Protein misassembly: macromolecular crowding and molecular chaperones.
The generic tendency of proteins to misassemble into nonfunctional, and sometimes cytotoxic, structures poses a universal problem for all types of cell. This problem is exacerbated by the high total concentration of macromolecules found within most intracellular compartments but it is solved by the actions of molecular chaperones. This review discusses some of the basic evidence and key concepts relating to this conclusion.
Ellis
R John
RJ
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK. jellis@bio.warwick.ac.uk
D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D046911:Macromolecular Substances / Q000378:metabolism*; D018832:Molecular Chaperones / Q000378:metabolism*; D017510:Protein Folding
D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D018832:Molecular Chaperones