Ann. Méd. Vét., 2003, 147 (2), pp 127 - 144 The heat shock proteins (Hsps). II. Hsp70: biomarker and actor of cellular stressWirth D., Christians E.S., Drion P.V., Dessy-Doize C., Gustin P.Abstract :
The exposure of any organism to high temperature induces rapid and transient cellular overexpression of specific proteins, the heat shock proteins (Hsps). This response, called heat shock response, was initially discovered in Drosophila. The genes hsps were among the first eukaryotic genes to be cloned and whose regulation, which involves activation of heat shock factor (HSF), was elucidated. More recently, study of Hsp functions, particularly Hsp70, started. Their protective role, related to their molecular chaperon function, was inferred from experiments showing that Hsp70 expression, induced by a first stress, results in a cellular tolerance to second stress. Better understanding of the heat shock response had led to the development of two search fields on Hsp70 expression : (1) its use as biomarker of cellular stress and (2) the exploitation of its cytoprotective functions against various insults. This review includes historic of the research on the heat shock response, description of regulation mechanism of Hsp70 expression, and the interesting perspectives allocated to Hsp70 as biomarker and therapeutic tool. Get the PDF Contact person : p.gustin@ulg.ac.be |