title: Heat shock proteins: biological functions and clinical application as personalized vaccines for human cancer.
abstract: Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are a large family of proteins with different molecular weights and different intracellular localizations. These proteins undertake crucial functions in maintaining cell homeostasis, and therefore they have been conserved during evolution. Hsp70 and Grp94/gp96, due to their peptide chaperone capacity and their ability to actively interact with professional antigen-presenting cells (APCs), are also endowed with crucial immunological functions. The immunological properties of these proteins and their implications for vaccine in human cancer will be discussed. Immunological and clinical data of phase I/II studies in melanoma and colorectal cancer patients will be reviewed.
authors.affiliation: Unit of Immunotherapy of Human Tumors, Istituto Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori, Via G. Venezian 1, 20133, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Castelli
authors.forename: Licia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rivoltini
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rini
authors.forename: Filiberto
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Belli
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Testori
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maio
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Mazzaferro
authors.forename: Jorgelina
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Coppa
authors.forename: Pramod K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Srivastava
authors.forename: Giorgio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Parmiani
mesh_terms: D017951:Antigen Presentation; D000938:Antigen-Presenting Cells / Q000502:physiology; D019496:Cancer Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*; D004705:Endocytosis; D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D014611:Vaccination
chemical_list: D019496:Cancer Vaccines; D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; C018551:glucose-regulated proteins