1. Tricorn protease - the core of a modular proteolytic system
- Author
-
Tamura, Tomohiro, Tamura, Noriko, Cejka, Zdenka, Hegert, Reiner, Lottspeich, Freidrich, and Baumeister, Wolfgang
- Subjects
Research ,Proteases -- Research - Abstract
In vivo proteolysis is an essential element of many regulatory processes. It must be subject to spatial and temporal control in order to prevent damage to the cell. Prokaryotic cells, [...], Large macromolecular assemblies have evolved as a means of compartmentalizing reactions in organisms lacking membrane-bounded compartments. A tricorn-shaped protease was isolated from the archaeon Thermoplasma and was shown to form a multisubunit proteolytic complex. The 120-kilodalton monomer assembled to form a hexameric toroid that could assemble further into a capsid structure. Tricorn protease appeared to act as the core of a proteolytic system; when it interacted with several smaller proteins, it displayed multicatalytic activities
- Published
- 1996