Proteins can only perform their complex functions in the cell when they assume a specific three-dimensional structure for each respective task. Because misfolded proteins are often toxic, they are immediately refolded or degraded. Scientists of the Max Planck Institute (MPI) of Biochemistry in Martinsried near Munich have now shown in the yeast model that specific protein aggregates block an important degradation pathway for defective proteins – and thus disrupt the fragile molecular balance of the cell. The results of the study have now been published in the journal Cell.
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