PA28alphabeta double and PA28beta single transfectant mouse B8 cell lines reveal enhanced presentation of a mouse cytomegalovirus (MCMV) pp89 MHC class I epitope

The Significant Role of PA28αβ in CD8+ T Cell-Mediated Graft Rejection Contrasts with Its Negligible Impact on the Generation of MHC-I Ligands

The proteasome generates the majority of peptides presented on MHC class I molecules. The cleavage pattern of the proteasome has been shown to be changed via the proteasome activator (PA)28 alpha beta (PA28αβ). In particular, several immunogenic peptides have been reported to be PA28αβ-dependent. In contrast, we did not observe a major impact of PA28αβ on the generation of different major histocompatibility complex (MHC) classI ligands. PA28αβ-knockout mice infected with the lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) or vaccinia virus showed a normal cluster of differentiation (CD) 8 response and viral clearance. However, we observed that the adoptive transfer of wild-type cells into PA28αβ-knockout mice led to graft rejection, but not vice versa. Depletion experiments showed that the observed rejection was mediated by CD8+ cytotoxic T cells. These data indicate that PA28αβ might be involved in the development of the CD8+ T cell repertoire in the thymus. Taken together, our data suggest that PA28αβ is a crucial factor determining T cell selection and, therefore, impacts graft acceptance.

Structure, Function, and Allosteric Regulation of the 20S Proteasome by the 11S/PA28 Family of Proteasome Activators

The proteasome, a complex multi-catalytic protease machinery, orchestrates the protein degradation essential for maintaining cellular homeostasis, and its dysregulation also underlies many different types of diseases. Its function is regulated by many different mechanisms that encompass various factors such as proteasome activators (PAs), adaptor proteins, and post-translational modifications. This review highlights the unique characteristics of proteasomal regulation through the lens of a distinct family of regulators, the 11S, REGs, or PA26/PA28. This ATP-independent family, spanning from amoebas to mammals, exhibits a common architectural structure; yet, their cellular biology and criteria for protein degradation remain mostly elusive. We delve into their evolution and cellular biology, and contrast their structure and function comprehensively, emphasizing the unanswered questions regarding their regulatory mechanisms and broader roles in proteostasis. A deeper understanding of these processes will illuminate the roles of this regulatory family in biology and disease, thus contributing to the advancement of therapeutic strategies.

The components of the proteasome system and their role in MHC class I antigen processing

By generating peptides from intracellular antigens which are then presented to T cells, the ubiquitin/26S proteasome system plays a central role in the cellular immune response. The proteolytic properties of the proteasome are adapted to the requirements of the immune system by proteasome components whose synthesis is under the control of interferon-gamma. Among these are three subunits with catalytic sites that are incorporated into the enzyme complex during its de novo synthesis. Thus, the proteasome assembly pathway and the formation of immunoproteasomes play a critical regulatory role in the regulation of the proteasome's catalytic properties. In addition, interferon-gamma also induces the synthesis of the proteasome activator PA28 which, as part of the so-called hybrid proteasome, exerts a more selective function in antigen presentation. Consequently, the combination of a number of regulatory events tunes the proteasome system to gain maximal efficiency in the generation of peptides with regard to their quality and quantity.

A comprehensive view on proteasomal sequences: implications for the evolution of the proteasome

Proteasomes are large multimeric self-compartmentizing proteases, which play a crucial role in the clearance of misfolded proteins, breakdown of regulatory proteins, processing of proteins by specific partial proteolysis, cell cycle control as well as preparation of peptides for immune presentation. Two main types can be distinguished by their different tertiary structure: the 20S proteasome and the proteasome-like heat shock protein encoded by heat shock locus V, hslV. Usually, each biological kingdom is characterized by its specific type of proteasome. The 20S proteasomes occur in eukarya and archaea whereas hslV protease is prevalent in bacteria. To verify this rule we applied a genome-wide sequence search to identify proteasomal sequences in data of finished and yet unfinished genome projects. We found several exceptions to this paradigm: (1) Protista: in addition to the 20S proteasome, Leishmania, Trypanosoma and Plasmodium contained hslV, which may have been acquired from an alpha-proteobacterial progenitor of mitochondria. (2) Bacteria: for Magnetospirillum magnetotacticum and Enterococcus faecium we found that each contained two distinct hslVs due to gene duplication or horizontal transfer. Including unassembled data into the analyses we confirmed that a number of bacterial genomes do not contain any proteasomal sequence due to gene loss. (3) High G+C Gram-positives: we confirmed that high G+C Gram-positives possess 20S proteasomes rather than hslV proteases. The core of the 20S proteasome consists of two distinct main types of homologous monomers, alpha and beta, which differentiated into seven subtypes by further gene duplications. By looking at the genome of the intracellular pathogen Encephalitozoon cuniculi we were able to show that differentiation of beta-type subunits into different subtypes occurred earlier than that of alpha-subunits. Additionally, our search strategy had an important methodological consequence: a comprehensive sequence search for a particular protein should also include the raw sequence data when possible because proteins might be missed in the completed assembled genome. The structure-based multiple proteasomal alignment of 433 sequences from 143 organisms can be downloaded from the URL dagger and will be updated regularly.

Hepatitis B virus HBx peptide 116-138 and proteasome activator PA28 compete for binding to the proteasome alpha4/MC6 subunit

PA28 is a modulator of the 20S proteasome. The PA28 binding sites on the 20S proteasome are still not well defined. Using yeast two-hybrid interaction assays and proteasome inactivation kinetics we provide evidence that the proteasome alpha4 subunit is one of the PA28 binding sites. This finding is supported by the observation that a hepatitis B virus X protein-derived polypeptide habouring the alpha4 proteasome subunit binding motif impairs the activation of 20S proteasomes by PA28.

