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Ubiquitin in inflammation: the right linkage makes all the difference

The immune system must operate in an effective, precise and safe manner to defend against diverse pathogens while avoiding attacking the body itself and commensal bacteria. Inflammatory pathways mediated by NOD-like, Toll-like, RIG-I–like and tumor-necrosis-factor receptor families are tightly regulated by ubiquitination, especially by Lys63-linked and linear polyubiquitin chains. Here we discuss the human ubiquitin-mediated inflammatory signaling system, emphasizing the interactions and activities whose coordination ensures timely, accurate regulation of inflammatory responses.

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Figure 1: Ubiquitination is an integral part of inflammatory signaling.
Figure 2: Structures of molecules that make and break ubiquitin chains involved in inflammatory signaling.

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Acknowledgements

We thank N. Kayagaki for helpful comments.

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Correspondence to Jacob E Corn or Domagoj Vucic.

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J.E.C. and D.V. are employees and stockholders of Genentech, Inc.

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Corn, J., Vucic, D. Ubiquitin in inflammation: the right linkage makes all the difference. Nat Struct Mol Biol 21, 297–300 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nsmb.2808

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