If the temperature rises, the living organism reacts to this by producing peculiar compounds called "heat shock proteins". This is how a person reacts, this is how a cat reacts, this is how any creature reacts, since it consists of living cells. However, not only the rise in temperature provokes the synthesis of heat shock protein of chlamydia and other species. Severe stresses often provoke situations.
General information
Because heat shock proteins are produced by the body only in specific situations, they differ in a number of ways from normally produced compounds. The period of their formation is characterized by inhibition of the expression of the main protein pool, which plays an important role in metabolism.
HSP-70 eukaryotes, DnaK prokaryotes are a family in which scientists have combined heat shock proteins that are important for survival at the cellular level. This means that thanks to these compounds, the cell can continue to function even in a situation where stress, heat, and an aggressive environment resist this. However, proteins of this family can also participate in processes occurring under normal conditions.
Biology at the microscopic level
If the domains are 100% identical, then eukaryotes, prokaryotes are morethan 50% homologous. Scientists have proven that in nature, among all protein groups, it is 70 kDa HSP that is one of the most conservative. Studies devoted to this were done in 1988 and 1993. Presumably, the phenomenon can be explained through the chaperone functionality inherent in heat shock proteins in intracellular mechanisms.
How does it work?
If we consider eukaryotes, then HSP genes are induced under the influence of heat shock. If some cell avoided stressful conditions, then the factors are present in the nucleus, cytoplasm as monomers. This compound does not have DNA binding activity.
Experiencing stressful conditions, the cell behaves as follows: Hsp70 is cleaved off, which initiates the production of denatured proteins. HSP forms trimers, the activity changes its character and affects DNA, which eventually leads to the accumulation of components in the cell nucleus. The process is accompanied by a multiple increase in chaperone transcription. Of course, the situation that provoked this passes with time, and by the time this happens, Hsp70 can again be included in HSP. The activity associated with DNA fades away, the cell continues to work as if nothing had happened. This sequence of events was revealed as early as 1993 in studies on HSP conducted by Morimoto. If the organism is affected by bacteria, then HSPs can concentrate on the synovium.
Why and why?
Scientists have found that HSPs are formed as a result ofthe influence of a variety of negative, life-threatening situations for the cell. Stressful, damaging influences from the outside can be extremely diverse, but leading to the same variant. Due to HSP, the cell survives under the influence of aggressive factors.
It is known that HSPs are divided into three families. In addition, scientists have found that there are antibodies to the heat shock protein. The division into HSP groups is made taking into account the molecular weight. Three categories: 25, 70, 90 kDa. If there is a normally functioning cell in a living organism, then inside it there will certainly be various proteins mixed with each other, quite similar. Thanks to HSP, denatured proteins, as well as incorrectly folded ones, can become a solution again. However, in addition to this function, there are some others.
What we know and what we guess
Until now, the heat shock protein of chlamydia, as well as other HSPs, has not been fully studied. Of course, there are some groups of proteins about which scientists have a fairly large amount of data, and there are those that have yet to be mastered. But now science has reached a level where knowledge will allow us to say that in oncology, heat shock protein can be a really useful tool to defeat one of the most terrible diseases of our century - cancer.
Scientists have the largest amount of data on HSP Hsp70, which can bind to various proteins, aggregates, complexes,even with abnormal ones. Over time, release occurs, accompanied by the connection of ATP. This means that a solution appears again in the cell, and proteins that have undergone an incorrect folding process can be subjected to this operation again. Hydrolysis, ATP binding are the mechanisms that made this possible.
Anomalies and norms
It is difficult to overestimate the role of heat shock proteins for living organisms. Any cell always contains abnormal proteins, whose concentration can increase if there are external prerequisites for this. A typical story is overheating or infection. This means that in order to continue the life of the cell, it is urgent to generate a larger amount of HSP. The transcription mechanism is activated, which initiates the production of proteins, the cell adapts to changing conditions and continues to function. However, along with the already known mechanisms, much remains to be discovered. In particular, antibodies to the heat shock protein of chlamydia are such a rather large field for the activity of scientists.
HSP, when the polypeptide chain increases, and they find themselves in conditions that make it possible to enter into a relationship with it, avoid nonspecific aggregation and degradation. Instead, folding occurs normally, with the necessary chaperones involved in the process. Hsp70 is additionally required for the unfolding of polypeptide chains with the participation of ATP. With HSP it is possible to achieve that non-polar regions are also affected by enzymes.
HTS and medicine
In Russia, FMBA scientists were able to create a new drug by using heat shock protein to build it. The cure for cancer, presented by scientists, has already passed the initial test on experimental rodents affected by sarcomas and melanomas. These experiments allowed us to confidently say that a significant step forward has been made in the fight against oncology.
Scientists suggested and were able to prove that heat shock protein is a medicine, or rather, can become the basis for an effective drug, largely due to the fact that these molecules are formed in stressful situations. Since they are originally produced by the body to ensure the survival of cells, it has been suggested that, with proper combination with other drugs, even a tumor can be fought.