Protein degradation and the generation of MHC class I-presented peptides

Over the past decade there has been considerable progress in understanding how MHC class I-presented peptides are generated. The emerging theme is that the immune system has not evolved its own specialized proteolytic mechanisms but instead utilizes the phylogenetically ancient catabolic pathways that continually turnover proteins in all cells. Three distinct proteolytic steps have now been defined in MHC class I antigen presentation. The first step is the degradation of proteins by the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway into oligopeptides that either are of the correct size for presentation or are extended on their amino-termini. In the second step, aminopeptidases trim N-extended precursors into peptides of the correct length to be presented on class I molecules. The third step involves the destruction of peptides by endo- and exopeptidases, which limits antigen presentation, but is important for preventing the accumulation of peptides and recycling them back to amino acids for protein synthesis or production of energy. The immune system has evolved several components that modify the activity of these ancient pathways in ways that enhance the generation of class I-presented peptides. These include catalytically active subunits of the proteasome, the PA28 proteasome activator, and leucine aminopeptidase, all of which are upregulated by interferon-gamma. In addition to these pathways that operate in all cells, dendritic cells and macrophages can also generate class I-presented peptides from proteins internalized from the extracellular fluids by degrading them in endocytic compartments or transferring them to the cyotosol for degradation by proteasomes.

Two antigenic peptides from genes m123 and m164 of murine cytomegalovirus quantitatively dominate CD8 T-cell memory in the H-2d haplotype

The importance of CD8 T cells for the control of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection has raised interest in the identification of immunogenic viral proteins as candidates for vaccination and cytoimmunotherapy. The final aim is to determine the viral "immunome" for any major histocompatibility complex class I molecule by antigenicity screening of proteome-derived peptides. For human CMV, there is a limitation to this approach: the T cells used as responder cells for peptide screening are usually memory cells that have undergone in vivo selection. On this basis, pUL83 (pp65) and pUL123 (IE1 or pp68 to -72) were classified as immunodominant proteins. It is an open question whether this limited "memory immunome" really reflects the immunogenic potential of the human CMV proteome. Here we document an analogous focus of the memory repertoire on two proteins of murine CMV. Specifically, ca. 80% of all memory CD8 T cells in the spleen as well as in persisting pulmonary infiltrates were found to be specific for the known IE1 peptide 168YPHFMPTNL176 and for the peptide 257AGPPRYSRI265, newly defined here, derived from open reading frame m164. Notably, CD8 T-cell lines of both specificities protected against acute infection upon adoptive transfer. In contrast, the natural immune response to acute infection in draining lymph nodes and in the lungs indicated a somewhat broader specificity repertoire. We conclude that the low number of antigenic peptides identified so far for CMVs reflects a focused memory repertoire, and we predict that more antigenic peptides will be disclosed by analysis of the acute immune response.

Identification and characterization of a Drosophila nuclear proteasome regulator. A homolog of human 11 S REGgamma (PA28gamma )

We report the cloning and characterization of a Drosophila proteasome 11 S REGgamma (PA28) homolog. The 28-kDa protein shows 47% identity to the human REGgamma and strongly enhances the trypsin-like activities of both Drosophila and mammalian 20 S proteasomes. Surprisingly, the Drosophila REG was found to inhibit the proteasome's chymotrypsin-like activity against the fluorogenic peptide succinyl-LLVY-7-amino-4-methylcoumarin. Immunocytological analysis reveals that the Drosophila REG is localized to the nucleus but is distributed throughout the cell when nuclear envelope breakdown occurs during mitosis. Through site-directed mutagenesis studies, we have identified a functional nuclear localization signal present in the homolog-specific insert region. The Drosophila PA28 NLS is similar to the oncogene c-Myc nuclear localization motif. Comparison between uninduced and innate immune induced Drosophila cells suggests that the REGgamma proteasome activator has a role independent of the invertebrate immune system. Our results support the idea that gamma class proteasome activators have an ancient conserved function within metazoans and were present prior to the emergence of the alpha and beta REG classes.

Interferon gamma regulates accumulation of the proteasome activator PA28 and immunoproteasomes at nuclear PML bodies

PA28 is an interferon (gamma) (IFN(gamma)) inducible proteasome activator required for presentation of certain major histocompatibility (MHC) class I antigens. Under basal conditions in HeLa and Hep2 cells, a portion of nuclear PA28 is concentrated at promyelocytic leukemia oncoprotein (PML)-containing bodies also commonly known as PODs or ND10. IFN(gamma) treatment greatly increased the number and size of the PA28- and PML-containing bodies, and the effect was further enhanced in serum-deprived cells. PML bodies are disrupted in response to certain viral infections and in diseases such as acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). Like PML, PA28 was delocalized from PML bodies by expression of the cytomegalovirus protein, IE1, and in NB4 cells, an APL model line. Moreover, retinoic acid treatment, which causes remission of APL in patients and reformation of PML-containing bodies in NB4 cells, relocalized PA28 to this site. In contrast, the proteasome, the functional target of PA28, was not detected at PML bodies under basal conditions in HeLa and Hep2 cells, but IFN(gamma) promoted accumulation of ‘immunoproteasomes’ at this site. These results establish PA28 as a novel component of nuclear PML bodies, and suggest that PA28 may assemble or activate immunoproteasomes at this site as part of its role in proteasome-dependent MHC class I antigen presentation.