Ydj1 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is an abundant cytosolic Hsp40, or J-type, molecular chaperone. Ydj1 cooperates with Hsp70 of the Ssa family in the translocation of preproteins to the ER and mitochondria and in the maturation of Hsp90 client proteins. The substrate-binding domain of Ydj1 directly interacts with steroid receptors and is required for the activity of diverse Hsp90-dependent client proteins. However, the effect of Ydj1 alteration on client interaction was unknown. We analyzed the in vivo interaction of Ydj1 with the protein kinase Ste11 and the glucocorticoid receptor. Amino acid alterations in the proposed client-binding domain or zinc-binding domain had minor effects on the physical interaction of Ydj1 with both clients. However, alteration of the carboxy-terminal farnesylation signal disrupted the functional and physical interaction of Ydj1 and Hsp90 with both clients. Similar effects were observed upon deletion of RAM1, which encodes one of the subunits of yeast farnesyltransferase. Our results indicate that farnesylation is a major factor contributing to the specific requirement for Ydj1 in promoting proper regulation and activation of diverse Hsp90 clients.
INTRODUCTIONMolecular chaperones are a diverse group of highly conserved proteins that transiently interact with partially folded polypeptide chains during normal cellular processes such as protein translation and disassembly of protein complexes. Heat-shock protein 70 (Hsp70) and Hsp40 chaperones are among the most conserved, being present in nearly all organisms. Hsp70 and Hsp40 cooperate in the refolding of denatured proteins in vitro and in vivo. Hsp70s promote folding of misfolded proteins through cycles of ATP-regulated binding and release, and Hsp40s regulate the ATPase activity of Hsp70. Hsp70s bind polypeptides with exposed hydrophobic stretches that are prone to aggregation or misfolding. Some Hsp40s also bind unfolded polypeptide substrates and are able to prevent their aggregation independently of Hsp70 action. According to a current model of the cycle of Hsp70 and Hsp40 action, Hsp40 binds unfolded protein substrate first. The ATPase activity of Hsp70 is stimulated as Hsp40 transfers the bound polypeptide to Hsp70, resulting in stable interaction of Hsp70 with the unfolded polypeptide (Mayer and Bukau, 2005).Hsp40s are a group of diverse proteins defined by the J domain, which directly interacts with and stimulates the ATPase activity of Hsp70. Hsp40s are further classified according to the domains they share in common with DnaJ of Escherichia coli. Ydj1 shares the general domain structure of DnaJ, in which the J domain is followed by a region rich in glycine-phenylalanine (G/F) residues, and a substrate-binding domain (SBD;Lu and Cyr, 1998b), which is further subdivided into domains I, II, and III. Domain I cocrystallized with a substrate peptide GWLY-EIS and thus contains the presumed substrate-binding site; domain II contains a zinc-binding domain; and domain III contains a dimerization site (Li et al., 2003;Wu et al., 2005...