Figure 1. Hypothesis for a coherent mechanism of sHsp chaperone function.

Chaperones known as sHsps (colourful dots) can bind to proteins destabilised under stress conditions (‘substrates’; grey dots). They either encourage other proteins to gather with them in large protective complexes known as co-aggregates (‘aggregase’ activity; red, left); or they keep the proteins they bind apart from each other (‘holdase’ activity; blue, right) to stop these substrates from transitioning into toxic aggregates such as amyloid fibrils (grey arrows). These apparently incompatible models of chaperones’ activity can be reconciled by considering that they both aim to stop destabilised proteins from coming together in specific ways that are harmful to the cell. Sometimes, this aim is achieved by forming reversible liquid condensates requiring both aspects of sHsp function: there, the chaperones help to sequester the proteins and prevent them from becoming amyloid fibrils.