蛋白酶体调节颗粒的结构生物学特征及其功能

蛋白酶体调节颗粒(regulatory particle,RP)参与调控许多重要信号通路的蛋白质降解,在维持细胞稳态中发挥重要作用.近年来,真核细胞蛋白酶体在癌症治疗中的作用机制及药物研发已引起了广泛关注,并有3种蛋白酶体抑制剂已用于临床治疗.随着蛋白酶体功能研究的不断深入,以及晶体学和冷冻电镜技术在其结构生物学研究中...     

蛋白酶体与神经原纤维缠结

蛋白酶体在真核生物体内选择性识别、清除错误折叠和异常聚积的蛋白质。神经原纤维缠结是阿尔茨海默病患典型的病理特征之一,主要由异常磷酸化的微管相关蛋白tau聚积而成,但其形成机制尚未阐明。越来越多的研究表明蛋白酶体功能异常和神经原纤维缠结的形成密切相关。     

泛素–蛋白酶体系统在铁死亡中的作用

铁死亡是一种新型的由铁积累和脂质过氧化驱动的调节性细胞死亡方式,且越来越多的证据表明铁死亡对包括肿瘤在内的多种疾病的发生发展有重要作用。因此,利用铁死亡进行疾病的治疗也成为基础研究和临床研究的一大方向。泛素–蛋白酶体系统(the ubiquitin-proteasome system, UPS)是真核生物蛋白的主要降解途径之一,是由泛素(ubiquitin, Ub)先标记要降解的蛋白质,进而由蛋白酶体识别和降解的过程。泛素–蛋白酶体途径功能失调会导致多种病理过程发生,因此,它对维持生物体机能稳定具有重要的意义。蛋白质稳定性的调节是铁死亡复杂的分子机制中至关重要的一部分,而泛素–蛋白酶体系统作为真核生物中大分子稳态的关键调节系统,它可以通过调节铁死亡相关分子或相关信号通路等多种方式直接或间接影响铁死亡,在铁死亡中发挥着重要作用。因此,该文就泛素–蛋白酶体系统参与调节铁死亡的相关分子或信号通路等方面进行综述,以期为以铁死亡为靶点的疾病治疗提供一定参考。     

蛋白酶体结构和活性调节机制的研究进展

蛋白酶体负责细胞内绝大多数蛋白质的降解,几乎对生物体所有的生命活动都具有调控作用.蛋白酶体功能异常能够导致很多疾病.近期,研究者们在蛋白酶体的结构分析和活性调节机制等方面的研究都获得了重要的突破.本文综述了有关蛋白酶体结构和活性调控机制,包括转录调控、翻译后修饰、组装机制等的研究进展,这些对蛋白酶体新的认识将为蛋白酶体相关疾病的研究及相应药物的开发带来新的思路.对于目前蛋白酶体抑制剂的研发本文也做了简要的介绍.     

转基因枸杞中蛋白酶体糜蛋白酶样活性的研究

利用提取的转基因枸杞和正常枸杞蛋白与蛋白酶体的特异性荧光底物Suc-LLVY-AMC室温孵育,于360nm（激发光）/460nm（发射光）波长下测定荧光值的方法,研究了转基因枸杞和正常枸杞中蛋白酶体糜蛋白酶活性的差异及其特异性抑制剂MG115对枸杞中蛋白酶体活性的影响。结果表明表达H IV壳体蛋白的转基因枸杞蛋白酶体活性是空载体对照转基因枸杞蛋白酶体活性的3.6倍,是正常枸杞的4.2倍。10μM的MG115对表达H IV壳体蛋白的转基因枸杞蛋白酶体活性抑制率为87%,携带空载体对照的转基因枸杞抑制率为74%,而对正常枸杞抑制率仅为8.6%;50μM的MG115抑制作用与10μM的相比没有明显变化。这一结果将为利用蛋白酶体抑制剂提高转基因枸杞悬浮细胞H IV-1CA含量的研究提供理论依据。     

古菌RecJ蛋白的研究进展

RecJ蛋白属于aspartate-histidine-histidine (DHH)磷酸酯酶超家族,存在于细菌、真核生物和古菌中。细菌RecJ蛋白是一种5′→3′ssDNA外切酶,参与错配修复、同源重组、碱基切除修复等生物学过程。真核生物cell division cycle 45 (Cdc45)蛋白是细菌RecJ核酸酶的同源物,但不具有核酸酶活性。Cdc45蛋白能够与minichromosomemaintenance(MCM)和Go-Ichi-Ni-San(GINS)形成Cdc45-MCM-GINS (CMG)复合物,是真核生物DNA复制的重要组分。在古菌中,几乎所有基因组已测序的古菌均编码一种或多种RecJ蛋白同源物。与细菌RecJ核酸酶不同,古菌RecJ蛋白具有多样化的核酸酶活性,并且能够与MCM和GINS形成类似于真核生物CMG的复合物。因此,古菌RecJ蛋白是参与古菌DNA复制、修复和重组的重要成分。基于目前古菌RecJ蛋白的研究报道,本文综述了古菌RecJ蛋白的活性、结构与功能方面的研究进展,聚焦于不同古菌RecJ蛋白以及它们与细菌RecJ核酸酶和真核生物RecJ同源物的...     

