It is established that the multiprotein heat shock protein 90 (hsp90)-based chaperone system acts on the ligand binding domain of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) to form a GR⅐hsp90 heterocomplex and to convert the receptor ligand binding domain to the steroid-binding state. Treatment of cells with the hsp90 inhibitor geldanamycin inactivates steroid binding activity and increases the rate of GR turnover. We show here that a portion of neuronal nitric-oxide synthase (nNOS) exists as a molybdate-stabilized nNOS⅐hsp90 heterocomplex in the cytosolic fraction of human embryonic kidney 293 cells stably transfected with rat nNOS. Treatment of human embryonic kidney 293 cells with geldanamycin both decreases nNOS catalytic activity and increases the rate of nNOS turnover. Similarly, geldanamycin treatment of nNOS-expressing Sf9 cells partially inhibits nNOS activation by exogenous heme. Like the GR, purified heme-free apo-nNOS is activated by the DE52-retained fraction of rabbit reticulocyte lysate, which also assembles nNOS⅐hsp90 heterocomplexes. However, in contrast to the GR, heterocomplex assembly with hsp90 is not required for increased heme binding and nNOS activation in this cell-free system. We propose that, in vivo, where access by free heme is limited, the complete hsp90-based chaperone machinery is required for sustained opening of the heme binding cleft and nNOS activation, but in the heme-containing cell-free nNOS-activating system transient opening of the heme binding cleft without hsp90 is sufficient to facilitate heme binding.Several transcription factors and protein kinases involved in signal transduction are recovered from cells in association with the ubiquitous heat shock protein hsp90 1 (for review, see Refs.1 and 2). These heterocomplexes with hsp90 are formed by a multicomponent chaperone machinery consisting of hsp90, hsp70, Hop, hsp40, p23, and probably also the hsp70-interacting protein Hip and the GrpE-like protein BAG-1 (for review, see Ref.3 and references therein). As first shown for the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) (4) and then for some other steroid receptors and the dioxin (Ah) receptor, association of the ligand binding domain (LBD) with hsp90 is required for the high affinity ligand binding conformation (1, 2). Complexing of the GR with hsp90 also opens up both thiol moieties (5) and trypsin cleavage sites (6, 7) in the LBD to attack by a thiol-derivatizing agent and the protease. These direct data, coupled with recent genetic observations (8), support the notion (9, 10) that the hsp90-based chaperone machinery directs an ATP-dependent partial unfolding of the receptor LBD, thus making the hydrophobic steroid-binding pocket accessible to steroid. The problem of providing access of ligands to hydrophobic binding sites situated in the interior of properly folded proteins is not unique to steroid and dioxin receptors. To test whether the hsp90-based chaperone machinery may play a more general role in opening up hydrophobic binding clefts, we have asked whether this system facilitates the...

FKBP52 is a high molecular mass immunophilin possessing peptidylprolyl isomerase (PPIase) activity that is inhibited by the immunosuppressant drug FK506. FKBP52 is a component of steroid receptor⅐hsp90 heterocomplexes, and it binds to hsp90 via a region containing three tetratricopeptide repeats (TPRs). Here we demonstrate by cross-linking of the purified proteins that there is one binding site for FKBP52/dimer of hsp90. This accounts for the common heterotetrameric structure of native receptor heterocomplexes being 1 molecule of receptor, 2 molecules of hsp90, and 1 molecule of a TPR domain protein. Immunoadsorption of FKBP52 from reticulocyte lysate also yields co-immunoadsorption of cytoplasmic dynein, and we show that co-immunoadsorption of dynein is competed by a fragment of FKBP52 containing its PPIase domain, but not by a TPR domain fragment that blocks FKBP52 binding to hsp90. Using purified proteins, we also show that FKBP52 binds directly to the hsp90-free glucocorticoid receptor. Because neither the PPIase fragment nor the TPR fragment affects the binding of FKBP52 to the glucocorticoid receptor under conditions in which they block FKBP52 binding to dynein or hsp90, respectively, different regions of FKBP52 must determine its association with these three proteins.

A system consisting of five purified proteins: Hsp90, Hsp70, Hop, Hsp40, and p23, acts as a machinery for assembly of glucocorticoid receptor (GR)⅐Hsp90 heterocomplexes. Hop binds independently to Hsp90 and to Hsp70 to form a Hsp90⅐Hop⅐Hsp70⅐Hsp40 complex that is sufficient to convert the GR to its steroid binding form, and this four-protein complex will form stable GR⅐Hsp90 heterocomplexes if p23 is added to the system (Dittmar, K. D., Banach, M., Galigniana, M. D., and Pratt, W. B. (1998) J. Biol. Chem. 273, 7358 -7366). Hop has been considered essential for the formation of receptor⅐Hsp90 heterocomplexes and GR folding. Here we use Hsp90 and Hsp70 purified free of all traces of Hop and Hsp40 to show that Hop is not required for GR⅐Hsp90 heterocomplex assembly and activation of steroid binding activity. Rather, Hop enhances the rate of the process. We also show that Hsp40 is not essential for GR folding by the five-protein system but enhances a process that occurs less effectively when it is not present. By carrying out assembly in the presence of radiolabeled steroid to bind to the GR as soon as it is converted to the steroid binding state, we show that the folding change is brought about by only two essential components, Hsp90 and Hsp70, and that Hop, Hsp40, and p23 act as nonessential co-chaperones.The steroid receptors are recovered from cells as multiprotein heterocomplexes containing a dimer of Hsp90, substochiometric amounts of Hsp70, 1 an acidic 23-kDa protein, p23, and a tetratricopeptide repeat domain protein, such as immunophilin or protein phosphatase 5 (for review see Refs. 1 and 2). The steroid receptor⅐Hsp90 heterocomplexes can be formed under cell-free conditions by incubating the immunoadsorbed proteins with reticulocyte lysate (3, 4). Inasmuch as the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) 2 must be associated with Hsp90 for it to have steroid binding activity (5), incubation of Hsp90-free GR with reticulocyte lysate results in generation of steroid binding activity in direct proportion to the number of GR⅐Hsp90 heterocomplexes that are assembled (6). Hsp90 binds directly to the ligand-binding domain (LBD) of the GR (1), and complexing with Hsp90 also opens up both thiol moieties (7) and trypsin cleavage sites (8, 9) in the LBD to attack by a thiol-derivatizing agent and the protease. These biochemical observations, coupled with data derived from GR mutants (10), support the idea (6, 11) that the Hsp90 heterocomplex assembly system in reticulocyte lysate directs an ATP-dependent partial unfolding of the GR LBD, thus opening the hydrophobic steroid-binding cleft to access by steroid.The heterocomplex assembly system has been reconstituted (12-16), and five proteins, including Hsp90, Hsp70, Hop (60-kDa Hsp organizer protein), Hsp40, and p23, participate in the ATP/Mg 2ϩ -dependent and K ϩ -dependent assembly process (for review of heterocomplex assembly see Refs. 17 and 18). Besides Hsp90 itself, the only component of this Hsp90-based chaperone system proven to be essential for both GR⅐Hsp90 heterocomplex...