Role of heat shock protein in regulation of JNK and apoptosis / 中国病理生理杂志

ABSTRACT

Cell protection from stresses by heat shock protein (HSP) was previously attributed to its ability to prevent aggregation and to accelerate refolding of damaged proteins. It plays an important role in cell survival after extremely harsh protein damaging treatment leading to necrotic cell death. On the other hand, protein repair function of HSP cannot explain how it protects cell from stresses which do not cause direct protein damage. These stresses kill cell through activation of apoptotic program. Recently it has been found that HSP can meditate suppression of a stress-activated protein kinase, JNK, an early component of stress-induced apoptotic signaling pathway.These observations can provide a basis for HSP's function of anti-apoptosis.