Before I can begin characterizing the USP5 protein, I first needed to make some protein sample to work with. I expressed and purified the zinc-finger domain protein in bacteria and ended up with a high yield of a sample which is very pure. All of my methods and data from this experiment can be found Read More …

Ubiquitination can mark proteins for degradation, alter their cellular location, affect their activity, and promote or prevent protein interactions. Ubiquitin specific proteases (USPs) are the largest family of deubiquitinase enzymes. USP5 disassembles unanchored ubiquitin chains. This prevents the accumulation of ubiquitin chains which would otherwise compete against ubiquitinated proteins for degradation as well as replenishes the Read More …