Investigating the role of the deubiquitylating enzyme USP25 in cell cycle control

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"BBSRC: Jessica Bula: BB/ M01116X/1"The cell is the fundamental basal component of all living organisms. Proteins are molecular machines that can function inside cells to regulate processes such as cell growth, cell division and cell death. There is a diverse array of proteins, all of which possess important biological functions. Protein function can be affected by modification such as the attachment of one or more regulatory proteins. One such regulatory protein is called ubiquitin. The number and 3D-orientation of ubiquitin attachments can have important consequences for protein structure and function. For instance, ubiquitin modification is important in the timely and spatially-controlled targeting of proteins for destruction which is an important mechanism for controlling protein function in the cell during cell division. Dysregulation of protein destruction can lead to inappropriate cell growth and diseases such as cancer. Understanding the normal process of protein function by modification is important towards enhancing our understanding of biological processes, and towards the identification of drugs that might have therapeutic value. This project will investigate, specifically, how ubiquitin modification regulates cell growth and division by specifically depleting a protein from the cell that controls the extent of ubiquitin modifications in the cell. Specifically, we will investigate how the protein, USP25 affects the function of a protein called UbcH10, which is very important in controlling cell growth and division, through the modulation of ubiquitin modifications on UbcH10. As such, the data obtained during this project will provide valuable new insights into the fundamental role of proteins in the process of cell growth and division and help identify drugs that might possess cancer therapeutic use.