Structural Models for Interactions between the 20S Proteasome and Its PAN/19S Activators

Proteasome activity is regulated by sequestration of its proteolytic centers in a barrel-shaped structure that limits substrate access. Substrates enter the proteasome by means of activator complexes that bind to the end rings of proteasome α subunits and induce opening of an axial entrance/exit pore. The PA26 activator binds in a pocket on the proteasome surface using main chain contacts of its C-terminal residues and uses an internal activation loop to trigger gate opening by repositioning the proteasome Pro-17 reverse turn. Subunits of the unrelated PAN/19S activators bind with their C termini in the same pockets but can induce proteasome gate opening entirely from interactions of their C-terminal peptides, which are reported to cause gate opening by inducing a rocking motion of proteasome α subunits rather than by directly contacting the Pro-17 turn. Here we report crystal structures and binding studies of proteasome complexes with PA26 constructs that display modified C-terminal residues, including those corresponding to PAN. These findings suggest that PA26 and PAN/19S C-terminal residues bind superimposably and that both classes of activator induce gate opening by using direct contacts to residues of the proteasome Pro-17 reverse turn. In the case of the PAN and 19S activators, a penultimate tyrosine/phenylalanine residue contacts the proteasome Gly-19 carbonyl oxygen to stabilize the open conformation.