Heat shock proteins and oral diseases

Abstract

Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are substances expressed in response to elevated temperatures or other cellular stress. They are highly conserved proteins inhabiting nearly all subcellular compartments and are found in all organisms and all cell types. When a cell is stressed, oligomeric complexes disassemble and polypeptides unfold. Under these conditions, the role of HSPs is to reverse such changes and, if refolding becomes impossible, to potentially speed up the removal of such denatured proteins. Expression of HSPs is induced even under non-stress conditions, including those of the cell cycle, development, and differentiation. As oral cavity is subjected to wide range of environmental stresses like temperature variations, exposure to noxious substances and psychological disturbances, HSP′s show immunomodulatory effects. In this article the role of HSPs expression in various microbial infections, autoimmune diseases, as well as in oral squamous cell carcinoma are expressed.

Keywords

• heat shock proteins
• heat shock factor
• chaperonin
• molecular chaperones
• conserved proteins.