The proteasome can actively unfold proteins by sequentially unraveling their substrates from the attachment point of the degradation signal. To investigate the steric constraints imposed on substrate proteins during their degradation by the proteasome, we constructed a model protein in which specific parts of the polypeptide chain were covalently connected through disulfide bridges. The cross-linked model proteins were fully degraded by the proteasome, but two or more cross-links retarded the degradation slightly. These results suggest that the pore of the proteasome allows the concurrent passage of at least three stretches of a polypeptide chain. A degradation channel that can tolerate some steric bulk may reconcile the two opposing needs for degradation that is compartmentalized to avoid aberrant proteolysis yet able to handle a range of substrates of various sizes.Protein degradation is a critical part of cellular regulation (1). In eukaryotic cells, a multicomponent protease called the proteasome is responsible for the turnover of short-lived regulatory proteins, the removal of abnormal polypeptides, and the production of peptides for antigen presentation (2). Degradation of short-lived regulatory proteins is essential for a wide range of cellular functions including cell cycle control and signal transduction (3). Failure to degrade aggregates of misfolded proteins can lead to disease such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and Huntington's disease (4). Degradation by the proteasome usually involves two consecutive steps: targeting of the substrate for degradation by the attachment of polyubiquitin chains and degradation of the tagged protein by the proteasome with concomitant release of ubiquitin (5).The active sites of proteolysis of the proteasome by themselves show little substrate specificity. Specificity of degradation is achieved by sequestering the proteolytic sites within the structure and tightly controlling access. The three-dimensional structure of the proteasome has been determined by x-ray crystallography and electron microscopy (6 -11). The proteasome consists of a central proteolytic core particle with regulatory caps at either end of it. The core particle is made of two copies of seven different ␣-subunits and seven different -subunits. The subunits are arranged in four heptameric rings, which are stacked on top of each other to form a cylindrical particle. The rings form a central -chamber and two ␣-chambers, one at each end of the particle (2). The proteolytic sites are located in the -chamber and are accessible only through a central channel that runs along the long axis of the particle. The channel has narrow constrictions at the entrance and exit of the ␣-chamber (2). In the isolated yeast core particle, the entrance to the degradation channel is blocked by the N termini of the ␣-subunits (7). The channel opens when the regulatory caps bind to the core (12). The caps consist of 17 subunits, six of which have ATPase activity, and contact the co...