ISG15 is an interferon (IFN)-alpha/beta-induced ubiquitin-like protein that is conjugated to cellular proteins during innate immune responses to bacterial and viral infections, including HIV.
Conjugation of ISG15 to cellular proteins occurs in a parallel but distinct mechanism to that of ubiquitin. The E1 activating enzyme for ISG15, is a single-subunit, ATP dependent enzyme, also known as Ube1L showing a high level of similarity to the E1 activating enzyme for ubiquitin at the protein level. However, this protein does not form a conjugate with ubiquitin, indicating that Ube1L is an E1 enzyme for the ISG15 conjugation system (ISGylation).
UbcH8, a member of the ubiquitin E2-conjugating enzyme family, has been identified as a major E2 enzyme for the ISGylation pathway, interacting with Ube1L to facilitate target protein ISGylation. As for ISG15 and Ube1L, UbcH8 expression is induced by IFN. A number of target proteins conjugated with ISG15 have been identified along with HERC5, an IFN-induced HECT domain-containing E3 protein ligase, shown to be responsible for mediation of cellular protein ISGylation, and itself a target for modification by ISG15.