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Molecular Chaperones in Health and Disease pp 405–416Cite as

Chemical Chaperones: Mechanisms of Action and Potential Use

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Part of the book series: Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology ((HEP,volume 172))

Abstract

An increasing number of studies indicate that low-molecular-weight compounds can help correct conformational diseases by inhibiting the aggregation or enable the mutant proteins to escape the quality control systems, and thus their function can be rescued. The small molecules were named chemical chaperones and it is thought that they nonselectively stabilize the mutant proteins and facilitate their folding. Chemical chaperones are usually osmotically active, such as DMSO, glycerol, or deuterated water, but other compounds, such as 4-phenylbutiric acid, are also members of the chemical chaperone group. More recently, compounds such as receptor ligands or enzyme inhibitors, which selectively recognize the mutant proteins, were also found to rescue conformational mutants and were termed pharmacological chaperones. An increasing amount of evidence suggests that the action of pharmacological chaperones could be generalized to a large number of misfolded proteins, representing new therapeutic possibilties for the treatment of conformational diseases. A new and exciting strategy has recently been developed, leading to the new chemical group called folding agonist. These smallmolecules are designed to bind proteins and thus restore their native conformation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Chemistry, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary

    E. Papp & P. Csermely

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  1. E. Papp
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  2. P. Csermely
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Correspondence to P. Csermely .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Freiburg i.

    K. Starke

  2. Medical School Hannover, Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, 30625, Hannover, Germany

    Matthias Gaestel (Professor) (Professor)

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Papp, E., Csermely, P. (2006). Chemical Chaperones: Mechanisms of Action and Potential Use. In: Starke, K., Gaestel, M. (eds) Molecular Chaperones in Health and Disease. Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology, vol 172. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-29717-0_16

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