Journal of Molecular Endocrinology (2009) 42 1-9 DOI: 10.1677/JME-08-0116
© 2009 Society for Endocrinology
From hatching to dispatching: the multiple cellular roles of the Hsp70 molecular chaperone machinery
Eirini Meimaridou,
Sakina B Gooljar and
J Paul Chapple
Centre for Endocrinology, William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, London EC1M 6BQ, UK
(Correspondence should be addressed to J P Chapple; Email: j.p.chapple{at}qmul.ac.uk)
Molecular chaperones are best recognized for their roles in de novo protein folding and the cellular response to stress. However, many molecular chaperones, and in particular the Hsp70 chaperone machinery, have multiple diverse cellular functions. At the molecular level, chaperones are mediators of protein conformational change. To facilitate conformational change of client/substrate proteins, in manifold contexts, chaperone power must be closely regulated and harnessed to specific cellular locales – this is controlled by cochaperones. This review considers specialized functions of the Hsp70 chaperone machinery mediated by its cochaperones. We focus on vesicular trafficking, protein degradation and a potential role in G protein-coupled receptor processing.
Copyright © 2009 by the Society for Endocrinology.