Celastrol inhibits Hsp90 chaperoning of steroid receptors by inducing fibrillization of the co-chaperone p23

Ahmed Chadli, Sara J. Felts, Qin Wang, William P. Sullivan, Maria Victoria Botuyan, Abdul Fauq, Marina Ramirez-Alvarado, Georges Mer

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

78 Scopus citations

Abstract

Hsp90 is an ATP-dependent molecular chaperone. The best characterized inhibitors of Hsp90 target its ATP binding pocket, causing nonselective degradation of Hsp90 client proteins. Here, we show that the small molecule celastrol inhibits the Hsp90 chaperoning machinery by inactivating the co-chaper-one p23, resulting in a more selective destabilization of steroid receptors compared with kinase clients. Our in vitro and in vivo results demonstrate that celastrol disrupts p23 function by altering its three-dimensional structure, leading to rapid formation of amyloid-like fibrils. This study reveals a unique inhibition mechanism of p23 by a small molecule that could be exploited in the dissection of protein fibrillization processes as well as in the therapeutics of steroid receptor-dependent diseases.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)4224-4231
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Biological Chemistry
Volume285
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 5 2010

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology
  • Cell Biology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Celastrol inhibits Hsp90 chaperoning of steroid receptors by inducing fibrillization of the co-chaperone p23'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this