Heat shock proteins and cardiovascular pathophysiology

In the eukaryotic cell an intrinsic mechanism is present providing the abil ity to defend itself against external stressors from various sources. This defense mechanism probably evolved from the presence of a group of chaperon es, playing a crucial role in governing proper protein assembly, folding, a nd transport. Upregulation of the synthesis of a number of these proteins u pon environmental stress establishes a unique defense system to maintain ce llular protein homeostasis and to ensure survival of the cell. In the cardi ovascular system this enhanced protein synthesis leads to a transient but p owerful increase in tolerance to such endangering situations as ischemia, h ypoxia, oxidative injury, and endotoxemia. These so-called heat shock prote ins interfere with several physiological processes within several cell orga nelles and, for proper functioning, are translocated to different compartme nts following stress-induced synthesis. In this review we describe the phys iological role of heat shock proteins and discuss their protective potentia l against various stress agents in the cardiovascular system.