Fungal Secondary Metabolites as Inhibitors of the Ubiquitin–Proteasome System

Abstract

The ubiquitin–proteasome system (UPS) is the major non-lysosomal pathway responsible for regulated degradation of intracellular proteins in eukaryotes. As the principal proteolytic pathway in the cytosol and the nucleus, the UPS serves two main functions: the quality control function (i.e., removal of damaged, misfolded, and functionally incompetent proteins) and a major regulatory function (i.e., targeted degradation of a variety of short-lived regulatory proteins involved in cell cycle control, signal transduction cascades, and regulation of gene expression and metabolic pathways). Aberrations in the UPS are implicated in numerous human pathologies such as cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, autoimmunity, inflammation, or infectious diseases. Therefore, the UPS has become an attractive target for drug discovery and development. For the past two decades, much research has been focused on identifying and developing compounds that target specific components of the UPS. Considerable effort has been devoted to the development of both second-generation proteasome inhibitors and inhibitors of ubiquitinating/deubiquitinating enzymes. With the feature of unique structure and bioactivity, secondary metabolites (natural products) serve as the lead compounds in the development of new therapeutic drugs. This review, for the first time, summarizes fungal secondary metabolites found to act as inhibitors of the UPS components.