HEAT SHOCK PROTEIN 27 IS OVEREXPRESSED IN THE SKIN OF BITUMEN EXPOSED WORKERS. EARLY OBSERVATIONS

Abstract

Heat Shock Proteins (HSPs) are chaperones involved in cellular defence mechanism against several different types of aggression. The HSP27 is a member of this family ( 1) . These molecules also participate in essential physiological processes, such as the regulation of cell cycle, differentiation, programmed cell death and tumorigenicity ( 2). Physiologically, HSPs are found in several tissues such as breast, uterus, cervix, placenta and skin, as well as in diseases like actinic keratosis, squamous cell carcinoma, seborrheic keratosis, psoriasis and others (3,4). HSP27 has also been demonstrated in normal human epidermis (5). [...]