Prenylation or isoprenylation is the addition of hydrophobic molecules to a protein to facilitate its attachment to the cell membrane. The result is similar to that of all lipid anchored proteins (e.g. the GPI anchor). All isoprenylation chains are products of the HMG-CoA reductase pathway: geranylgeraniol (GG), farnesol and dolichol.

Proteins that undergo prenylation include ras, which plays a central role in the development of cancer. This suggests that inhibitors of prenylation enzymes (e.g. farnesyltransferase) may influence tumor growth.

Work reported in the journal Genome Research in 2005 reports refinement of computational detection methods for identification of protein prenylation motifs and establishment of an on-line analysis facility entitled "PrePS".

Notes

1. Sebastian Maurer-Stroh and Frank Eisenhaber (2005). "Refinement and prediction of protein prenylation motifs". Genome Research. 6:R55.

Membrane biology | Posttranslational modification

Prenylierung