Main Content

Molecular chaperones

Throughout their lifespan, proteins are guided by a number of factors that facilitate their maturation and that help proteins to maintain their functionality even under stress and denaturing conditions. Many of these factors belong to the family of molecular chaperones. Cells harbor structurally and functionally distinct classes of chaperones that vary in size and complexity. The diversity ranges from chaperones that only bind to misfolded polypeptides to prevent their aggregation to those that recognize specific substrate proteins and facilitate their folding to the native state. Further, chaperones are involved in the translocation of partially unfolded proteins across membranes, complex assembly and disassembly, and many other regulatory processes within the cell.