Inhibitors of apoptosis proteins (IAPs) suppress cell death by inactivating proapoptotic regulators, and therefore play important roles in controlling apoptosis in normal and malignant cells. Many IAPs are ubiquitin ligases, and their activity is mediated via ubiquitination and subsequent degradation of their targets. Here we corroborate a previous observation that DIAP1 (Drosophila IAP1) can be degraded via a two-step mechanism: (i) limited caspase-mediated cleavage and (ii) degradation of the released fragment via the ubiquitin N-end rule pathway. Yet, we demonstrate that this pathway is not the only one involved in DIAP1 degradation, and the intact protein can be degraded independent of prior caspase cleavage. Importantly, this mode of degradation does not require the RING-finger-mediated autoubiquitinating activity of DIAP1, believed to target many RING-finger E3s for self-destruction. Our preliminary data suggest that DIAP2 mediates DIAP1 degradation, suggesting a novel regulatory loop within the apoptotic pathway. Studying the role of the autoubiquitinating activity of DIAP1, we demonstrate that it does not involve formation of Lys48-based polyubiquitin chains, but probably chains linked via Lys63. Our preliminary data suggest that the autoubiquitination serves to attenuate the ligase activity of DIAP1 towards its exogenous substrates. Recent studies indicate that ubiquitination plays an important role in regulating apoptosis. This is partially mediated by the inhibitors of apoptosis proteins (IAPs), a centrally important group of cell death regulators, many of them are ubiquitin ligases. IAPs suppress cell death by inactivating different proapoptotic factors, some by targeting them for ubiquitination and subsequent proteasomal degradation. At least eight IAPs have been identified in mammals. In Drosophila melanogaster, expression of DIAP1 and DIAP2 1 can suppress apoptosis that occurs both during normal development as well as following overexpression of proapoptotic factors such as Reaper (Rpr). 2 Loss of DIAP1 function results in early embryonic death as a consequence of massive apoptosis. [3][4][5] The IAP family is characterized structurally by one-three Nterminal copies of Baculovirus IAP Repeat (BIR) domains. DIAP1 contains two copies of BIR that bind effector and initiator caspases. In some cases, this binding leads to ubiquitination and subsequent degradation of the caspase. 2 IAP-mediated inactivation of caspases is effectively inhibited by a family of proapoptotic proteins that share an IAP-binding tetra-peptide motif at their N-termini. Among those proteins are Smac/Diablo in mammals, and Rpr, Hid and Grim (RHG) in Drosophila. It was shown that RHG proteins abrogate effectively DIAP1-mediated inactivation of Dronc and DrICE. 6 DIAP1 contains also a C-terminal RING-finger motif that serves to recruit the E2 component of the ubiquitin conjugation machinery. For RING-finger E3s, their best-characterized activity is self-ubiquitination thought to regulate their cellular level, but it is assumed th...