TY - JOUR T1 - Towards a Functional Understanding of Protein N-Terminal Acetylation A1 - Arnesen, Thomas Y1 - 2011/05/31 N2 - Protein N-terminal acetylation is a major modification of eukaryotic proteins. Its functional implications include regulation of protein–protein interactions and targeting to membranes, as demonstrated by studies of a handful of proteins. Fifty years after its discovery, a potential general function of the N-terminal acetyl group carried by thousands of unique proteins remains enigmatic. However, recent functional data suggest roles for N-terminal acetylation as a degradation signal and as a determining factor for preventing protein targeting to the secretory pathway, thus highlighting N-terminal acetylation as a major determinant for the life and death of proteins. These contributions represent new and intriguing hypotheses that will guide the research in the years to come. JF - PLOS Biology JA - PLOS Biology VL - 9 IS - 5 UR - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001074 SP - e1001074 EP - PB - Public Library of Science M3 - doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001074 ER -