2004年诺贝尔化学奖授予以色列及美国三位科学家,以表彰他们发现了一种蛋白质“死亡”的重要机理.这三位科学家发现,一种被称为泛素的多肽在需要能量的蛋白质降解过程中扮演着重要角色.泛素由76个氨基酸组成,它就像标签一样贴上某些蛋白质,只要这种泛素贴在这些蛋白质上,这些蛋白质就会被送到细胞内降解.标签是怎么贴的呢?原来细胞中存在着E1、E2、E3三种酶,它们的分工是这样 The 2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to three scientists in Israel and the United States for their discovery of an important mechanism for the “death” of proteins. The three scientists discovered that a peptide called ubiquitin requires energy. Protein degradation plays an important role. Ubiquitin consists of 76 amino acids. It attaches certain proteins just like labels. As long as the ubiquitin is attached to these proteins, these proteins are sent to the cell for degradation. How is the label attached? The original cell contains E1, E2, and E3 enzymes. Their division of labor is like this.