Complete and Limited Proteolysis in Cell Cycle Progression

An important mechanism of regulation that controls progression through the cell cycle involves the timely degradation of specific regulatory proteins. In parallel to the main degradative pathways, it appears that the function of certain proteins may also be modulated by a process called limited proteolysis. We have recently shown that the CDP/Cux transcription factor is proteolytically processed at the G(1)/S transition by the cathepsin L protease. Two aspects of these findings are discussed in the context of the cell cycle. Firstly, together with the cohesin subunit Scc1 and the HCF-1 factor, CDP/Cux represents a third example whereby the process of "limited proteolysis" plays a role in the control of cell cycle progression. Secondly, our findings provides compelling evidence that the cathepsin L protease, which was believed to be obligatorily targeted through the endoplasmic reticulum to the lysosomes or the extra-cellular milieu, could also be present in the nucleus and modulate the function of transcription factors.