Protein levels of heat shock proteins 27, 32, 60, 70, 90 and thioredoxin-1 in amnestic mild cognitive impairment: an investigation on the role of cellular stress response in the progression of Alzheimer disease.

Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are highly regulated proteins that are involved in normal cellular activity and are up-regulated when the cell is exposed to stress such as heat or excess reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. HSPs are molecular chaperones that mediate the proper folding of proteins and promote recovery of the native conformations of proteins lost due to stress. Improperly folded or denatured proteins tend to aggregate and accumulate in cells. A number of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson disease (PD) and Alzheimer disease (AD) have been called “protein misfolding disorders” due their characteristic pathology. Until now the exact mechanism(s) of AD progression and pathogenesis largely remains unknown.