HSP helps the drug to detect diseased cells in a diseased body and cope with DNA incorrectness in them. It is expected that the new drug will be equally effective for any subtype of malignant diseases. It sounds like a fairy tale, but doctors go even further - they assume that a cure will be available at absolutely any stage. Agree, such a heat shock protein from cancer, when it passes all the tests and confirms its reliability, will become an invaluable asset for human civilization.
Diagnose and treat
The most detailed information about the hope of modern medicine was given by Dr. Simbirtsev, one of those who worked on the creation of the drug. From his interviewone can understand by what logic scientists built the drug and how it should bring efficiency. In addition, conclusions can be drawn whether the heat shock protein has already passed clinical trials or is still ahead.
As it was mentioned earlier, if the body does not experience stressful conditions, then the production of BS takes place in an exceptionally small volume, but it increases significantly with a change in external influence. At the same time, a normal human body is not able to produce such an amount of HSP that would help defeat the emerging malignant neoplasm. "What happens if HTS is introduced from outside?" – the scientists thought and made this idea the basis for the study.
How is this supposed to work?
To create a new drug, scientists in the laboratory recreated everything necessary for living cells to start producing HSP. For this, a human gene was obtained, which underwent cloning using the latest equipment. Bacteria studied in laboratories have changed until they began to independently produce the protein so coveted by scientists.
Scientists, based on the information obtained during the research, made conclusions about the effect of HSP on the human body. To do this, it was necessary to organize an X-ray diffraction analysis of the protein. It is not at all easy to do this: we had to send samples into the orbit of our planet. This is due to the fact that earthly conditions are not suitable for the correct, uniform development of crystals. And here are the cosmicconditions allow obtaining exactly those crystals that were needed by scientists. Upon returning to their home planet, the experimental samples were divided between Japanese and Russian scientists, who took up their analysis, as they say, without wasting a second.
And what did they find?
While work in this direction is still underway. A representative of the group of scientists said that it was possible to establish exactly: there is no exact connection between the HSP molecule and the organ or tissue of a living being. And that speaks of versatility. This means that if heat shock protein finds application in medicine, it will become a panacea immediately for a huge number of diseases - no matter what organ is affected by a malignant neoplasm, it can be cured.
Initially, scientists made the drug in liquid form - it is injected into the test subjects. Rats and mice were taken as the first specimens to test the product. It was possible to identify cases of cure both at the initial and late stages of the development of the disease. The current stage is called preclinical trials. Scientists estimate the timing of its completion at least a year. After that, it's time for clinical trials. On the market, a new remedy, perhaps a panacea, will be available in another 3-4 years. However, according to scientists, all this is real only if the project finds funding.
To wait or not to wait?
Of course, the promises of doctors sound attractive, but at the same time rightly cause mistrust. How long has mankind suffered from cancer, how many victims havethis disease has been in the past few decades, and here they promise not just an effective drug, but a real panacea - from any kind, at any time. How can you believe this? And worse than that - to believe, but not wait, or wait, but it turns out that the remedy is not at all as good as expected, as it was promised.
Development of a drug is a technique of genetic engineering, that is, the most advanced field of medicine as a science. This means that with due success, the results really should be impressive. However, this also means that the process is extremely expensive. As a rule, investors are willing to invest quite a lot of money in promising projects, but when the subject matter is so high-profile, the pressure is high, and the time frame is rather blurred, the risks are assessed as huge. These are now optimistic forecasts for 3-4 years, but all experts in the market are well aware of how often the time frame creeps up to decades.
Amazing, unbelievable…or is it?
Biotechnology is an area that is closed to understanding for the layman. Therefore, we can only hope for the words "the success of preclinical trials." The working name of the drug was "Heat shock protein". However, HSP is only the main component of the drug, which promises to be a breakthrough in the market of anti-cancer drugs. In addition to it, the composition is expected to include a number of useful substances, which will be a guarantee of the effectiveness of the product. And all this became possible due to the fact that the latest studies of HSPshowed that the molecule not only helps to protect living cells from damage, but also is a kind of “pointing finger” for the immune system, helping to identify which cells are affected by the tumor and which are not. Simply put, when HSP appears in a sufficiently high concentration in the body, scientists hope that the immune response will destroy the diseased elements on its own.
Hope and wait
Summing up, we can say that the novelty against the tumor is based on the fact that the body itself has a remedy that could destroy the neoplasm, it's just that by nature it is rather weak. The concentration is so low that one cannot even dream of any therapeutic effect. At the same time, HSPs are partially located in cells that are not affected by a tumor, and the molecule will not “leave” anywhere from them. Therefore, it is necessary to supply a useful substance from the outside - so that it further directly influences the affected elements. By the way, while scientists assume that the drug will not even have side effects - and this is with such a high performance! And they explain this “magic” by the fact that studies have shown that there is no toxicity. However, the final conclusions will be made when preclinical trials come to an end, which will require at least a year.
