Ubiquitin Specific Peptidase 2 (USP2)

Ubiquitin, a highly conserved protein involved in the regulation of intracellular protein breakdown, cell cycle regulation, and stress response, is released from degraded proteins by disassembly of the polyubiquitin chains. The disassembly process is mediated by ubiquitin-specific proteases (USPs).

Using a double-screening method of bacteria expressing chick skeletal muscle cDNA, Baek et al. (1997) isolated a cDNA encoding a deduced 357-amino acid protein expressing deubiquitinating activity. Because SDS-PAGE analysis indicated a 41-kD purified protein, the authors termed the protein Ubp41. The International Radiation Hybrid Mapping Consortium mapped the USP2 gene to chromosome 11.