Chapter 13 Heat shock protein response in the central nervous system following hyperthermia

Abstract

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the pathological significance of heat shock protein (HSP) response in the central nervous system (CNS) following heat stress in in vivo situations, which has largely been ignored in the past. In addition, the current knowledge about HSP induction, function, and its significance is also reviewed. The pharmacological modification of HSP response in relation to cell injury, which is a new emerging subject, is also discussed. The HSP response is a universal response of all prokaryotic and eukaryotic species, following subjection to noxious stressful situations. One of the fundamental problems in understanding the pathophysiological significance of HSP in the CNS is that most of the knowledge concerning HSP response in hyperthermia is based on the exposure of glial cells or nerve cells in culture. Most of the HSP are constitutively expressed in normal cells. Their proposed function is to regulate cell growth, maintenance, and development. In the CNS, induction of HSP occurs under a wide variety of experimental conditions such as hyperthermia, kainic acid administration, chemically induced-status epilepticus, brain or spinal cord injury.