title: Heat shock proteins: a therapeutic target worth to consider.
abstract: Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are the molecular chaperones, that are not only expressed during the normal growth process of cell cycle consecutively, but also get induced in cells during various stress conditions produced by cellular insult, environmental changes, temperature, infections, tumors etc. According to their molecular weight and functions, HSPs are divided into five major families. HSP90, HSP70, HSP60 and HSP100 are the most studied members of the family. Experimental studies have proved that overexpression and/or inhibition of HSPs play an important role in maintaining the tolerance and cell viability under above-described stress conditions. HSP90 is found to be a promising the candidate for the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of cancer. Similarly, HSP70, HSP60 and small HSPs experimentally and clinically have potential for the treatment of neurodegenerative disease, ischemia, cell death, autoimmunity, graft rejection, etc. In a way, exploring, the cytoprotective and immunoregulatory role of HSPs can open a new avenue for the drug discovery and treatment of critical diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, College of veterinary science & AH, NDVSU, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Amita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dubey
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, College of veterinary science & AH, AAU, Anand, Gujarat, India.
authors.forename: K S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Prajapati
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, College of veterinary science & AH, NDVSU, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Madhu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Swamy
authors.affiliation: Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Jawaharlal Nehru Agricultural University, Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pachauri
keywords: heat shock protein; heat shock protein 70; heat shock protein 90; small heat shock proteins; stress protein