Ubiquitin-Proteasome Pathway

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About This MicroSim

Chapter 12: Post-Transcriptional Regulation and Cell Identity

Library: p5.js

Type: Interactive animation sim-id: ubiquitin-pathway
Library: p5.js
Status: Specified

An animated diagram showing the ubiquitin conjugation cascade. Ubiquitin (small yellow circles) is activated by E1 (blue), transferred to E2 (green), then attached to a target protein (large gray shape) by E3 (red). The animation shows the chain growing as multiple ubiquitin molecules are added. When four or more are attached, the polyubiquitinated protein moves to the 26S proteasome (a barrel shape), where it is unfolded and degraded into small peptide fragments. A dropdown menu lets the user select a specific example: p53 degradation by MDM2, cyclin degradation during cell cycle, or IkB degradation for NF-kB activation. Each example shows the biological context alongside the biochemistry.