bProteasomes generally degrade substrates tagged with polyubiquitin chains. In rare cases, however, proteasomes can degrade proteins without prior ubiquitination. For example, the human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) pp71 protein induces the proteasomedependent, ubiquitin-independent degradation of the retinoblastoma (Rb) and Daxx proteins. These transcriptional corepressors and tumor suppressors inhibit the expression of cellular or viral genes that are required for efficient viral replication. Proteasomes are composed of a 20S catalytic core with or without one or two activator complexes, of which there are four different types. Here, we show that only one of these activators, the 19S regulatory particle that normally participates in ubiquitin-dependent protein degradation, is required for pp71-mediated degradation of Rb and Daxx. We report the unique use of a well-established route of substrate delivery to the proteasome by a viral protein to promote infection.
The proteasome is responsible for the bulk of protein turnover within cells. Most substrates arrive at the proteasome polyubiquitinated, where the ubiquitin chains mediate proteasome binding but are then removed prior to substrate degradation by the proteasomal 20S catalytic core. The core particle can associate with activator complexes that modulate proteasome function (1). For example, the 19S regulatory particle (RP) associates with one or both ends of the 20S core to form the 26S proteasome species responsible for ubiquitin-mediated degradation events. Proteasomal activity is critical for cellular homeostasis, cell cycle progression, transcription, DNA repair, and dichotomously, both the success of viral infections and essential defenses against viral pathogens (2-6).Proteasomal degradation of viral antigens to generate peptides displayed by major histocompatibility group (MHC) molecules is a well-documented part of adaptive immunity (4). Less well appreciated is the number of cellular intrinsic defense proteins targeted for proteasomal degradation by viral factors (7,8). For example, human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infections, which cause severe disease in immunocompromised, -suppressed, or -naive individuals, induce the degradation of several cellular transcriptional corepressors to create an environment conducive to productive, lytic infection. Within the tegument layer of its virion, HCMV packages the viral pp71 protein, which is introduced into cells immediately upon infection, traffics to the nucleus, and induces the degradation of BclAF1, Daxx, and the retinoblastoma (Rb) family members Rb, p107, and p130 (9-11). BclAF1 and Daxx degradation promotes viral immediate early (IE) gene expression. Rb family inactivation, which also occurs through phosphorylation by the virally encoded kinase UL97 (12), likely increases the efficiency of viral DNA replication. These pp71-dependent degradation events are prevented by pharmacologic inhibition of the 20S catalytic core, indicating that they are proteasomal processes. Other experimental evidence, however, indica...