The 20S proteasome.

In contrast to our detailed knowledge of prokaryotic proteasomes, we have only a limited understanding of the prokaryotic regulators and their functional interaction with the proteasome. Most probably, we will soon learn more about the molecular structure and the mechanism of action of the prokaryotic regulators. Nevertheless, it still remains to be unravelled which signals or/and modifications transform an endogenous prokaryotic protein into a substrate of the proteasomal degradation machinery.

Dis-assembly lines: the proteasome and related ATPase-assisted proteases.

Self-compartmentalizing proteases, such as the proteasome and several prokaryotic energy-dependent proteases, are designed to act in the crowded environment of the cell. Proteins destined for degradation are recognized and unfolded by regulatory subcomplexes that invariably contain ATPase modules, before being translocated into another subcomplex, the proteolytic core, for degradation. The sequential actions effected on substrates are reflected in the linear arrangement of these subcomplexes; thus, the holocomplexes are organized as molecular disassembly and degradation lines.

The proteasome: a macromolecular assembly designed for controlled proteolysis.

In eukaryotic cells, the vast majority of proteins in the cytosol and nucleus are degraded via the proteasome-ubiquitin pathway. The 26S proteasome is a huge protein degradation machine of 2.5 MDa, built of approximately 35 different subunits. It contains a proteolytic core complex, the 20S proteasome and one or two 19S regulatory complexes which associate with the termini of the barrel-shaped 20S core. The 19S regulatory complex serves to recognize ubiquitylated target proteins and is implicated to have a role in their unfolding and translocation into the interior of the 20S complex where they are degraded into oligopeptides. While much progress has been made in recent years in elucidating the structure, assembly and enzymatic mechanism of the 20S complex, our knowledge of the functional organization of the 19S regulator is rather limited. Most of its subunits have been identified, but specific functions can be assigned to only a few of them.

An archaebacterial ATPase, homologous to ATPases in the eukaryotic 26 S proteasome, activates protein breakdown by 20 S proteasomes.

In eukaryotes, the 20 S proteasome is the proteolytic core of the 26 S proteasome, which degrades ubiquitinated proteins in an ATP-dependent process. Archaebacteria lack ubiquitin and 26 S proteasomes but do contain 20 S proteasomes. Many archaebacteria, such as Methanococcus jannaschii, also contain a gene (S4) that is highly homologous to the six ATPases in the 19 S (PA700) component of the eukaryotic 26 S proteasome. To test if this putative ATPase may regulate proteasome function, we expressed it in Escherichia coli and purified the 50-kDa product as a 650-kDa complex with ATPase activity. When mixed with the well characterized 20 S proteasomes from Thermoplasma acidophilum and ATP, this complex stimulated degradation of several unfolded proteins 8-25-fold. It also stimulated proteolysis by 20 S proteasomes from another archaebacterium and mammals. This effect required ATP hydrolysis since ADP and the nonhydrolyzable analog, 5'-adenylyl beta, gamma-imidophosphate, were ineffective. CTP and to a lesser extent GTP and UTP were also hydrolyzed and also stimulated proteolysis. We therefore named this complex PAN for proteasome-activating nucleotidase. However, PAN did not promote the degradation of small peptides, which, unlike proteins, should readily diffuse into the proteasome. This ATPase complex appears to have been the evolutionary precursor of the eukaryotic 19 S complex, before the coupling of proteasome function to ubiquitination.

The 26S proteasome: a molecular machine designed for controlled proteolysis.

In eukaryotic cells, most proteins in the cytosol and nucleus are degraded via the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. The 26S proteasome is a 2.5-MDa molecular machine built from approximately 31 different subunits, which catalyzes protein degradation. It contains a barrel-shaped proteolytic core complex (the 20S proteasome), capped at one or both ends by 19S regulatory complexes, which recognize ubiquitinated proteins. The regulatory complexes are also implicated in unfolding and translocation of ubiquitinated targets into the interior of the 20S complex, where they are degraded to oligopeptides. Structure, assembly and enzymatic mechanism of the 20S complex have been elucidated, but the functional organization of the 19S complex is less well understood. Most subunits of the 19S complex have been identified, however, specific functions have been assigned to only a few. A low-resolution structure of the 26S proteasome has been obtained by electron microscopy, but the precise arrangement of subunits in the 19S complex is unclear.