蛋白酶体的结构与功能

蛋白酶体又称26S蛋白酶体,由催化颗粒（CP）和调节颗粒（RP）构成。CP含α亚基和β亚基各7个,且各自成环,组成圆桶样结构。其中α环位于圆桶两端,β环位于中间。RP分为三倍体ATP酶亚基（Rpt)和非ATP酶亚基（Rpn)。基高级结构分为盖部和基底部。基底部位于CP的两端,由6个Rpt和Rpn组成。盖部由其他Rpn构成,位于基底部外侧。蛋白酶体具有蛋白水解酶活性,Rpt水解ATP供能。蛋白酶体水解作用需要泛蛋白参加,位于盖部的Rpn10是其受体。部分RP还具有与蛋白质水解无关的其他作用,如参与DNA修复工作等。蛋白酶体经不同的加工可以转变为免疫蛋白酶体,橄榄球蛋白酶体和杂化蛋白酶体,各有其重要的生理功能。     

一种基于绿色荧光蛋白的蛋白酶体抑制剂细胞筛选模型

为建立基于绿色荧光蛋白(GFP)的药物筛选模型,并用此模型从包括中药提取物在内的化合物中筛选新型蛋白酶体抑制剂,本研究构建了pGC-E1-ZU1-GFP融合蛋白慢病毒表达载体并感染A549细胞,筛选稳定表达细胞株,用已知蛋白酶体抑制剂PS-341处理细胞,荧光显微镜检测处理前后细胞GFP水平变化。结果获得了稳定表达pGC-E1-ZU1-GFP的A549细胞,这些细胞用PS-341处理24h后用荧光显微镜检测,发现细胞绿色荧光强度相对于对照组明显增强。利用这一模型对一些化合物进行筛查,发现了一些新的蛋白酶体抑制剂。     

蛋白酶体结构和功能研究进展

蛋白酶体是真核细胞内依赖ATP的蛋白质水解途径的重要成分,负责大多数细胞内蛋白质的降解. 20 S蛋白酶体有多种肽酶活性,其活性位点为Thr. 19 S复合物与20 S蛋白酶体结合成为26 S复合物,能降解泛素化蛋白.近几年来,蛋白酶体的分子组成、亚基、生化机理、胞内功能等方面的研究取得了明显进展.     

泛素-蛋白酶体途径在病毒感染中的作用

泛素-蛋白酶体途径——降解溶酶体外蛋白的主要细胞内系统,在许多细胞功能中发挥重要作用。为自身利益如病毒出芽、凋亡抑制和免疫逃避,许多病毒已经进化出了利用泛素-蛋白酶体途径的不同策略。深入理解泛素-蛋白酶体途径在病毒感染中的作用有助于揭示一些病毒病的致病机理和发现新的分子靶标以开发抗病毒药物。因此,将泛素-蛋白酶体途径在病毒感染中的作用方面的最新进展作一综述。     

Autoubiquitination of the 26S Proteasome on Rpn13 Regulates Breakdown of Ubiquitin Conjugates

Degradation rates of most proteins in eukaryotic cells are determined by their rates of ubiquitination. However, possible regulation of the proteasome's capacity to degrade ubiquitinated proteins has received little attention, although proteasome inhibitors are widely used in research and cancer treatment. We show here that mammalian 26S proteasomes have five associated ubiquitin ligases and that multiple proteasome subunits are ubiquitinated in cells, especially the ubiquitin receptor subunit, Rpn13. When proteolysis is even partially inhibited in cells or purified 26S proteasomes with various inhibitors, Rpn13 becomes extensively and selectively poly‐ubiquitinated by the proteasome‐associated ubiquitin ligase, Ube3c/Hul5. This modification also occurs in cells during heat‐shock or arsenite treatment, when poly‐ubiquitinated proteins accumulate. Rpn13 ubiquitination strongly decreases the proteasome's ability to bind and degrade ubiquitin‐conjugated proteins, but not its activity against peptide substrates. This autoinhibitory mechanism presumably evolved to prevent binding of ubiquitin conjugates to defective or stalled proteasomes, but this modification may also be useful as a biomarker indicating the presence of proteotoxic stress and reduced proteasomal capacity in cells or patients.     

