Regulation of proteasome assembly and activity in health and disease

The proteasome degrades most cellular proteins in a controlled and tightly regulated manner and thereby controls many processes, including cell cycle, transcription, signalling, trafficking and protein quality control. Proteasomal degradation is vital in all cells and organisms, and dysfunction or failure of proteasomal degradation is associated with diverse human diseases, including cancer and neurodegeneration. Target selection is an important and well-established way to control protein degradation. In addition, mounting evidence indicates that cells adjust proteasome-mediated degradation to their needs by regulating proteasome abundance through the coordinated expression of proteasome subunits and assembly chaperones. Central to the regulation of proteasome assembly is TOR complex 1 (TORC1), which is the master regulator of cell growth and stress. This Review discusses how proteasome assembly and the regulation of proteasomal degradation are integrated with cellular physiology, including the interplay between the proteasome and autophagy pathways. Understanding these mechanisms has potential implications for disease therapy, as the misregulation of proteasome function contributes to human diseases such as cancer and neurodegeneration.</p

Temperature dependence of anion transport in the human red blood cell

Arrhenius plots of chloride and bromide transport yield two regions with different activation energies (Ea). Below 15 or 25°C (for Cl− and Br−, respectively), Ea is about 32.5 kcal/mol; above these temperatures, about 22.5 kcal/mol (Brahm, J. (1977) J. Gen. Physiol. 70, 283–306). For the temperature dependence of SO42− transport up to 37°C, no such break could be observed. We were able to show that the temperature coefficient for the rate of SO42− transport is higher than that for the rate of denaturation of the band 3 protein (as measured by NMR) or the destruction of the permeability barrier in the red cell membrane. It was possible, therefore, to extend the range of flux measurements up to 60°C and to show that, even for the slowly permeating SO42− in the Arrhenius plot, there appears a break, which is located somewhere between 30 and 37°C and where Ea changes from 32.5 to 24.1 kcal/mol. At the break, the turnover number is approx. 6.9 ions/band 3 per s. Using 35Cl−-NMR (Falke, Pace and Chan (1984) J. Biol. Chem. 259, 6472–6480), we also determined the temperature dependence of Cl−-binding. We found no significant change over the entire range from 0 to 57°C, regardless of whether the measurements were performed in the absence or presence of competing SO42−. We conclude that the enthalpy changes associated with Cl−-or SO42−-binding are negligible as compared to the Ea values observed. It was possible, therefore, to calculate the thermodynamic parameters defined by transition-state theory for the transition of the anion-loaded transport protein to the activated state for Cl−, Br− and SO42− below and above the temperatures at which the breaks in the Arrhenius plots are seen. We found in both regions a high positive activation entropy, resulting in a low free enthalpy of activation. Thus the internal energy required for carrying the complex between anion and transport protein over the rate-limiting energy barrier is largely compensated for by an increase of randomness in the protein and/or its aqueous environment

An evolutionarily conserved pathway controls proteasome homeostasis

The proteasome is essential for the selective degradation of most cellular proteins but how cells maintain adequate amounts of proteasome is unclear. Here we found an evolutionarily conserved signalling pathway controlling proteasome homeostasis. Central to this pathway is TORC1 whose inhibition induced all known yeast 19S regulatory particle assembly-chaperones (RACs) as well as proteasome subunits. Downstream of TORC1 inhibition, the yeast mitogen-activated protein kinase, Mpk1, ensured that the supply of RACs and proteasome subunits increased under challenging conditions to maintain proteasomal degradation and cell viability. This adaptive pathway was evolutionarily conserved, with mTOR and Erk5 controlling the levels of the four mammalian RACs and proteasome abundance. Thus, the central growth and stress controllers, TORC1 and Mpk1/Erk5, endow cells with a rapid and vital adaptive response to adjust proteasome abundance to the rising needs. Enhancing this pathway may be a useful therapeutic approach for diseases resulting from impaired proteasomal degradation

Co-translational assembly of proteasome subunits in NOT1-containing assemblysomes

The assembly of large multimeric complexes in the crowded cytoplasm is challenging. Here we reveal a mechanism that ensures accurate production of the yeast proteasome, involving ribosome pausing and co-translational assembly of Rpt1 and Rpt2. Interaction of nascent Rpt1 and Rpt2 then lifts ribosome pausing. We show that the N-terminal disordered domain of Rpt1 is required to ensure efficient ribosome pausing and association of nascent Rpt1 protein complexes into heavy particles, wherein the nascent protein complexes escape ribosome quality control. Immunofluorescence and in situ hybridization studies indicate that Rpt1- and Rpt2-encoding messenger RNAs co-localize in these particles that contain, and are dependent on, Not1, the scaffold of the Ccr4-Not complex. We refer to these particles as Not1-containing assemblysomes, as they are smaller than and distinct from other RNA granules such as stress granules and GW- or P-bodies. Synthesis of Rpt1 with ribosome pausing and Not1-containing assemblysome induction is conserved from yeast to human cells