Molecular structure of the Anaphase Promoting Complex/Cyclosome (APC/C) during different processes of the cell cycle

Anaphase Promoting Complex/Cyclosome (APC/C) is a kind of E3 ubiquitin ligase involved in a variety of biological processes including mitosis, senescence, apoptosis, and tumor cell formation. Its structural changes and major functions are closely related to the cell cycle progression. APC/C is a large complex consisting of multiple subunits, and the catalytic core exhibits the typical characteristics of the cullin-Ring E3 ligase. The function of the APC/C was modulated by the binding and separation of its co-activators and inhibitors and the corresponding conformational changes of APC/C itself. Ubiquitination is realized through the interaction with UBE2C and UBE2S E2 enzymes and substrates. Therefore, studying the structural changes of APC/C in the cell cycle species is helpful to understand the progression, the specific process of ubiquitination of E3 ubiquitin ligase, and how macromolecular components regulate activity through structural and conformational changes, which is conducive to the development of molecular biology, cell biology, pharmacology, oncology, and other fields. This paper will focus on APC/C’s molecular structure changes and biological functions in different processes of the cell cycle from the perspective of cell cycle progression.