title: Heat Shock Protein 70s as Potential Molecular Targets for Colon Cancer Therapeutics.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Targeted drugs modulate selective pathways activated or repressed only in cancer cells, resulting in a higher response to chemotherapy with less severe side effects. The use of a selected member of the heat shock protein 70 family (HSP70) as an effective therapeutic target in the treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC) will be the focus of this review.
  
  
  METHODS
  We generated two main questions for this study: 1) What are the current and potential future molecular therapies in CRC? 2) Can selective members of the HSP70 family advance drug design and drug discovery for treatment of CRC patients? We discuss related articles based on their significance and translational contributions to the existing literature.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The first part of this review discusses molecularly targeted agents that are currently used successfully in the clinic for the treatment of patients with CRC and highlights several novel targeted agents that are being investigated in ongoing trials. The second part of this review focuses on the unique tumorigenic functions of heat shock proteins, particularly mortalin-2, an essential heat shock protein for mitochondrial biogenesis in normal cells and a dominant oncoprotein in colon cancer cells. Basic and clinical studies have justified mortalin-2 as a potential molecular target, and its inhibition could dramatically improve patients' responses to standard chemotherapies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Further understanding of the contributions of HSP70 family members to CRC at the molecular level, combined with translation of new concepts into effective targeted therapies, are anticipated to improve clinical outcomes and increase the therapeutic synergy with combination treatment with cytotoxic agents.
authors.forename: Jennifer D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Black
authors.affiliation: Division of Basic Biomedical Sciences, Sanford School of Medicine, The University of South Dakota, 414 E. Clark Street, Lee Medical Building, Vermillion, SD 57069, USA. khosrow.rezvani@usd.edu.
authors.forename: Khosrow
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rezvani
mesh_terms: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D066246:ErbB Receptors / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D015513:Oncogene Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014452:Ubiquitins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins; D015513:Oncogene Proteins; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors; C000609706:UBXN2A protein, human; D014452:Ubiquitins; D066246:ErbB Receptors