Heat shock proteins (HSP) were originally described in heat-shocked drosophila by Ritossa in the early 1960's. In the last 5 years it has become apparent that these heat shock proteins have important functions both in the normal cell and in the stressed cell. These proteins constitute an endogenous protective system; mutations in the heat shock proteins can be lethal, and there are no known organisms without heat shock proteins. The first observations on heat shock proteins and the heart were made in the 1980's and interest in these proteins increased over the decade. In the last few years there has been an exponential growth in number of papers published on heat shock proteins and the heart. Heat shock proteins have been implicated in a number of cardiovascular research areas including ischemia, hypertrophy, aging, and atherosclerosis, and this list is growmg. The purpose of this volume is to give an overview of our current understanding of the heat shock proteins in the cardiovascular system, and to summarize the approaches to the study of heat shock proteins in the heart. This volume assembles results from a number of different cardiovascular fields. and provides a comprehensive review of heat shock proteins in the cardiovascular system.

Inhalt

1. An Overview of the Heat Shock Proteins, Their Regulation, and Function.- 2. Ischemia, Infarction, and HSP 70.- 3. Do Heat Shock Proteins Play a Role in Myocardial Preconditioning?.- 4. Heat Shock Proteins and Antioxidative Enzymes in Myocardial Protection.- 5. Changes in Heat Shock Proteins in Cardiac Hypertrophy.- 6. Heat Shock Protein Expression in the Aging Cardiovascular System.- 7. Tumor Necrosis Factor-? and the Myocardial Stress Response.- 8. Role of Small Heat Shock Proteins in the Cardiovascular System.- 9. Role of Small HSP Gene Expression in Myocardial Ischemia and Reperfusion.- 10. The Influence of Heat Shock Proteins on Atherogenesis.- 11. The Stress Response in Hypoxic-Ischemic Brain: Correlation of Tissue Culture Findings with in Vivo Models.