An abnormal transcript of the heat shock protein 70 gene in patients with major depression

热休克或应激基因由多种刺激诱导，包括热、氧化应激、长时间癫痫发作和某些毒素。提示热休克蛋白可能在心理应激过程中起重要作用。本研究采用逆转录聚合酶链反应（RTPCR）技术对人淋巴细胞热休克蛋白70（hsp70）mRNA的表达进行了研究。15例抑郁症患者中有4例hsp70转录异常。正常志愿者未见异常转录。提示热休克蛋白70可能在抑郁症发病机制中起重要作用。

The heat shock or stress genes are induced by a wide variety of stimuli including heat, oxidative stress, prolonged seizure, and certain toxins. It is suggested that heat shock proteins may play important roles in the process of mental stress. To our knowledge, there are no report which have investigated the heat shock protein expression in affective disorder.Thus, we investigated the hsp70 mRNA transcripton in human lymphocyte using RTPCR (reverse transcript polymerase chain reaction). Fourtenn of 15 patients with depression showed abnormal transcript of hsp70. In contrast, normal volunteers show no abnormal trascript. These result suggest Heat shock protein 70 may play an imortant role in the mechanism of depression.