Role of Heat Shock Proteins in Physiology and Pathology of the Female Genital Tract

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Ovarian sex steroids are involved in growth and differentiation of normal and neoplastic cells in the female genital tract. Although heat shock proteins HSP70 and HSP90 are known to modulate the intracellular interaction between the sex steroid and the respective receptor protein, little is known about expression and localization of HSPs in the human female genital tract. This study revealed that both HSP70 and HSP90 are expressed and specifically localized in the cells of normal endometrium, myometrium, fallopian tube, and cervix. Expression level of HSP70 changes in endometrium and myometrium during the menstrual cycle.Topological correlation between the HSPs and sex steroid receptors suggests that HSPs play an important role in the receptor-activation pathway in the endometrium. Endometrial hyperplasias/carcinomas and cervical carcinomas show an aberrant HSP70 expression. Ovarian cancers strongly express HSP70 along with p53 protein, which is inversely correlated with sex steroid receptor status. Consequently, both HSP70 and HSP90 are essential proteins in physiology and pathology of the female genital tract, and further studies are necessary to verify the exact function of these HSPs in the respective cells.