Heat Shock Protein 60 Regulation of Skeletal Tissue Integrity

Osteoporosis and osteoarthritis are the most prevalent degenerative skeletal diseases in the elderly. Deregulated osteoblast and chondrocyte behavior are prominent cellular features of these disorders. Organelle dysfunction disturbs cell survival and differentiation capacity, accelerating bone mass and articular cartilage loss. Heat shock protein 60 (HSP60) is a mitochondrial chaperonin essential to mitochondrial integrity and proteostasis. Its function to skeletal tissue homeostasis and degeneration warrants systemic characterization. Here, we highlight the merging evidence in regard to the involvement of this chaperonin in mitochondrial biogenesis, autophagy, and post-translational modification of bioactive proteins, contributing to tissue homeostasis, deterioration, and tumorigenesis in various physiological and pathological contexts. This article sheds a new light on the beneficial actions of HSP60 to osteoblast autophagy that protects bone tissue against osteoporosis development. We also offer a productive insight into how this chaperone protein sustains chondrocyte function to facilitate cartilage development and slow down osteoarthritis progression.