Human diseases associated with heat shock proteins or HSPs
The team studies the role of Heat Shock Proteins (HSPs), also called stress proteins, in pathologies in which a dysregulation in their expression or function is involved (ex. cancer, fibrosis, myeloproliferative syndromes or immune disorders).
HSPs are highly conserved molecular chaperones induced by a variety of exogenous or intracellular stresses. They participate in the correct folding, activity, transport and stability of proteins. HSPs have intra- (cytoprotective) and extracellular (danger signal) functions. Traditionally, HSPs are classified by their molecular weight into 5 families: HSP110 (also called HSPH), HSP90 (HSPD), HSP70 (HSPA), HSP60 (HSPD/E) and the small HSPs (HSPB). Stress proteins allow the cells to survive otherwise lethal conditions.