Lipocortin 1 (LC1) is a 37 kDa member of the annexin family of protein
s. It has been proposed to act as a mediator of some of the actions of
glucocorticoids in antiinflammatory and immune suppressive functions.
LC1 has been shown to play a role in cell proliferation, apoptosis, a
nd differentiation. However, the exact biological functions of LC1 sti
ll remain obscure. Here it is shown that LC1 displays a chaperone-like
function. Stoichiometric amounts of LC1 suppressed thermally induced
inactivation and aggregation of the test enzymes citrate synthase and
glutamate dehydrogenase. LC1 was also effective in refolding guanine h
ydrochloride-denatured glutamate dehydrogenase, as judged by circular
dichroism spectroscopy.