Abstract
Misfolded proteins of the secretory pathway are extracted from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), polyubiquitylated by a protein complex termed the Hmg-CoA reductase degradation ligase (HRD-ligase), and degraded by cytosolic 26S proteasomes. This process is termed ER-associated protein degradation (ERAD). We previously showed that the membrane protein Der1, which is a subunit of the HRD-ligase, is involved in the export of aberrant polypeptides from the ER. Unexpectedly, we also uncovered a close spatial proximity of Der1 and the substrate receptor Hrd3 in the ER lumen. We report here on a mutant Hrd3KR that is selectively defective for ERAD of soluble proteins. Hrd3KR displays subtle structural changes that affect its positioning toward Der1. Furthermore, increased quantities of the ER-resident Hsp70-type chaperone Kar2 and the Hsp40-type cochaperone Scj1 bind to Hrd3KR. Of note, deletion of SCJ1 impairs ERAD of model substrates and causes the accumulation of client proteins at Hrd3. Our data imply a function of Scj1 in the removal of malfolded proteins from the receptor Hrd3, which facilitates their delivery to downstream-acting components like Der1.