Mutations in HSPB1 and HSPB8, members of the small heat shock protein family, have recently been shown to cause some distal motor neuropathies. Their function in motor neurones is now under scrutiny.

Members of the heat-shock protein (HSP)40 regulate the protein folding activity of HSP70 proteins and help the functional specialization of this molecular chaperone system in various types of cellular events. We have recently identified Hsp40 as a component of flagellar axoneme in the ascidian Ciona intestinalis, suggesting a correlation between Hsp40 related chaperone system and flagellar func...

Self-templating amyloid forms of Sup35 constitute the yeast prion [PSI(+)]. How the protein-remodelling factor, Hsp104, collaborates with other chaperones to regulate [PSI(+)] inheritance remains poorly delineated. Here, we report how the Ssa and Ssb components of the Hsp70 chaperone system directly affect Sup35 prionogenesis and cooperate with Hsp104. We identify the ribosome-associated Ssb1:Z...

The radial spoke is a stable structural complex in the 9 + 2 axoneme for the control of flagellar motility. However, the spokes in Chlamydomonas mutant pf24 are heterogeneous and unstable, whereas several spoke proteins are reduced differentially. To elucidate the defective mechanism, we clone RSP16, a prominent spoke protein diminished in pf24 axonemes. Unexpectedly, RSP16 is a novel HSP40 mem...

The modulation of the chaperone activity of the heat shock cognate Hsc70 protein in mammalian cells involves cooperation with chaperone cofactors, such as Hsp40; BAG-1; the Hsc70-interacting protein, Hip; and the Hsc70-Hsp90-organizing protein, Hop. By employing the yeast two-hybrid system and in vitro interaction assays, we have provided insight into the structural basis that underlies Hsc70's...

In response to a conditioning stress, the expression of a set of molecular chaperones called heat shock proteins is increased. In neurons, stress-induced and constitutively expressed molecular chaperones protect against damage induced by ischemia and neurodegenerative diseases, however the molecular basis of this protection is not known. Here we have investigated the crosstalk between stress-in...