biology

UBE2Z

UBE2Z is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand UBE2Z rather than just read about it. In short: Ubiquitin conjugating enzyme E2 Z (UBE2Z), also known as UBA6-specific E2 enzyme 1 (USE1), is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the UBE2Z gene on chromosome 17. It is ubiquitously expressed in many tissues and cell types.

Key takeaways

UBE2Z belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect UBE2Z to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of UBE2Z from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Ubiquitin conjugating enzyme E2 Z (UBE2Z), also known as UBA6-specific E2 enzyme 1 (USE1), is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the UBE2Z gene on chromosome 17. It is ubiquitously expressed in many tissues and cell types. UBE2Z is an E2 ubiquitin conjugating enzyme and participates in the second step of protein ubiquitination during proteolysis. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) revealed the UBE2Z gene to be associated with chronic kidney disease. The UBE2Z gene also contains one of 27 SNPs associated with increased risk of coronary artery disease.

Structure

Gene The UBE2Z gene resides on chromosome 17 at the band 17q21.32 and contains 7 exons. This gene produces 2 isoforms through alternative splicing. The UBE2Z cDNA spans a length of 3,054 base pairs.

Protein This protein belongs to the ubiquitin conjugating enzyme family and is one of the E2 enzymes. UBE2Z spans 246 amino acids, 150 of which encode a conserved 16–18 kDa ubiquitin conjugating enzyme E2 domain (UBC domain) that is located at the enzyme's N-terminal and responsible for the enzyme's catalytic function. This UBC domain has a relatively inflexible β-sheet structure with flanking helices and contains a highly conserved cysteine residue, Cys80, which functions as an active site for the thiol ester formation with ubiquitin. UBE2Z also contains a C-terminal extension, suggested to participate in substrate binding, which is characteristic of a class II E2 ubiquitin conjugating enzyme.

Function The UBE2Z gene is ubiquitously expressed in human tissues, and its expression is relatively high in placenta, pancreas, spleen and testis. Notably, its expression in cancer tissues is much higher than in relevant normal tissues, especially in kidney, lymph node, colon and ovary cancer. As an E2 member of the ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme family, UBE2Z mainly participates in the second step of protein ubiquitination, which is a major component of protein degradation machinery. Specifically, UBE2Z receives ubiquitin (Ub) from ubiquitin-activating enzyme (E1), mediates the transfer of Ub from E2 to substrate, directly or indirectly with the help of ligase enzyme (E3), which interacts with the substrate and E2-Ub complex. UBE2Z could only be charged by Ub or FAT10 from UBA6 instead of UBA1, distinguishing it from other E2s.

Clinical significance A study in genetic variants that regulate lipid metabolism and determine the susceptibility to dyslipidemia in Japanese individuals revealed that UBE2Z, together with ZPR1 and Interleukin-6R, may be important loci for hypertriglyceridemia. Moreover, in a GWAS among 2247 Japanese individuals, 29 polymorphisms that were previously identified as susceptible loci for coronary artery disease were investigated to identify a correlation of these loci to chronic kidney disease. This GWAS meta-analysis revealed through a chi-square test that rs46522 on the UBE2Z gene was significantly related to chronic kidney disease.

Clinical marker A multi-locus genetic risk score study based on a combination of 27 loci, including the UBE2Z gene, identified individuals at increased risk for both incident and recurrent coronary artery disease events, as well as an enhanced clinical benefit from statin therapy. The study was based on a community cohort study (the Malmo Diet and Cancer study) and four additional randomized controlled trials of primary prevention cohorts (JUPITER and ASCOT) and secondary prevention cohorts (CARE and PROVE IT-TIMI 22).

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with UBE2Z

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what UBE2Z claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to UBE2Z before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about UBE2Z ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of UBE2Z

In research: UBE2Z appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses UBE2Z in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: UBE2Z is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Enzymes, Genes on human chromosome 17, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for UBE2Z outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study UBE2Z in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what UBE2Z means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain UBE2Z out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is UBE2Z in simple terms?

Why does UBE2Z matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study UBE2Z?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on UBE2Z.