Proteotoxicity

Proteotoxicity is toxicity caused by proteins, usually of misfolded proteins. Examples of proteotoxic proteins are the prion protein, and several proteins that when mutated result in neurodegenerative disease and produce aggregates in brain tissues, such as amyloid-beta in Alzheimer's disease and huntingtin in Huntington's disease. It is hypothesized that chaperones, proteins that assist protein folding antagonize proteotoxicity.