Archaebacterial and eukaryotic proteasomes prefer different sites in cleaving gonadotropin-releasing hormone.

Thermoplasma 20 S proteasomes are composed of only two different types of subunits (designated as alpha and beta) but are nearly indistinguishable in their quaternary structure from eukaryotic 20 S proteasomes consisting of 14 distinct subunits. In this study, we compared both the nature and the rate of the proteolytic activities of Thermoplasma and of granulosa cell proteasomes on the neurohormone, gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), the degradation products of which can be unequivocally identified. Both Thermoplasma and granulosa proteasome degrade the decapeptide GnRH at the Trp3-Ser4, Ser4-Tyr5, Tyr5-Gly6, and Gly6-Leu7 bonds. While the main product of Thermoplasma proteasomes was a GnRH-(1-4) fragment, the main product of granulosa cell proteasome was a GnRH-(1-5) fragment, indicating that the principal degrading activity of Thermoplasma proteasome targets Ser4-Tyr5 bond, while the principal degrading activity of granulosa cell proteasome targets the Tyr5-Gly6 bond of GnRH. These differences in the degradation pattern of the neurohormone were observed when proteasome activities were compared both at 60 degrees C, the optimal temperature for Thermoplasma proteasomal activity, and at 37 degrees C, the optimal temperature of granulosa proteasome proteolytic activity. Although the catalytic mechanism is probably conserved from archaebacterial to eukaryotic proteasomes, our results suggest that there are striking differences in the preferred cleavage site of GnRH. This reflects the changes in the proteasomal subunit repertoire during evolution.

Crystal structure of the 20S proteasome from the archaeon T. acidophilum at 3.4 A resolution.

The three-dimensional structure of the proteasome from the archaebacterium Thermoplasma acidophilum has been elucidated by x-ray crystallographic analysis by means of isomorphous replacement and cyclic averaging. The atomic model was built and refined to a crystallographic R factor of 22.1 percent. The 673-kilodalton protease complex consists of 14 copies of two different subunits, alpha and beta, forming a barrel-shaped structure of four stacked rings. The two inner rings consist of seven beta subunits each, and the two outer rings consist of seven alpha subunits each. A narrow channel controls access to the three inner compartments. The alpha 7 beta 7 beta 7 alpha 7 subunit assembly has 72-point group symmetry. The structures of the alpha and beta subunits are similar, consisting of a core of two antiparallel beta sheets that is flanked by alpha helices on both sides. The binding of a peptide aldehyde inhibitor marks the active site in the central cavity at the amino termini of the beta subunits and suggests a novel proteolytic mechanism.

The proteasome from Thermoplasma acidophilum is neither a cysteine nor a serine protease.

The 20 S proteasome, found in eukaryotes and in the archaebacterium Thermoplasma acidophilum, forms the proteolytic core of the 26 S proteasome which is the central protease of the non-lysosomal protein degradation pathway. Inhibitor studies have indicated that the 20 S proteasome may be an unusual type of cysteine or serine protease and a recent study of the Thermoplasma beta subunit has indicated that it carries the proteolytic activity. We have attempted to obtain information on the nature of the active site by mutating the only cysteine, both histidines and two completely conserved aspartates in the archaebacterial complex as well as all serines of the beta subunit, without decreasing the catalytic activity of the enzyme to any significant extent. Indeed, mutation of the conserved aspartate in the beta subunit increased the activity of the proteasome threefold. We conclude that the proteasome is not a cysteine or serine protease.

Critical elements in proteasome assembly.

Coexpression of both subunits of the Thermoplasma proteasome in Escherichia coli yields fully assembled and proteolytically active proteasomes. Post-translational processing of the beta-subunit occurs in E. coli as it does in Thermoplasma. Coexpression of the alpha-subunit and the beta delta pro-subunit, a mutant beta-subunit lacking the propeptide, also yields fully assembled and active proteasomes. This indicates that the beta-propeptide is not essential for the folding and assembly of Thermoplasma proteasomes. Separately expressed alpha-subunits assemble into heptameric rings indistinguishable from the terminal rings of a proteasome. Mutational analysis shows that the amino terminus, which is highly conserved in all proteasomal alpha-type proteins, is essential for assembly. In the absence of alpha-subunits the beta-subunits are monomeric and post-translational processing of the beta-propeptide does not occur.

