Release of heat shock proteins (Hsps) and the effects of extracellular Hsps on neural cells and tissues.
Hsps were long thought to be cytoplasmic proteins with functions restricted to the intra-cellular compartment. However, an increasing number of observations show that they can be released into the extra-cellular space and can then have a wide variety of affects on other cells. The mechanism of release remains unknown, but may involve the shedding of exosomes, which are vesicles containing cytoplasmic constituents. In the nervous system, it appears that glial cells can release the 70 kD Hsps and that neurons exposed to extra-cellular Hsps are more likely to survive injury than their naïve counterparts. These phenomena have great potential significance in the development of neuroprotective therapeutic strategies utilizing the heat shock protein response.
Tytell
M
M
Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA. tytellm@wfu.edu
D000818:Animals; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D019610:Cytoprotection / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D050883:HSC70 Heat-Shock Proteins; D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D021962:Membrane Microdomains / Q000502:physiology; D008954:Models, Biological; D009424:Nervous System Physiological Phenomena; D009457:Neuroglia / Q000378:metabolism; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000378:metabolism; D022161:Transport Vesicles / Q000502:physiology
D050883:HSC70 Heat-Shock Proteins; D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins; C494371:HSPA8 protein, human; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins; D010743:Phospholipids