PEST sequence explained

A PEST sequence is a peptide sequence that is rich in proline (P), glutamic acid (E), serine (S) and threonine (T). It is associated with proteins that have a short intracellular half-life, so might act as a signal peptide for protein degradation.^[1] This may be mediated via the proteasome^{[2] [3]} or calpain.^[4]

Notes and References

1. Rogers S, Wells R, Rechsteiner M . Amino acid sequences common to rapidly degraded proteins: the PEST hypothesis . . 234 . 4774 . 364–8 . 1986 . 2876518 . 10.1126/science.2876518. 1986Sci...234..364R .
2. Reverte CG, Ahearn MD, Hake LE . CPEB degradation during Xenopus oocyte maturation requires a PEST domain and the 26S proteasome . Dev. Biol. . 231 . 2 . 447–58 . 2001 . 11237472 . 10.1006/dbio.2001.0153. free .
3. Spencer ML, Theodosiou M, Noonan DJ . NPDC-1, a novel regulator of neuronal proliferation, is degraded by the ubiquitin/proteasome system through a PEST degradation motif . J. Biol. Chem. . 279 . 35 . 37069–78 . 2004 . 15229225 . 10.1074/jbc.M402507200. free .
4. Shumway SD, Maki M, Miyamoto S . The PEST Domain of IκBα is necessary and sufficient for in vitro degradation by mu-calpain . J. Biol. Chem. . 274 . 43 . 30874–81 . 1999 . 10521480 . 10.1074/jbc.274.43.30874. free .