The Role of Heat Shock Proteins in Reproductive Functions

Introduction Heat shock response (HSR) pathway is a highly conserved cellular process. Heat shock factor 1 (HSF1) is a master transcriptional regulator responsible for expression of several important heat shock proteins (HSPs), which can effectively protect critical client proteins from misfolding and degradation, thus maintaining intracellular integrity under stressed conditions. Recent studies have demonstrated the direct connections between HSR players and tumor cell survival, validating HSR players as novel molecular targets in anticancer treatment. Small molecule screening has produced some promising HSR inhibitors for anticancer treatment. In this article, we will be summarizing the main findings from HSR inhibitors on recent clinical and preclinical studies.