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Summary
1 Introduction
3.1. Protein quality control systems preventing and resolving protein aggregation
The chaperone and protease repertoire of individual species can vary, however the core elements
of this network are highly conserved and widespread amongst the domains of life (Wong and
Houry 2004; Powers and Balch 2013). The major chaperones which are constitutively expressed
to handle the de novo folding of proteins in the bacterial cytosol typically include the ribosome-
associated trigger factor (TF), the Hsp70 (70-kDa heat shock protein) family chaperone DnaK
with its J-domain containing Hsp40 co-chaperones such as DnaJ and nucleotide exchange factors
such as GrpE (together referred to as DnaKJE), the Hsp60 chaperonin GroEL and co-chaperone
GroES (GroESL), and in some bacteria the Hsp90 chaperone HtpG. These chaperones recognize
and bind to hydrophobic residues exposed in their nonnative substrates and aid the folding
process of the substrate by protecting these residues from forming aberrant interactions (Balchin,
Hayer-Hartl and Hartl 2016). While the monomeric TF functions independently of ATP (Maier,
Scholz and Schmid 2001), DnaKJE, GroESL and HtpG substrate binding and chaperoning
function is coupled to ATP binding and ATP hydrolysis-dependent conformational changes.
Structural studies revealed that DnaK and HtpG function as monomeric or dimeric molecular
clamps, respectively (Pearl and Prodromou 2006; Mayer 2013; Mayer and Gierasch 2019) and
that the GroESL machinery is oligomeric and forms two chambers in which it can enclose
substrates, providing a beneficial environment for folding (Hayer-Hartl, Bracher and Hartl 2016).
In addition to their role in the folding of cytosolic proteins TF, DnaKJE and GroESL can also
facilitate post- and co-translational protein secretion and membrane insertion involving dedicated
chaperone and targeting machineries such as SecAB, the signal recognition particle (SRP), redox
enzyme maturation proteins and the membrane insertase YidC (Castanié-Cornet, Bruel and
Genevaux 2014). The folding and membrane insertion of translocated periplasmic and outer
7 Funding
Research in the Jonas laboratory is financially supported by the Swedish Research Council
(2016-03300), the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (FFL15-0005) and funding from
the Science for Life Laboratory and Stockholm University.