Are prosome particles formed by the disintegration of proteasomes?

Abstract

Quail reticulocyte 19S "prosome" fractions isolated on sucrose density gradients contain two kinds of particles: cylindrical proteasomes and ferritin. When samples of this fraction are prepared for electron microscopy using the one-step stain protocol described in this paper, most of the particles have a rectangular image resembling the proteasome. However, when samples are prepared for electron microscopy using the two-step stain protocol described here, there are few rectangular images. Their place is taken by round particles that resemble the prosome. Thus it appears that the round, raspberry-shaped particles called prosomes and the ring-like proteasome particles may be artifacts of specimen preparation for electron microscopy. We propose that proteasome particles may disintegrate when prepared for electron microscopy by methods such as the two-step stain protocol and that prosome particles represent the component parts of the proteasome. Furthermore, based on the enhancement of proteasome images obtained using the one-step main protocol we propose that, instead of consisting of a stack of four rings, the proteasome is constructed of three components, i.e., a spherical central particle flanked by two flat hexagonal end caps.