Electrostatic interactions between middle domain motif-1 and the AAA1 module of the bacterial ClpB chaperone are essential for protein disaggregation.

ClpB, a bacterial homologue of heat shock protein 104 (Hsp104), can disentangle aggregated proteins with the help of the DnaK, a bacterial Hsp70, and its co-factors. As a member of the expanded superfamily of ATPases associated with diverse cellular activities (AAA), ClpB forms a hexameric ring structure, with each protomer containing two AAA modules, AAA1 and AAA2. A long coiled-coil middle domain (MD) is present in the C-terminal region of the AAA1 and surrounds the main body of the ring.