Involvement of Stress Proteins in Renal Diseases

Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are a distinctive class of proteins that have evolved to cope with stress to provide cellular defence against a wide range of cell injuries. HSPs play an important role in the assembly and folding of intracellular polypeptides, and help in restoring the biological activities of abnormal proteins. Cellular stress responses include a transient rearrangement of functional activities, in order to protect and maintain essential cellular functions, possibly by inducing HSPs. HSPs help in restoring protein homeostasis and assist in cellular recovery from stress, either by repairing damaged proteins through refolding or by degrading them. Recent studies have documented the important roles of stress proteins in renal cell survival and matrix remodeling in a number of acute and chronic renal diseases. This brief review summarizes some of the important aspects of HSPs and their relevance to various renal diseases.