An ATP/ubiquitin-dependent proteasome complex with an apparent sedimentation coefficient of 26S was purified from rat liver to near homogeneity by an improved method based on procedures reported previously. Two electrophoretically distinct forms of the 26S complex, named 26S alpha and 26S beta, with very similar subunit compositions were found not only in purified preparations but also in crude extracts, indicating that the 26S proteasome is present as two isoforms. The 26S proteasome was shown to degrade multi-ubiquitinated, but not unmodified, lysozymes in an ATP-dependent fashion, to have ATPase activity supplying energy for proteolysis, and to contain isopeptidase activity to generate free ubiquitin Mg2+/ATP-dependently. The 26S proteasome also catalyzed the ATP-independent hydrolyses of three types of fluorogenic peptides with basic, neutral, and acidic amino acids at their cleavage sites, respectively. These peptides are also good substrates for the 20S proteasome, but their degradation by the free 20S proteasome and by its assembled form in the 26S complex differ markedly, suggesting a functional difference between the two forms of proteasomes. Electrophoretic and immunochemical analyses showed that the large 26S complex was composed grossly of two different structures: a core 20S proteasome with multicatalytic proteinase functions and an associated part possibly with a regulatory role. These two structures both consisted of multiple polypeptides with molecular masses of 21-31 and 35-110 kDa, respectively. The subunit multiplicity of the rat 26S proteasome closely resembled that of the human counterpart, showing only minor species-specific differences in certain components. The assembly of this multi-component complex was found not to involve a sulfhydryl bond. Electrophoretic peptide mapping with lysyl-endopeptidase indicated the non-identity of the multiple subunits of the 26S proteasome. From these structural and functional characteristics, the 26S proteasome, which is widely distributed in mammals, is suggested to be a new type of multi-molecular complex catalyzing the soluble energy- and ubiquitin-dependent proteolytic pathway.