Chapter 2 - Clinical Perspective of Posttranslational Modifications

Abstract

Producing a functional protein does not always simply require biosynthesis and folding but there is more to it in terms of changes that are referred to as posttranslational modifications (PTMs). Once translation completes, the protein diversity in terms of structure and function is enhanced in one of two ways: the polypeptide backbone is cleaved or the side chains are changed. Some of these posttranslational modifications comprise phosphorylation, acetylation, glycosylation, methylation, hydroxylation, and so on, which are important for a protein in terms of its physiological role. However, any alterations here, due to inherited or environmental factors, have been shown to result in functional changes, which in certain situations, lead to manifestation of evident disease processes. Modified proteins perform an array of specialized functions and study of these PTM's helps us to understand further cellular homeostasis, design and development of novel drug targets, and selection of specific biomarkers as diagnostic markers of various chronic diseases. All these have proven to be beneficial in the development of better therapeutic approaches for such devastating diseases. In this chapter, we have attempted to describe some of the well-characterized PTMs and emphasize their contribution in varied disease processes, which otherwise are meant to be part of normal physiology and development.