Parkinson's disease (PD) is a
neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive death of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra and the formation of Lewy bodies (LBs). Mutations in PD-related genes lead to neuronal pathogenesis through various mechanisms, with known examples including SNCA/α-
synuclein (PAKR1), Parkin (PARK2), PINK1 (PARK6), DJ-1 (PARK7), and LRRK2 (PARK8).
Molecular chaperones/co-chaperones are
proteins that aid the folding of other
proteins into a functionally active conformation. It has been demonstrated that chaperones/co-chaperones interact with PD-related
proteins and regulate their function in PD. HSP70, HSP90 and
small heat shock proteins can prevent neurodegeneration by regulating α-syn misfolding, oligomerization and aggregation. The function of chaperones is regulated by co-chaperones such as HSP110, HSP40, HOP, CHIP, and BAG family
proteins. Parkin, PINK1 and DJ-1 are PD-related
proteins which are associated with mitochondrial function.
Molecular chaperones regulate mitochondrial function and protein homeostasis by interacting with these PD-related
proteins. This review discusses critical
molecular chaperones/co-chaperones and PD-related
proteins which contribute to the pathogenesis of PD, hoping to provide new molecular targets for therapeutic interventions to thwart the
disease progression instead of only bringing symptomatic relief. Moreover, appreciating the critical role of chaperones in PD can also help us screen efficient
biomarkers to identify PD at an early stage.