Heat shock proteins (HSP) are a family of proteins produced by cells in response to exposure to stressful conditions. They were first described in relation to heat shock, but are now known to also be expressed during other stresses including exposure to cold, UV light and during wound healing or tissue remodeling. Many members of this group perform chaperone functions by stabilizing new proteins to ensure correct folding or by helping to refold proteins that were damaged by the cell stress. This increase in expression is transcriptionally regulated. The dramatic upregulation of the heat shock proteins is a key part of the heat shock response and is induced primarily by heat shock factor (HSF). HSPs are found in virtually all living organisms, from bacteria to humans.
The 70 kilodalton heat shock proteins are a family of conserved ubiquitously expressed heat shock proteins. Proteins with similar structure exist in virtually all living organisms. Intracellularly localized Hsp70s are an important part of the cell's machinery for protein folding, performing chaperoning functions, and helping to protect cells from the adverse effects of physiological stresses. Additionally, membrane-bound Hsp70s have been identified as a potential target for cancer therapies and their extracellularly localized counterparts have been identified as having both membrane-bound and membrane-free structures.
The heat shock response (HSR) is a cell stress response that increases the number of molecular chaperones to combat the negative effects on proteins caused by stressors such as increased temperatures, oxidative stress, and heavy metals. In a normal cell, proteostasis must be maintained because proteins are the main functional units of the cell. Many proteins take on a defined configuration in a process known as protein folding in order to perform their biological functions. If these structures are altered, critical processes could be affected, leading to cell damage or death. The heat shock response can be employed under stress to induce the expression of heat shock proteins (HSP), many of which are molecular chaperones, that help prevent or reverse protein misfolding and provide an environment for proper folding.
c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNKs), were originally identified as kinases that bind and phosphorylate c-Jun on Ser-63 and Ser-73 within its transcriptional activation domain. They belong to the mitogen-activated protein kinase family, and are responsive to stress stimuli, such as cytokines, ultraviolet irradiation, heat shock, and osmotic shock. They also play a role in T cell differentiation and the cellular apoptosis pathway. Activation occurs through a dual phosphorylation of threonine (Thr) and tyrosine (Tyr) residues within a Thr-Pro-Tyr motif located in kinase subdomain VIII. Activation is carried out by two MAP kinase kinases, MKK4 and MKK7, and JNK can be inactivated by Ser/Thr and Tyr protein phosphatases. It has been suggested that this signaling pathway contributes to inflammatory responses in mammals and insects.
In eukaryotic cells, an aggresome refers to an aggregation of misfolded proteins in the cell, formed when the protein degradation system of the cell is overwhelmed. Aggresome formation is a highly regulated process that possibly serves to organize misfolded proteins into a single location.
The unfolded protein response (UPR) is a cellular stress response related to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. It has been found to be conserved between mammalian species, as well as yeast and worm organisms.
Apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 (ASK1) also known as mitogen-activated protein kinase 5 (MAP3K5) is a member of MAP kinase family and as such a part of mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway. It activates c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases in a Raf-independent fashion in response to an array of stresses such as oxidative stress, endoplasmic reticulum stress and calcium influx. ASK1 has been found to be involved in cancer, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases.
Heat shock 70 kDa protein 1, also termed Hsp72, is a protein that in humans is encoded by the HSPA1A gene. As a member of the heat shock protein 70 family and a chaperone protein, it facilitates the proper folding of newly translated and misfolded proteins, as well as stabilize or degrade mutant proteins. In addition, Hsp72 also facilitates DNA repair. Its functions contribute to biological processes including signal transduction, apoptosis, protein homeostasis, and cell growth and differentiation. It has been associated with an extensive number of cancers, neurodegenerative diseases, cell senescence and aging, and inflammatory diseases such as Diabetes mellitus type 2 and rheumatoid arthritis.
Heat shock factor 1 (HSF1) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the HSF1 gene. HSF1 is highly conserved in eukaryotes and is the primary mediator of transcriptional responses to proteotoxic stress with important roles in non-stress regulation such as development and metabolism.
MAP kinase-activated protein kinase 2 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the MAPKAPK2 gene.