Rethinking Proteasome Evolution: Two Novel Bacterial Proteasomes

The proteasome is a multisubunit structure that degrades proteins. Protein degradation is an essential component of regulation because proteins can become misfolded, damaged, or unnecessary. Proteasomes and their homologues vary greatly in complexity: from HslV (heat shock locus v), which is encoded by 1 gene in bacteria, to the eukaryotic 20S proteasome, which is encoded by more than 14 genes. Despite this variation in complexity, all the proteasomes are composed of homologous subunits. We searched 238 complete bacterial genomes for structures related to the proteasome and found evidence of two novel groups of bacterial proteasomes. The first, which we name Anbu, is sparsely distributed among cyanobacteria and proteobacteria. We hypothesize that Anbu must be very ancient because of its distribution within the cyanobacteria, and that it has been lost in many more recent species. We also present evidence for a fourth type of bacterial proteasome found in a few beta-proteobacteria, which we call beta-proteobacteria proteasome homologue (BPH). Sequence and structural analyses show that Anbu and BPH are both distinct from known bacterial proteasomes but have homologous structures. Anbu is encoded by one gene, so we postulate a duplication of Anbu created the 20S proteasome. Anbu's function appears to be related to transglutaminase activity, not the general stress response associated with HslV. We have found different combinations of Anbu, BPH, and HslV within these bacterial genomes, which raises questions about specialized protein degradation systems.     

Treatment of COS-7 cells with proteasome inhibitors or gamma-interferon reduces the increase in caspase 3 activity associated with staurosporine-induced apoptosis.

Proteasomes play a major role in intracellular protein degradation and have been implicated in apoptosis. In this study we have investigated proteasome activity and the effects of inhibition of proteasomes or modulation of proteasome complexes on staurosporine-induced apoptosis in COS-7 cells. Staurosporine treatment of COS-7 cells had little direct effect on proteasome activity and did not cause dissociation of 26S proteasomes. There was also no major redistribution of proteasomes accompanying apoptosis in COS-7 cells. However, when the cells were pretreated with proteasome inhibitors, both the caspase 3 activity of the cells and the percentage of apoptotic cells measured by the TUNEL assay were reduced compared to staurosporine-treated cells, which had no inhibitor added. Proteasome inhibitors were also found to reduce the activation of caspase 3 in living cells which was assayed using a FRET-based method. However, proteasome inhibitors did not prevent some of the morphological changes associated with staurosporine-induced apoptosis. Pretreatment of cells with gamma-interferon, which increases immunoproteasomes and PA28 complexes and reduces 26S proteasome levels, had an antiapoptotic effect. These results are consistent with a role for 26S proteasomes in regulating the activation of caspase 3 through the degradation of key regulatory proteins.     

53rd American Society for Mass Spectrometry Conference

This article covers the latest contributions of proteomics to the structural and functional characterization of proteasomes and their associated proteins, but also to the detection of proteasomes as clinical biomarkers in diseases. Proteasomes are highly heterogenous supramolecular complexes and constitute important cellular proteases controlling the pool of proteins involved in key cellular functions. The comprehension of the structure/function relationship of proteasomes is therefore of major interest in biology. Numerous biochemical methods have been employed to purify proteasomes, and have led to the identification of complexes of various compositions – depending on the experimental conditions and the type of strategy used. In association with protein separation and enrichment techniques, modern mass spectrometry instruments and mass spectrometry-based quantitative methods, they have led to unprecedented breakthroughs in the in-depth analysis of the diversity and dynamics of proteasome composition and localization under various stimuli or pathological contexts. Proteasome inhibitors are now used in clinics for the treatment of cancer, and recent studies propose that the proteasome should be considered as a predictive biomarker for various pathologies.     

Role of the sperm proteasome during fertilization and gamete interaction in the mouse

In this work, we have investigated the role of the sperm proteasome during in vitro fertilization (IVF) and gamete interaction in the mouse. Proteasome activity was measured in extract and intact sperm using a specific substrate. In addition, sperm were treated with specific proteasome inhibitors and evaluated during IVF, binding to the zona pellucida, and progesterone- and zona pellucida-induced acrosome reactions. In other experiments, sperm membrane proteins were obtained resuspending them in Triton X-114, shaking vigorously and let standing by 4 hr. Soluble sperm proteins were partitioned in the aqueous phase and sperm membrane proteins in the detergent phase. In both phases, proteasome activity was measured. Labeling of cell surface sperm proteins was carried out with the cell-impermeable NHS-LC biotin, extracted with Triton X-114, and mixing with avidin-agarose beads. Nonpermeabilized sperm were incubated with an anti-proteasome monoclonal antibody and evaluated by indirect immunofluorescence. The results indicate that sperm extracts as well as intact sperm had proteasome activity; the sperm proteasome was involved in IVF, specifically during sperm-zona pellucida binding and the acrosome reaction; soluble sperm membrane proteins exhibited proteasome activity; biotin experiments indicated the presence of proteasomes on the sperm surface, which was corroborated by indirect immunofluorescence experiments. All these observations indicate that the mouse sperm proteasome participates in the binding to the zona pellucida and the acrosome reaction and that there is a pool of proteasomes located on the sperm head.     

