Proteostasis regulates protein synthesis, folding, localization, and degradation through the coordinated activities of a proteostasis network comprising approximately 3,000 conserved components. When functioning optimally this network supports health, promotes healthy aging, and represents one of the central pillars of the hallmarks of geroscience. Failure of the proteostasis network has been shown to contribute to cellular aging and increased risk for hundreds of protein misfolding diseases. Therefore, a molecular understanding of the properties of the proteostasis network is essential for predicting age-related declines and developing effective interventions.
The Proteostasis Consortium is working on:
- Identifying specific components of the proteostasis network that decline with aging, enabling the development of a predictive index for healthy aging, and
- Finding Proteostasis Network targets that can be pharmacologically regulated to rejuvenate proteostasis, restore health and prevent diseases.