Expression of functional Thermoplasma acidophilum proteasomes in Escherichia coli.

The two genes encoding the constituent subunits of the Thermoplasma acidophilum proteasome were expressed in Escherichia coli yielding fully assembled molecules as shown by electron microscopy. The recombinant proteasomes were purified to homogeneity and were shown to have proteolytic activity indistinguishable from proteasomes isolated from T. acidophilum.

Biochemical properties of the proteasome from Thermoplasma acidophilum.

We have purified proteasomes to apparent homogeneity from the archaebacterium Thermoplasma acidophilum. This proteinase has a molecular mass of about 650 kDa and an isoelectric point of 5.6. The proteasome hydrolyses peptide substrates containing an aromatic residue adjacent to the reporter group, as well as [14C]methylated casein optimally at pH 8.5 and 90 degrees C. The enzyme activity is enhanced severalfold by Mg2+ and Ca2+ at 25-500 mM. This increase in activity results primarily from a change in Km. The serine-proteinase inhibitors diisopropylfluorophosphate and 3,4-dichloroisocoumarin irreversibly inhibit the enzyme, obviously by modification of both the alpha and beta subunits in the proteasome. The inhibition of proteasomal activity by the peptidylchloromethanes, Cbz-Leu-Leu-CH2Cl and Cbz-Ala-Ala-Phe-CH2Cl (Cbz, benzyloxycarbonyl), is reversible and predominantly of a competitive type. The enzyme is not activated by any of the compounds that typically stimulate the activities of the eukaryotic proteasome.

Primary structure of the Thermoplasma proteasome and its implications for the structure, function, and evolution of the multicatalytic proteinase.

The proteasome or multicatalytic proteinase is a high molecular mass multisubunit complex ubiquitous in eukaryotes but also found in the archaebacterial proteasome is made of two different subunits only, and yet the complexes are almost identical in size and shape. Cloning and sequencing the gene encoding the small (beta) subunit of the T. acidophilum complex completes the primary structure of the archaebacterial proteasome. The similarity of the derived amino acid sequences of 233 (alpha) and 211 (beta) residues, respectively, indicates that they arose from a common ancestral gene. All the sequences of proteasomal subunits from eukaryotes available to date can be related to either the alpha-subunit or beta-subunit of the T. acidophilum "Urproteasome", and they can be distinguished by means of a highly conserved N-terminal extension, which is characteristic for alpha-type subunits. On the basis of circumstantial evidence we suggest that the alpha-subunits have regulatory and targeting functions, while the beta-subunits carry the active sites.

Cloning and sequencing of the gene encoding the large (alpha-) subunit of the proteasome from Thermoplasma acidophilum.

The gene encoding the alpha-subunit of the proteasome from the archaebacterium Thermoplasma acidophilum was cloned and sequenced. The gene encodes for a polypeptide with 233 amino acid residues and a calculated molecular weight of 25870. Sequence similarity of the alpha-subunit with the Saccharomyces cerevisiae wild-type suppressor gene scll+ encoded polypeptide, which is probably identical with the subunit YC7-alpha of the yeast proteasome, lends support to a putative role of proteasomes in the regulation of gene expression. The significant sequence similarity to the various subunits of eukaryotic proteasomes make it likely that proteasomal proteins are encoded by one gene family of ancient origin.

Electron microscopy and image analysis reveal common principles of organization in two large protein complexes: groEL-type proteins and proteasomes.

In an attempt to settle the question of whether the multicatalytic proteinase or proteasome exist in all three kingdoms of life--eukaryotes, archaebacteria, and eubacteria--we have undertaken a search for them in the eubacterium Comamonas acidovorans. We have, in fact, isolated and purified a cylinder-shaped particle. However, according to various structural and biochemical criteria this turned out to be more reminiscent of the groEL protein from Escherichia coli and its homologs than to proteasomes of eukaryotic or archaebacterial origin. N-terminal sequencing provided definite proof for its belonging to this family of molecular chaperonins. Image analysis of electron micrographs revealed that the C. acidovorans groEL-like protein and proteasomes in spite of their significantly different dimensions have certain principles of organization in common.