Ccr4 is a novel shuttle factor required for ubiquitin-dependent protein degradation by the 26S proteasome

Degradation of short-lived and abnormal proteins are essential for normal cellular homeostasis. In eukaryotes, such unstable cellular proteins are selectively degraded by the ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS). Furthermore, abnormalities in protein degradation by the UPS have been linked to several human diseases. Ccr4 protein is a known component of the Ccr4-Not complex, which has established roles in transcription, mRNA de-adenylation and RNA degradation etc. Excitingly in this study, we show that Ccr4 protein has a novel function as a shuttle factor that promotes ubiquitin-dependent degradation of short-lived proteins by the 26S proteasome. Using a substrate of the well-studied ubiquitin fusion degradation (UFD) pathway, we found that its UPS-mediated degradation was severely impaired upon deletion of CCR4 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Additionally, we show that Ccr4 binds to cellular ubiquitin conjugates and the proteasome. In contrast to Ccr4, most other subunits of the Ccr4-Not complex proteins are dispensable for UFD substrate degradation. From our findings we conclude that Ccr4 functions in the UPS as a shuttle factor targeting ubiquitylated substrates for proteasomal degradation.