Chaperone-assisted selective autophagy is essential for muscle maintenance.

How are biological structures maintained in a cellular environment that constantly threatens protein integrity? Here we elucidate proteostasis mechanisms affecting the Z disk, a protein assembly essential for actin anchoring in striated muscles, which is subjected to mechanical, thermal, and oxidative stress during contraction [1]. Based on the characterization of the Drosophila melanogaster cochaperone Starvin (Stv), we define a conserved chaperone machinery required for Z disk maintenance. Instead of keeping Z disk proteins in a folded conformation, this machinery facilitates the degradation of damaged components, such as filamin, through chaperone-assisted selective autophagy (CASA).