title: The therapeutic potential of chemical chaperones in protein folding diseases.
abstract: Several neurodegenerative diseases are caused by defects in protein folding, including Alzheimer, Parkinson, Huntington, and prion diseases. Once a disease-specific protein misfolds, it can then form toxic aggregates which accumulate in the brain, leading to neuronal dysfunction, cell death, and clinical symptoms. Although significant advances have been made toward understanding the mechanisms of protein aggregation, there are no curative treatments for any of these diseases. Since protein misfolding and the accumulation of aggregates are the most upstream events in the pathological cascade, rescuing or stabilizing the native conformations of proteins is an obvious therapeutic strategy. In recent years, small molecules known as chaperones have been shown to be effective in reducing levels of misfolded proteins, thus minimizing the accumulation of aggregates and their downstream pathological consequences. Chaperones are classified as molecular, pharmacological, or chemical. In this mini-review we summarize the modes of action of different chemical chaperones and discuss evidence for their efficacy in the treatment of protein folding diseases in vitro and in vivo.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine - Division of Neurology; Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases; University of Alberta; Edmonton, AB Canada.
authors.forename: Leonardo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cortez
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine - Division of Neurology; Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases; University of Alberta; Edmonton, AB Canada.
authors.forename: Valerie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sim
mesh_terms: D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D006801:Humans; D018832:Molecular Chaperones / Q000737:chemistry / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism; D017510:Protein Folding; D057170:Translational Research, Biomedical
chemical_list: D018832:Molecular Chaperones
keywords: DCA; PBA; TUDCA; UDCA; chemical chaperones; osmolytes; protein folding diseases; protein misfolding