Ubiquitin-specific peptidase 22 functions and its involvement in disease

// Johanna Melo-Cardenas 1 , Yusi Zhang 1 , Donna D. Zhang 2 and Deyu Fang 1,2 1 Department of Pathology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA 2 Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA Correspondence to: Deyu Fang, email: // Keywords : USP22, deubiquitylation, cancer, oncogene, ataxia Received : October 15, 2015 Accepted : March 10, 2016 Published : April 05, 2016 Abstract Deubiquitylases remove ubiquitin moieties from different substrates to regulate protein activity and cell homeostasis. Since this posttranslational modification plays a role in several different cellular functions, its deregulation has been associated with different pathologies. Aberrant expression of the Ubiquitin-Specific Peptidase 22 (USP22) has been associated with poor cancer prognosis and neurological disorders. However, little is known about USP22 role in these pathologies or in normal physiology. This review summarizes the current knowledge about USP22 function from yeast to human and provides an overview of the possible mechanisms by which USP22 is emerging as a potential oncogene.