Binding immunoglobulin protein (BiPS) also known as 78 kDa glucose-regulated protein (GRP-78) or heat shock 70 kDa protein 5 (HSPA5) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the HSPA5 gene.
DNA damage-inducible transcript 3, also known as C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP), is a pro-apoptotic transcription factor that is encoded by the DDIT3 gene. It is a member of the CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein (C/EBP) family of DNA-binding transcription factors. The protein functions as a dominant-negative inhibitor by forming heterodimers with other C/EBP members, preventing their DNA binding activity. The protein is implicated in adipogenesis and erythropoiesis and has an important role in the cell's stress response.
Richard I. Morimoto is a Japanese American molecular biologist. He is the Bill and Gayle Cook Professor of Biology and Director of the Rice Institute for Biomedical Research at Northwestern University.
Mitophagy is the selective degradation of mitochondria by autophagy. It often occurs to defective mitochondria following damage or stress. The process of mitophagy was first described over a hundred years ago by Margaret Reed Lewis and Warren Harmon Lewis. Ashford and Porter used electron microscopy to observe mitochondrial fragments in liver lysosomes by 1962, and a 1977 report suggested that "mitochondria develop functional alterations which would activate autophagy." The term "mitophagy" was in use by 1998.
Proteostasis is the dynamic regulation of a balanced, functional proteome. The proteostasis network includes competing and integrated biological pathways within cells that control the biogenesis, folding, trafficking, and degradation of proteins present within and outside the cell. Loss of proteostasis is central to understanding the cause of diseases associated with excessive protein misfolding and degradation leading to loss-of-function phenotypes, as well as aggregation-associated degenerative disorders. Therapeutic restoration of proteostasis may treat or resolve these pathologies.
The integrated stress response is a cellular stress response conserved in eukaryotic cells that downregulates protein synthesis and upregulates specific genes in response to internal or environmental stresses.
The bacterial stress response enables bacteria to survive adverse and fluctuating conditions in their immediate surroundings. Various bacterial mechanisms recognize different environmental changes and mount an appropriate response. A bacterial cell can react simultaneously to a wide variety of stresses and the various stress response systems interact with each other by a complex of global regulatory networks.
NKG2D is an activating receptor (transmembrane protein) belonging to the NKG2 family of C-type lectin-like receptors. NKG2D is encoded by KLRK1 (killer cell lectin like receptor K1) gene which is located in the NK-gene complex (NKC) situated on chromosome 6 in mice and chromosome 12 in humans. In mice, it is expressed by NK cells, NK1.1+ T cells, γδ T cells, activated CD8+ αβ T cells and activated macrophages. In humans, it is expressed by NK cells, γδ T cells and CD8+ αβ T cells. NKG2D recognizes induced-self proteins from MIC and RAET1/ULBP families which appear on the surface of stressed, malignant transformed, and infected cells.
A nucleolar detention center (DC) is a region of the cell in which certain proteins are temporarily detained in periods of cellular stress. DCs are absent from cells under normal culture conditions, but form in response to specific environmental triggers. The detention of numerous proteins in DCs is believed to reduce metabolic activity and promote survival under unfavorable conditions. DCs form at the center of nucleoli and therefore disrupt the normal organization of these organelles. The structural remodeling that ensues leaves nucleoli unable to sustain their primary function, ribosomal biogenesis. Therefore, the formation of DCs is thought to convert nucleoli from “ribosome factories” to “prisons for proteins”.
Chaperones, also called molecular chaperones, are proteins that assist other proteins in assuming their three-dimensional fold, which is necessary for protein function. However, the fold of a protein is sensitive to environmental conditions, such as temperature and pH, and thus chaperones are needed to keep proteins in their functional fold across various environmental conditions. Chaperones are an integral part of a cell's protein quality control network by assisting in protein folding and are ubiquitous across diverse biological taxa. Since protein folding, and therefore protein function, is susceptible to environmental conditions, chaperones could represent an important cellular aspect of biodiversity and environmental tolerance by organisms living in hazardous conditions. Chaperones also affect the evolution of proteins in general, as many proteins fundamentally require chaperones to fold or are naturally prone to misfolding, and therefore mitigates protein aggregation.
