ArticleNature communications2026
Membrane-embedded polar residues target membrane proteins for degradation by the quality control protease FtsH.
Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Membrane Protein Insertion in Cells: Principles, Pathways, and Quality Control.Chemical reviews · 2026Review
- Lipid bilayer thinning near a ubiquitin ligase selects ER membrane proteins for degradation.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Maintaining the Integral Membrane Proteome: Revisiting the Functional Repertoire of Integral Membrane Proteases.Chembiochem : a European journal of chemical biology · 2025Review
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
The biogenesis of membrane proteins (MPs) is inherently error-prone, and is therefore monitored by quality control mechanisms that remove faulty MPs. A key challenge for this surveillance is to recognize misfolded MPs, but how this is achieved remains poorly understood. Here we reveal how FtsH, the main MP quality control protease in Escherichia coli, specifically targets faulty MPs. By analyzing the in vivo degradation of two substrates, we show that lipid-facing polar residues trigger FtsH-mediated degradation. In folded MPs, such polar residues are usually buried in the protein core. Their exposure to the membrane can therefore signal misfolding and promote degradation. Strikingly, lipid-facing polar residues can even trigger degradation of a folded protein, and do not require the extended cytosolic regions typically needed for other FtsH substrates. Recognition depends on the FtsH transmembrane domain and on specific polar residues within it. Thus, sensing misfolding within the membrane helps maintain the integrity of the membrane proteome.
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Registered trials
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