Proteasome
![Cartoon representation of a proteasome. Its active sites are sheltered inside the tube (blue). The caps (red; in this case, 11S regulatory particles) on the ends regulate entry into the destruction chamber, where the protein is degraded.](/Images/godic/202412/12/Proteaosome_1fnt_side0627.png")
![Top view of the proteasome above.](/Images/godic/202412/12/Proteaosome_1fnt_top0627.png")
![A schematic diagram of the proteasome 20S core particle viewed from one side. The α subunits that make up the outer two rings are shown in green, and the β subunits that make up the inner two rings are shown in blue.](/Images/godic/202412/12/1G0U_subunits_sideview0628.png")
![Cartoon representation of the 26S proteasome.[24]](/Images/godic/202412/12/26S_proteasome_structure0628.jpg")
Proteasomes are protein complexes inside all eukaryotes and archaea, and in some bacteria. The main function of the proteasome is to degrade unneeded or damaged proteins by proteolysis, a chemical reaction that breaks peptide bonds.
In eukaryotes, proteasomes are located in the nucleus and the cytoplasm. The main function of the proteasome is to degrade unneeded or damaged proteins by proteolysis, a chemical reaction that breaks peptide bonds. Enzymes that help such reactions are called proteases. Proteasomes are part of a major mechanism by which cells regulate the concentration of particular proteins and degrade misfolded proteins. The degradation process yields peptides of about seven to eight amino acids long, which can then be further degraded into shorter amino acid sequences and used in synthesizing new proteins. Proteins are tagged for degradation with a small protein called ubiquitin. The tagging reaction is catalyzed by enzymes called ubiquitin ligases. Once a protein is tagged with a single ubiquitin molecule, this is a signal to other ligases to attach additional ubiquitin molecules. The result is a polyubiquitin chain that is bound by the proteasome, allowing it to degrade the tagged protein.