Proteasome Assembly Chaperone 4 (PSMG4)

The 26S proteasome is a highly conserved protein degradation machine that consists of the 20S proteasome and 19S regulatory particles, which include 14 and 19 different polypeptides, respectively. The 20S proteasome is the catalytic core of the 26S proteasome, a central enzyme in the ubiquitin-proteasome system. Its assembly proceeds in a multistep and orderly fashion. Ump1 is the only well-described chaperone dedicated to the assembly of the 20S proteasome in yeast. Poc1/2 and Poc3/4 form two pairs working at different stages in early 20S proteasome assembly.

PAC4 as functional mammalian homologs of yeast Poc factors. Hence, in yeast as in mammals, proteasome assembly is orchestrated by two pairs of chaperones acting upstream of the half-proteasome maturase Ump1.