The addition of ubiquitin to a target protein has long been implicated in the process of degradation and is the primary mediator of protein turnover in the cell. Recently, however, many non-proteolytic functions of ubiquitination have emerged as key regulators of cellular homeostasis. In this review, we will describe the various non-traditional functions of ubiquitination, with particular focus on how they can be used as signaling entities in cancer formation and progression. Elaboration of this topic can lead to a better understanding of oncogenic mechanisms, as well as the discovery of novel druggable proteins within the ubiquitin pathway.
Keywords: cancer; deubiquitination; deubiquitylation (deubiquitination); monoubiquitination; non-degradative pathways; polyubiquitin chain; signal transduction; therapeutic intervention; ubiquitination; ubiquitylation (ubiquitination).
© 2017 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.