Minimal mechanistic component of HbYX-dependent proteasome activation that reverses impairment by neurodegenerative-associated oligomers

The implication of reduced proteasomal function in neurodegenerative diseases combined with studies showing the protective effects of increasing proteasome activity in animal models highlight the need to understand the capacity for proteasome activation by small molecules. The C-terminal HbYX motif is present on many proteasome binding proteins and functions to tether activators to the 20S core particle. Previous studies have shown that peptides with a HbYX motif can autonomously activate 20S gate-opening to allow protein degradation. In this study, through an iterative process of peptide synthesis, we design a HbYX-like dipeptide mimetic that represents only the fundamental components of the HbYX motif. The mimetic robustly induces gate-opening in archaeal, yeast, and mammalian proteasomes. We identify multiple proteasome α subunit residues in the archaeal proteasome involved in HbYX-dependent activation. When stimulated by the mimetic, the mammalian 20S can degrade unfolded proteins such as tau. Findings using our peptide mimetic suggest the HbYX-dependent mechanism requires cooperative binding in at least two intersubunit pockets of the α ring. Most significantly, our peptide mimetic reverses proteasome impairment by neurodegenerative disease-associated oligomers. Collectively, these results validate HbYX-like molecules as having robust potential to stimulate proteasome function, which are potentially useful for treating neurodegenerative diseases.

Minimal mechanistic component of HbYX-dependent proteasome activation

The implication of reduced proteasomal function in neurodegenerative diseases combined with numerous studies showing the protective effects of increasing proteasome activity in animal models justify the need to understand how the proteasome is activated for protein degradation. The C-terminal HbYX motif is present on many proteasome binding proteins and functions to tether activators to the 20S core particle. Peptides with a HbYX motif can also autonomously activate 20S gate-opening to allow protein degradation, but the underlying allosteric molecular mechanism is not clear. We designed a HbYX-like dipeptide mimetic that represents only the fundamental components of the HbYX motif to allow rigorous elucidation of the underlying molecular mechanisms of HbYX induced 20S gate-opening in the archaeal and mamalian proteasome. By generating several high-resolution cryo-EM structures (e.g. 1.9Å) we identified multiple proteasome α subunit residues involved in HbYX-dependent activation and the conformational changes involved in gate-opening. In addition, we generated mutants probing these structural findings and identified specific point mutations that strongly activate the proteasome by partially mimicking a HbYX-bound state. These structures resolve 3 novel mechanistic features that are critical for allosteric α subunit conformational changes that ultimately trigger gate-opening: 1) rearrangement of the loop adjacent to K66, 2) inter- and intra- α subunit conformational changes and 3) a pair of IT residues on the α N-terminus in the 20S channel that alternate binding sites to stabilize the open and closed states. All gate-opening mechanisms appear to converge on this "IT switch". When stimulated by the mimetic, the human 20S can degrade unfolded proteins such as tau, and prevent proteasomal inhibition by toxic soluble oligomers. Collectively, the results presented here provide a mechanistic model of HbYX-dependent 20S gate-opening and offer proof of concept for the robust potential of HbYX-like small molecules to stimulate proteasome function, which could be useful to treat neurodegenerative diseases.

A Practical Review of Proteasome Pharmacology

The ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS) degrades individual proteins in a highly regulated fashion and is responsible for the degradation of misfolded, damaged, or unneeded cellular proteins. During the past 20 years, investigators have established a critical role for the UPS in essentially every cellular process, including cell cycle progression, transcriptional regulation, genome integrity, apoptosis, immune responses, and neuronal plasticity. At the center of the UPS is the proteasome, a large and complex molecular machine containing a multicatalytic protease complex. When the efficiency of this proteostasis system is perturbed, misfolded and damaged protein aggregates can accumulate to toxic levels and cause neuronal dysfunction, which may underlie many neurodegenerative diseases. In addition, many cancers rely on robust proteasome activity for degrading tumor suppressors and cell cycle checkpoint inhibitors necessary for rapid cell division. Thus, proteasome inhibitors have proven clinically useful to treat some types of cancer, especially multiple myeloma. Numerous cellular processes rely on finely tuned proteasome function, making it a crucial target for future therapeutic intervention in many diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases, cystic fibrosis, atherosclerosis, autoimmune diseases, diabetes, and cancer. In this review, we discuss the structure and function of the proteasome, the mechanisms of action of different proteasome inhibitors, various techniques to evaluate proteasome function in vitro and in vivo, proteasome inhibitors in preclinical and clinical development, and the feasibility for pharmacological activation of the proteasome to potentially treat neurodegenerative disease.