| Abstract: | The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is involved in a variety of essential and interconnected processes in human cells, including
protein biogenesis, signal transduction, and calcium homeostasis. The central player in all these processes is the ER-lumenal
polypeptide chain binding protein BiP that acts as a molecular chaperone. BiP belongs to the heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70)
family and crucially depends on a number of interaction partners, including co-chaperones, nucleotide exchange factors, and
signaling molecules. In the course of the last five years, several diseases have been linked to BiP and its interaction partners,
such as a group of infectious diseases that are caused by Shigella toxin producing E. coli. Furthermore, the inherited diseases Marinesco-Sj?gren syndrome, autosomal dominant polycystic liver disease, Wolcott-Rallison
syndrome, and several cancer types can be considered BiP-related diseases. This review summarizes the physiological and pathophysiological
characteristics of BiP and its interaction partners.
Received 20 November 2008; received after revision 09 December 2008; accepted 12 December 2008 |
