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ubiquitin-proteasome-dysfunction-neurodegeneration

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UPS Dysfunction in Neurodegeneration: Cross-Disease Mechanisms

Overview

The [ubiquitin-proteasome system](/mechanisms/ubiquitin-proteasome-system) (UPS) is the primary ATP-dependent proteolytic pathway in eukaryotic cells, responsible for degrading approximately 80-90% of intracellular proteins. The UPS maintains [protein homeostasis](/mechanisms/protein-homeostasis-neurodegeneration) through a coordinated enzymatic cascade — E1 ubiquitin-activating enzymes, E2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzymes, and E3 ubiquitin ligases — that tags substrates with polyubiquitin chains for recognition and degradation by the 26S proteasome. In neurons, where post-mitotic cells must maintain protein quality across decades of lifespan, UPS dysfunction has catastrophic consequences.

UPS dysfunction is a convergent feature of virtually every neurodegenerative disease, though the specific mechanisms differ by disorder. The presence of ubiquitin-positive inclusions — from [neurofibrillary tangles](/mechanisms/tau-pathology-pathway) in [Alzheimer's disease](/diseases/alzheimers-disease) to [Lewy bodies](/mechanisms/alpha-synuclein-pathology) in [Parkinson's disease](/diseases/parkinsons-disease) — provided the first pathological evidence of UPS failure in the degenerating brain[@ciechanover2020]. Subsequent research has revealed that UPS impairment is not merely a consequence of protein aggregation but an active driver of pathogenesis, creating feed-forward loops that accelerate neurodegeneration.

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