Molecular chaperones are a fundamental group of proteins that have been identified only relatively recently. They are key components of a protein quality machinery in the cell which insures that the folding process of any newly-synthesized polypeptide chain results in the formation of a properly folded protein and that the folded protein is maintained in an active conformation throughout its functional lifetime. Molecular chaperones have been shown to play essential roles in cell viability under both normal and stress conditions. Chaperones can also assist in the unfolding and degradation...