cofactor is important for nuclear envelope assembly (10). Interestingly, it has been shown that p97 stimulates nucleus reformation after mitosis by extracting and thereby inactivating the mitotic progression kinase Aurora B from chromatin (11). Together, these diverse processes involving Cdc48/p97 suggest the existence of multiple substrates that need to be regulated during mitosis.Recently, we found that the C. elegans Cdc48/p97 homologues CDC-48.1 and CDC-48.2 form an evolutionarily conserved complex with UFD-1 and NPL-4 important for t...

Selective protein degradation by the 26 S proteasome usually requires a polyubiquitin chain attached to the protein substrate by three classes of enzymes: a ubiquitin-activating enzyme (E1), a ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme (E2), and a ubiquitin ligase (E3). This reaction can produce different polyubiquitin chains that, depending on size and linkage type, can provide distinct intracellular signals. Interestingly, polyubiquitination is sometimes regulated by additional conjugation factors, called E4s (polyubiquitin chain conjugation factors). Yeast UFD2 (ubiquitin fusion degradation protein-2), the first E4 to be described, binds to the ubiquitin moieties of preformed conjugates and catalyses ubiquitin-chain elongation together with E1, E2, and E3. Recent studies have illustrated that the E4 enzyme UFD2 co-operates with an orchestra of ubiquitin-binding factors in an escort pathway to transfer and deliver polyubiquitinated substrates to the 26 S proteasome. Here we propose a model in which E4-dependent polyubiquitination pathways are modulated by different ubiquitin-binding proteins, using ataxin-3 as an example.

Selective protein degradation by the 26 S proteasome usually requires a polyubiquitin chain attached to the protein substrate by three classes of enzymes: a ubiquitin-activating enzyme (E1), a ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme (E2), and a ubiquitin ligase (E3). This reaction can produce different polyubiquitin chains that, depending on size and linkage type, can provide distinct intracellular signals. Interestingly, polyubiquitination is sometimes regulated by additional conjugation factors, called E4s (polyubiquitin chain conjugation factors). Yeast UFD2 (ubiquitin fusion degradation protein-2), the first E4 to be described, binds to the ubiquitin moieties of preformed conjugates and catalyses ubiquitin-chain elongation together with E1, E2, and E3. Recent studies have illustrated that the E4 enzyme UFD2 co-operates with an orchestra of ubiquitin-binding factors in an escort pathway to transfer and deliver polyubiquitinated substrates to the 26 S proteasome. Here we propose a model in which E4-dependent polyubiquitination pathways are modulated by different ubiquitin-binding proteins, using ataxin-3 as an example.