Chaperone (protein)

Some chaperone systems work as foldases: they support the folding of proteins in an ATP-dependent manner (for example, the GroEL/GroES or the DnaK/DnaJ/GrpE system). Although most newly synthesized proteins can fold in absence of chaperones, a minority strictly requires them for the same. Other chaperones work as holdases: they bind folding intermediates to prevent their aggregation, for example DnaJ or Hsp33.[6] Chaperones can also work as disaggregases, i.e. they can interact with aberrant protein assemblies and revent them to monomers.[7] Some chaperones can assist in protein degradation, leading proteins to protease systems, such as the ubiquitin-proteasome system in eukaryotes.[8]

Many chaperones are heat shock proteins, that is, proteins expressed in response to elevated temperatures or other cellular stresses.[9] The reason for this behaviour is that protein folding is severely affected by heat and, therefore, some chaperones act to prevent or correct damage caused by misfolding.

Macromolecular crowding may be important in chaperone function. The crowded environment of the cytosol can accelerate the folding process, since a compact folded protein will occupy less volume than an unfolded protein chain.[10] However, crowding can reduce the yield of correctly folded protein by increasing protein aggregation.[11][12] Crowding may also increase the effectiveness of the chaperone proteins such as GroEL,[13] which could counteract this reduction in folding efficiency.[14]

More information on the various types and mechanisms of a subset of chaperones that encapsulate their folding substrates (e.g. GroES) can be found in the article for chaperonins. Chaperonins are characterized by a stacked double-ring structure and are found in prokaryotes, in the cytosol of eukaryotes, and in mitochondria.

Other types of chaperones are involved in transport across membranes, for example membranes of the mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) in eukaryotes. A bacterial translocation—specific chaperone maintains newly synthesized precursor polypeptide chains in a translocation-competent (generally unfolded) state and guides them to the translocon.[15]

New functions for chaperones continue to be discovered, such as bacterial adhesin activity, induction of aggregation towards non-amyloid aggregates,[16] suppression of toxic protein oligomers via their clustering,[17][18] and in responding to diseases linked to protein aggregation[19] (e.g. see prion) and cancer maintenance.[20]

Chaperones are found in, for example, the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), since protein synthesis often occurs in this area.

There are many different families of chaperones; each family acts to aid protein folding in a different way. In bacteria like E. coli, many of these proteins are highly expressed under conditions of high stress, for example, when the bacterium is placed in high temperatures. For this reason, the term "heat shock protein" has historically been used to name these chaperones. The prefix "Hsp" designates that the protein is a heat shock protein.

Hsp70

Hsp70 (DnaK in E. coli) is perhaps the best characterized small (~ 70 kDa) chaperone.

hsp70 pocket for substrate binding

The Hsp70 proteins are aided by Hsp40 proteins (DnaJ in E. coli), which increase the ATP consumption rate and activity of the Hsp70s.

It has been noted that increased expression of Hsp70 proteins in the cell results in a decreased tendency toward apoptosis.

Although a precise mechanistic understanding has yet to be determined, it is known that Hsp70s have a high-affinity bound state to unfolded proteins when bound to ADP, and a low-affinity state when bound to ATP.

It is thought that many Hsp70s crowd around an unfolded substrate, stabilizing it and preventing aggregation until the unfolded molecule folds properly, at which time the Hsp70s lose affinity for the molecule and diffuse away.[25] Hsp70 also acts as a mitochondrial and chloroplastic molecular chaperone in eukaryotes.

The genes of bacteriophage (phage) T4 that encode proteins with a role in determining phage T4 structure were identified using conditional lethal mutants.[30] Most of these proteins proved to be either major or minor structural components of the completed phage particle. However among the gene products (gps) necessary for phage assembly, Snustad[31] identified a group of gps that act catalytically rather than being incorporated themselves into the phage structure. These gps were gp26, gp31, gp38, gp51, gp28, and gp4 [gene 4 is synonomous with genes 50 and 65, and thus the gp can be designated gp4(50)(65)]. The first four of these six gene products have since been recognized as being chaperone proteins. Additionally, gp40, gp57A, gp63 and gpwac have also now been identified as chaperones.

Phage T4 morphogenesis is divided into three independent pathways: the head, the tail and the long tail fiber pathways as detailed by Yap and Rossman.[32]

With regard to head morphogenesis, chaperone gp31 interacts with the bacterial host chaperone GroEL to promote proper folding of the major head capsid protein gp23.[33][32] Chaperone gp40 participates in the assembly of gp20, thus aiding in the formation of the connector complex that initiates head procapsid assembly.[33][32] Gp4(50)(65), although not specifically listed as a chaperone, acts catalytically as a nuclease that appears to be essential for morphogenesis by cleaving packaged DNA to enable the joining of heads to tails.[34]

During overall tail assembly, chaperone proteins gp26 and gp51 are necessary for baseplate hub assembly.[35] Gp57A is required for correct folding of gp12, a structural component of the baseplate short tail fibers.[35]

Synthesis of the long tail fibers depends on the chaperone protein gp57A that is needed for the trimerization of gp34 and gp37, the major structural proteins of the tail fibers.[33][32] The chaperone protein gp38 is also required for the proper folding of gp37.[35][36] Chaperone proteins gp63 and gpwac are employed in attachment of the long tail fibers to the tail baseplate.[35]

The investigation of chaperones has a long history.[37] The term "molecular chaperone" appeared first in the literature in 1978, and was invented by Ron Laskey to describe the ability of a nuclear protein called nucleoplasmin to prevent the aggregation of folded histone proteins with DNA during the assembly of nucleosomes.[38] The term was later extended by R. John Ellis in 1987 to describe proteins that mediated the post-translational assembly of protein complexes.[39] In 1988, it was realised that similar proteins mediated this process in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes.[40] The details of this process were determined in 1989, when the ATP-dependent protein folding was demonstrated in vitro.[41]

There are many disorders associated with mutations in genes encoding chaperones (i.e. multisystem proteinopathy) that can affect muscle, bone and/or the central nervous system.[42]

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