Molecular chaperone implicated in a wide variety of cellular processes, including protection of the proteome from stress, folding and transport of newly synthesized polypeptides, activation of proteolysis of misfolded proteins and the formation and dissociation of protein complexes. Plays a pivotal role in the protein quality control system, ensuring the correct folding of proteins, the re-folding of misfolded proteins and controlling the targeting of proteins for subsequent degradation.