Mechanism of the small ATP-independent chaperone Spy is substrate specific

Abstract

Spy is an ATP independent chaperone that can act as both a holdase and a foldase towards topologically simple substrates. Assessing the interaction of Spy and apoflavodoxin, a complex client, the authors show that Spy’s activity is substrate specific. Spy binds partially unfolded states of apoflavodoxin tightly, which limits the possibility of folding and converts Spy to a pure holdase.