Cucurbitacin D Is a Disruptor of the HSP90 Chaperone Machinery.

Heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) facilitates the maturation of many newly synthesized and unfolded proteins (clients) via the Hsp90 chaperone cycle, in which Hsp90 forms a heteroprotein complex and relies upon cochaperones, immunophilins, etc., for assistance in client folding. Hsp90 inhibition has emerged as a strategy for anticancer therapies due to the involvement of clients in many oncogenic pathways.