title: Molecular chaperones--cellular machines for protein folding.
abstract: Proteins are linear polymers synthesized by ribosomes from activated amino acids. The product of this biosynthetic process is a polypeptide chain, which has to adopt the unique three-dimensional structure required for its function in the cell. In 1972, Christian Anfinsen was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for showing that this folding process is autonomous in that it does not require any additional factors or input of energy. Based on in vitro experiments with purified proteins, it was suggested that the correct three-dimensional structure can form spontaneously in vivo once the newly synthesized protein leaves the ribosome. Furthermore, proteins were assumed to maintain their native conformation until they were degraded by specific enzymes. In the last decade this view of cellular protein folding has changed considerably. It has become clear that a complicated and sophisticated machinery of proteins exists which assists protein folding and allows the functional state of proteins to be maintained under conditions in which they would normally unfold and aggregate. These proteins are collectively called molecular chaperones, because, like their human counterparts, they prevent unwanted interactions between their immature clients. In this review, we discuss the principal features of this peculiar class of proteins, their structure-function relationships, and the underlying molecular mechanisms.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Organische Chemie & Biochemie, Technische Universität München, Lichtenbergstr. 4, 85747 Garching, Deutschland.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Walter
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Buchner
mesh_terms: D018835:Chaperonin 10 / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D018834:Chaperonin 60 / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000378:metabolism; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D018841:HSP90 Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D018832:Molecular Chaperones / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D011487:Protein Conformation; D017510:Protein Folding; D015003:Yeasts / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D018835:Chaperonin 10; D018834:Chaperonin 60; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D005656:Fungal Proteins; D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins; D018841:HSP90 Heat-Shock Proteins; D018832:Molecular Chaperones