Effect of high hydrostatic pressures on 20S proteasome activity

Effects of a High-Pressure Treatment on the Activity and Structure of Rabbit Muscle Proteasome

The effects were assessed of high hydrostatic pressure on the activity and structure of rabbit skeletal muscle proteasome. The pressure effects on the activity were measured by the amount of fluorometric products released from synthetic substrates under pressure and from fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-labeled casein after releasing the pressure. The effects on the structure were measured by fluorescene spectroscopy under pressure, and by circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy and surface hydrophobicity after releasing the pressure. The optimal pressure for the hydrolyzing activity of synthetic peptides was 50 MPa. The degradation of FITC-labeled casein increased linearly with increasing pressure applied up to 200 MPa, and then markedly decreased up to at 400 MPa. The changes in the tertiary structure detected by fluorometric measurement were irreversible, whereas the changes in the secondary structure were small compared with those by heat treatment. The pressure-induced activation of proteasome therefore seems to have been due to a little unfolding of the active sites of proteasome.

Archaeal proteasomes: potential in metabolic engineering

Archaea are a valuable source of enzymes for industrial and scientific applications because of their ability to survive extreme conditions including high salt and temperature. Thanks to advances in molecular biology and genetics, archaea are also attractive hosts for metabolic engineering. Understanding how energy-dependent proteases and chaperones function to maintain protein quality control is key to high-level synthesis of recombinant products. In archaea, proteasomes are central players in energy-dependent proteolysis and form elaborate nanocompartments that degrade proteins into oligopeptides by processive hydrolysis. The catalytic core responsible for this proteolytic activity is the 20S proteasome, a barrel-shaped particle with a central channel and axial gates on each end that limit substrate access to a central proteolytic chamber. AAA proteins (ATPases associated with various cellular activities) are likely to play several roles in mediating energy-dependent proteolysis by the proteasome. These include ATP binding/hydrolysis, substrate binding/unfolding, opening of the axial gates, and translocation of substrate into the proteolytic chamber.

Ab initio molecular dynamics with a classical pressure reservoir: simulation of pressure-induced amorphization in a Si35H36 cluster

We present a new constant-pressure ab initio molecular dynamics method suitable for studying, e.g., pressure-induced structural transformations in finite nonperiodic systems such as clusters. We immerse an ab initio treated cluster into a model classical liquid, described by a soft-sphere potential, which acts as a pressure reservoir. The pressure is varied by tuning the parameter of the liquid potential. We apply the method to a Si35H36 cluster, which undergoes a pressure-induced amorphization at approximately 35 GPa, and remains in a disordered state even upon pressure release.