In molecular biology, the Ubiquitin-Interacting Motif (UIM), or 'LALAL-motif', is a

sequence motif In biology, a sequence motif is a nucleotide or amino-acid sequence pattern that is widespread and usually assumed to be related to biological function of the macromolecule. For example, an ''N''-glycosylation site motif can be defined as ''As ...

of about 20

amino acid Amino acids are organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. Although hundreds of amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the alpha-amino acids, which comprise proteins. Only 22 alpha am ...

residues, which was first described in the 26S

proteasome Proteasomes are protein complexes which degrade unneeded or damaged proteins by proteolysis, a chemical reaction that breaks peptide bonds. Enzymes that help such reactions are called proteases. Proteasomes are part of a major mechanism by w ...

subunit PSD4/RPN-10 that is known to recognise ubiquitin. In addition, the UIM is found, often in tandem or triplet arrays, in a variety of

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...

s either involved in

ubiquitination Ubiquitin is a small (8.6 kDa) regulatory protein found in most tissues of eukaryotic organisms, i.e., it is found ''ubiquitously''. It was discovered in 1975 by Gideon Goldstein and further characterized throughout the late 1970s and 1980s. Fo ...

and ubiquitin metabolism, or known to

interact Advocates for Informed Choice, dba interACT or interACT Advocates for Intersex Youth, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization using innovative strategies to advocate for the legal and human rights of children with intersex traits. The organizati ...

with ubiquitin-like modifiers. Among the UIM

s are two different subgroups of the UBP (ubiquitin carboxy-terminal hydrolase) family of deubiquitinating enzymes, one F-box protein, one family of HECT-containing ubiquitin-ligases (E3s) from plants, and several

proteins Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...

containing ubiquitin-associated UBA and/or UBX domains. In most of these proteins, the UIM occurs in multiple copies and in association with other domains such as UBA
INTERPRO
, UBX
INTERPRO
, ENTH domain, EH
INTERPRO
, VHS
INTERPRO
, SH3 domain,

HECT or Hector was a Japanese video game developer and publisher. It had a Virtual Boy game in development, entitled ''Virtual Battle Ball''; however, it was eventually canceled. List of games *'' Shogun'' *''Emoyan no 10-bai Pro Yakyuu'' *''Great ...

, VWFA
INTERPRO
, EF-hand calcium-binding,

WD-40 WD-40 is an American brand and the trademark of a penetrating oil manufactured by the WD-40 Company based in San Diego, California. The formula for WD-40 was invented for the Rocket Chemical Company as early as 1953 before it evolved into the ...

, F-box
INTERPRO
, LIM, protein kinase, ankyrin, PX,

phosphatidylinositol Phosphatidylinositol (or Inositol Phospholipid) consists of a family of lipids as illustrated on the right, where red is x, blue is y, and black is z, in the context of independent variation, a class of the phosphatidylglycerides. In such molecul ...

3- and 4-kinase
INTERPRO
, C2 domain, OTU
INTERPRO
, DnaJ domain
INTERPRO
, RING-finger
INTERPRO
or FYVE-finger
INTERPRO
. UIMs have been shown to bind ubiquitin and to serve as a specific targeting signal important for monoubiquitination. Thus, UIMs may have several functions in ubiquitin

metabolism Metabolism (, from el, μεταβολή ''metabolē'', "change") is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms. The three main functions of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run cell ...

each of which may require different numbers of UIMs. The UIM is unlikely to form an independent protein domain. Instead, based on the spacing of the conserved residues, the

motif Motif may refer to: General concepts * Motif (chess composition), an element of a move in the consideration of its purpose * Motif (folkloristics), a recurring element that creates recognizable patterns in folklore and folk-art traditions * Moti ...

probably forms a short

alpha-helix The alpha helix (α-helix) is a common motif in the secondary structure of proteins and is a right hand-helix conformation in which every backbone N−H group hydrogen bonds to the backbone C=O group of the amino acid located four residues ear ...

that can be embedded into different protein folds. Some proteins known to contain an UIM are listed below: *

Eukaryotic Eukaryotes () are organisms whose cells have a nucleus. All animals, plants, fungi, and many unicellular organisms, are Eukaryotes. They belong to the group of organisms Eukaryota or Eukarya, which is one of the three domains of life. Bacte ...

PSD4/RPN-10/S5, a multi-ubiquitin binding subunit of the 26S proteasome. *

Vertebrate Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () ( chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, ...

Machado-Joseph

disease A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that a ...

protein 1 (Ataxin-3), which acts as a histone-binding protein that

regulate Regulate may refer to: * Regulation * '' Regulate...G Funk Era'', an album from rapper Warren G ** Regulate (song), title song from the album See also * * * Regulator (disambiguation) Regulator may refer to: Technology * Regulator (automati ...

s transcription; defects in Ataxin-3 cause the neurodegenerative disorder Machado-Joseph disease (MJD). *Vertebrate epsin and epsin2. *Vertebrate

hepatocyte A hepatocyte is a cell of the main parenchymal tissue of the liver. Hepatocytes make up 80% of the liver's mass. These cells are involved in: * Protein synthesis * Protein storage * Transformation of carbohydrates * Synthesis of cholesterol, ...

growth Growth may refer to: Biology * Auxology, the study of all aspects of human physical growth * Bacterial growth * Cell growth * Growth hormone, a peptide hormone that stimulates growth * Human development (biology) * Plant growth * Secondary growth ...

factor-regulated

tyrosine kinase A tyrosine kinase is an enzyme that can transfer a phosphate group from ATP to the tyrosine residues of specific proteins inside a cell. It functions as an "on" or "off" switch in many cellular functions. Tyrosine kinases belong to a larger cla ...

substrate (HRS). *

Mammalia Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur o ...

epidermal growth factor receptor The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR; ErbB-1; HER1 in humans) is a transmembrane protein that is a receptor for members of the epidermal growth factor family (EGF family) of extracellular protein ligands. The epidermal growth factor recept ...

substrate 15 (EPS15), which is involved in

cell growth Cell growth refers to an increase in the total mass of a cell, including both cytoplasmic, nuclear and organelle volume. Cell growth occurs when the overall rate of cellular biosynthesis (production of biomolecules or anabolism) is greater than ...

regulation Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. For ...

. *

Mammalian Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class (biology), class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in Female#Mammalian female, females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a ...

epidermal growth factor Epidermal growth factor (EGF) is a protein that stimulates cell growth and differentiation by binding to its receptor, EGFR. Human EGF is 6-k Da and has 53 amino acid residues and three intramolecular disulfide bonds. EGF was originally descr ...

receptor Receptor may refer to: * Sensory receptor, in physiology, any structure which, on receiving environmental stimuli, produces an informative nerve impulse *Receptor (biochemistry), in biochemistry, a protein molecule that receives and responds to a ...

substrate EPS15R. * ''

Drosophila ''Drosophila'' () is a genus of flies, belonging to the family Drosophilidae, whose members are often called "small fruit flies" or (less frequently) pomace flies, vinegar flies, or wine flies, a reference to the characteristic of many species ...

melanogaster'' (Fruit fly) liquid facets (lqf), an epsin. *

Yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are estimated to constitut ...

VPS27 vacuolar sorting protein, which is required for membrane traffic to the vacuole.

References

{{InterPro content, IPR003903 Protein structural motifs