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R. John Ellis, Allen P. Minton

Protein aggregation in crowded environments

Keywords: excluded volume, macromolecular crowding, molecular chaperones, protein aggregation, protein folding

The generic tendency of proteins to aggregate into non-functional, and sometimes cytotoxic, structures poses a universal problem for all types of cell. This tendency is greatly exacerbated by the high total concentration of macromolecules found within most intracellular compartments, a phenomenon referred to as macromolecular crowding. This review discusses the quantitative effects of crowding on protein aggregation and the role of molecular chaperones in combating this problem.

Biological Chemistry, Walter de Gruyter

Print ISSN: 1431-6730
Volume: 387, 05/2006
Pages: 485 - 497

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