New roles for old modifications: Emerging roles of N-terminal post-translational modifications in development and disease

The importance of internal post-translational modification (PTM) in protein signaling and function has long been known and appreciated. However, the significance of the same PTMs on the alpha amino group of N-terminal amino acids has been comparatively understudied. Historically considered static regulators of protein stability, additional functional roles for N-terminal PTMs are now beginning to be elucidated. New findings show that N-terminal methylation, along with N-terminal acetylation, is an important regulatory modification with significant roles in development and disease progression. There are also emerging studies on the enzymology and functional roles of N-terminal ubiquitylation and N-terminal propionylation. Here, will discuss the recent advances in the functional studies of N-terminal PTMs, recount the new N-terminal PTMs being identified, and briefly examine the possibility of dynamic N-terminal PTM exchange.