Peptide size dependent active transport in the proteasome

TL;DR

This paper proposes a model for active, peptide-size dependent transport within the proteasome, highlighting how fluctuations and temperature influence the transport mechanism, aligning with experimental observations.

Contribution

It introduces a novel active transport mechanism based on asymmetric interaction potentials, emphasizing peptide size dependence and temperature effects.

Findings

Transport rate depends on peptide size

Temperature qualitatively changes the transport mechanism

Model aligns with recent experimental data

Abstract

We investigate the transport of proteins inside the proteasome and propose an active transport mechanism based on a spatially asymmetric interaction potential of peptide chains. The transport is driven by fluctuations which are always present in such systems. We compute the peptide-size dependent transport rate which is essential for the functioning of the proteasome. In agreement with recent experiments, varying temperature changes the transport mechanism qualitatively.