To save or degrade: balancing proteasome homeostasis to maximize cell survival

Autophagic degradation of proteasomes (termed proteaphagy) is a conserved mechanism by which cells eliminate excess or damaged particles. This clearance is induced rapidly when organisms are starved for nitrogen and, because proteasomes are highly abundant, their breakdown likely makes an important contribution to the amino acid pools necessary for survival. By contrast, our recent studies found that proteasomes are not degraded in response to carbon starvation, even though bulk macroautophagy is similarly activated. Instead, carbon starvation induces sequestration of proteasomes into membrane-less cytoplasmic condensates previously termed proteasome storage granules (PSGs), which protect proteasomes from autophagic degradation. Preserving proteasomes in PSGs enhances the ability of yeast cells to recover from a variety of stresses, implying that rapid remobilization of stored proteasomes when conditions improve is advantageous to cell fitness. Consequently, the choice of whether to save or degrade proteasomes can profoundly impact cell survival.     

Proteasomes Can Degrade a Significant Proportion of Cellular Proteins Independent of Ubiquitination

The critical role of the ubiquitin-26S proteasome system in regulation of protein homeostasis in eukaryotes is well established. In contrast, the impact of the ubiquitin-independent proteolytic activity of proteasomes is poorly understood. Through biochemical analysis of mammalian lysates, we find that the 20S proteasome, latent in peptide hydrolysis, specifically cleaves more than 20% of all cellular proteins. Thirty intrinsic proteasome substrates (IPSs) were identified and in vitro studies of their processing revealed that cleavage occurs at disordered regions, generating stable products encompassing structured domains. The mechanism of IPS recognition is remarkably well conserved in the eukaryotic kingdom, as mammalian and yeast 20S proteasomes exhibit the same target specificity. Further, 26S proteasomes specifically recognize and cleave IPSs at similar sites, independent of ubiquitination, suggesting that disordered regions likely constitute the universal structural signal for IPS proteolysis by proteasomes. Finally, we show that proteasomes contribute to physiological regulation of IPS levels in living cells and the inactivation of ubiquitin-activating enzyme E1 does not prevent IPS degradation. Collectively, these findings suggest a significant contribution of the ubiquitin-independent proteasome degradation pathway to the regulation of protein homeostasis in eukaryotes.     

Increased expression and altered subunit composition of proteasomes induced by continuous proteasome inhibition establish apoptosis resistance and hyperproliferation of Burkitt lymphoma cells

The proteasome is the main protease for extralysosomal protein degradation in eukaryotic cells, and constitutes a sophisticated high molecular mass proteinase complex underlying a tightly coordinated expression and assembly of multiple subunits and subcomplexes. Here we show that continuous inhibition of proteasomal chymotrypsin-like peptidase activity by the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib induces in human Namalwa Burkitt lymphoma cells increased de novo biogenesis of proteasomes accompanied by increased expression of the proteasome maturation protein POMP, increased expression of 19S-20S-19S proteasomes, and abrogation of expression of beta 1i, beta 2i and beta 5i immunosubunits and PA28 in favor of increased expression of constitutive proteolytic beta1, beta2 and beta 5 subunits and 19S regulatory complexes. These alterations of proteasome expression and subunit composition are accompanied by an increase in proteasomal caspase-like, trypsin-like and chymotrypsin-like peptidase activities, not inhibitable by high doses of bortezomib. Cells harboring these proteasomal alterations display rapid proliferation and cell cycle progression, and acquire resistance to apoptosis induced by proteasome inhibitors, gamma-irradiation and staurosporine. This acquired apoptosis resistance is accompanied by de novo expression of anti-apoptotic Hsp27 protein and the loss of ability to accumulate and stabilize pro-apoptotic p53 protein. Thus, increased expression, altered subunit composition and increased activity of proteasomes constitute a hitherto unknown adaptive and autoregulatory feedback mechanism to allow cells to survive the lethal challenge of proteasome inhibition and to establish a hyperproliferative and apoptosis-resistant phenotype.