PSMA1
Description
The PSMA1 (proteasome 20S subunit alpha 1) is a protein-coding gene located on chromosome 11.
Proteasome subunit alpha type-1 is a protein encoded by the PSMA1 gene in humans. It is one of the 17 essential subunits required for the assembly of the 20S proteasome complex. PSMA1 belongs to the peptidase T1A family and is a 20S core alpha subunit. The gene has 10 exons spanning a 12kb region on mouse chromosome 7. The human protein is known as 20S proteasome subunit alpha-6 and has a size of 30 kDa, composed of 263 amino acids. The proteasome is a multicatalytic proteinase complex with a highly ordered 20S core structure.
PSMA1 is a component of the 20S core proteasome complex, a multi-protein complex responsible for the degradation of most intracellular proteins. This complex plays vital roles in cellular processes by associating with different regulatory particles. When associated with two 19S regulatory particles, it forms the 26S proteasome. This complex participates in the ATP-dependent degradation of ubiquitinated proteins, a critical step in maintaining protein homeostasis. The 26S proteasome removes misfolded or damaged proteins, ensuring proper cellular function, and also eliminates proteins whose functions are no longer needed. Additionally, PSMA1 can associate with PA200 or PA28, forming complexes that mediate ubiquitin-independent protein degradation. This type of proteolysis is essential in pathways such as spermatogenesis (20S-PA200 complex) and the generation of specific MHC class I-presented antigenic peptides (20S-PA28 complex).
PSMA1 is also known as HC2, HEL-S-275, NU, PROS30.
