Expression of Hsp70 and Hdj1 chaperone proteins in human tumor cells

Heat shock proteins (Hsp), or "stress proteins", play an important role in maintenance of cellular homeostasis both under normal conditions and during cellular stress. We tested malignant female urogenital and breast tumors for Hsp70 and Hdj1 (Hsp40) chaperones. Immunoenzyme procedure (based on Hsp70 and ATP interaction) was used to assay Hsp70 levels. Hsp70 and Hdj1 expression was higher in malignant cells than in benign ones. We were the first to demonstrate the feasibility of using Hdj1 expression as a novel prognostic factor for neoplastic disease.