Behind closed gates - chaperones and charged residues determine protein fate
Margreet B Koopman1,2, Stefan Gd Rüdiger1,2
1Cellular Protein Chemistry, Bijvoet Centre for Biomolecular Research, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Insights
Charged residues near aggregation-prone protein regions prevent clumping. Negative charges are better gatekeepers than positive ones, though the Hsp70 chaperone prefers positive charges, suggesting evolutionary co-adaptation.
Area of Science:
- Protein folding and aggregation
- Molecular biology
- Evolutionary biology
Background:
- Charged residues flanking aggregation-prone regions are crucial for protein folding and preventing aggregation.
- The specific roles of positive versus negative charges in this process are not fully understood.
- The interaction between these charged residues and molecular chaperones, like Hsp70, requires further investigation.
Abstract:
Charged residues flanking aggregation-prone regions play a role in protein folding and prevention of aggregation. In this issue of The EMBO Journal, Houben et al exploit the role of such charged gatekeepers in aggregation suppression and find that negative charges are more effective than positive ones. Strikingly, the prominent Hsp70 chaperone has a strong preference for the less effective, basic gate keepers. This implies co-adaptation of chaperone specificity and composition of protein sequences in evolution.
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