Neuroprotection: heat shock proteins.

Cells respond to external stresses such as metabolic disturbances and injuries, including cerebral ischaemia (stroke), in a very typical manner. The cell mounts a stress response that incorporates the induction of a number of genes encoding proteins which may act to save the cell from death. Among these proteins are the so-called stress proteins (also known as heat shock proteins). Heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) is the major inducible stress protein and has long been thought to contribute to cell survival following potentially lethal stresses. This chapter highlights the involvement of HSP70 involvement in the pathophysiology of cerebral ischaemia, from the original reports of HSP70 expression after cerebral ischaemia to evidence of HSP70 neuroprotection and the potential mechanisms which might mediate this cellular protection.