[Heat shock proteins as chaperones of the immune response. The optimal stress of life]

Abstract

The author reviews the complex role of heat-shock proteins during the immune reaction, especially the cellular effects of heat-shock proteins during recognition processes by innate immunity. The pathogenetic role of heat-shock proteins in two multifactorial diseases, inflammatory bowel disease and atherosclerosis, is summarized. A new hypothesis is presented dealing with the "immunodeficiency burden" as the aggregate effect of the genetic polymorphisms resulting in disease susceptibility. According to this mechanism the aggregate effect of polymorphisms resulting in failure of protective immunity determines the susceptibility for the disease in the given subject, when a specific environmental factor is present.