This work is concerned with a group of proteins which were originally consid­ ered to be an esoteric phenomenon but which have now been shown to play critical roles both in normal and stressed cells as well as being involved in a variety of human diseases. It is the purpose of this work to give a comprehen­ sive view of these proteins and their various aspects. After an introductory chapter providing an overview of these proteins, the work is divided into four main sections each of which deals with one important aspect of these proteins. Thus, the first section contains a series of chapters which describe individual stress proteins and their roles in particular biological phenomena. Evidently, the induction of these proteins by elevated tempera­ ture or other stresses is their defining feature and the second section of this book therefore considers the regulation of stress protein gene expression both by stressful stimuli such as elevated temperature or ischaemia and by non­ stressful stimuli such as cytokines.

1 Stress Proteins: An Overview.- 2 The Hsp90 Chaperone Family.- 3 Heat Shock Protein 70.- 4 Mitochondrial Molecular Chaperones hsp60 and mhsp70: Are Their Roles Restricted to Mitochondria?.- 5 Role of Hsp27 and Related Proteins.- 6 Ubiquitin and the Stress Response.- 7 Regulation of Heat Shock Genes by Cytokines.- 8 Regulation of Heat Shock Genes by Ischemia.- 9 Regulation of Heat Shock Transcription Factors by Hypoxia or Ischemia/Reperfusion in the Heart and Brain.- 10 Autoregulation of the Heat Shock Response.- 11 The Cellular Stress Gene Response in Brain.- 12 Heat Stress Proteins and Their Relationship to Myocardial Protection.- 13 Heat Shock Proteins in Inflammation and Immunity.- 14 Heat Shock Proteins in Embryonic Development.- 15 Heat Shock Proteins in Rheumatoid Arthritis.- 16 Heat Shock Protein 60 and Type I Diabetes.- 17 Heat Shock Proteins and Multiple Sclerosis.- 18 Heat Shock Proteins in Atherosclerosis.- 19 Heat Shock Protein-Peptide Interaction: Basis for a New Generation of Vaccines Against Cancers and Intracellular Infections.