A 20S proteasome receptor for degradation of intrinsically disordered proteins

Degradation of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) by the 20S proteasome, unlike ubiquitin-dependent 26S proteasomal degradation, does not require proteasomal targeting by polyubiquitin. However, how these proteins are recognized by the proteasome was unknown. We report here on a mechanism of 20S proteasome targeting. Analysis of protein interactome datasets revealed that the proteasome subunit PSMA3 interacts with many IDPs. By employing in vivo and cell-free experiments we demonstrated that the PSMA3 C-terminus binds p21, c-Fos and p53, all IDPs and 20S proteasome substrates. A 69 amino-acids long fragment is autonomously functional in interacting with IDP substrates. Remarkably, this fragment in isolation blocks the degradation of a large number of IDPs in vitro and increases the half-life of proteins in vivo. We propose a model whereby the PSMA3 C-terminal region plays a role of substrate receptor in the process of proteasomal degradation of many IDPs.