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REVIEW article
Front. Mol. Biosci.
Sec. Cellular Biochemistry
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmolb.2025.1564364
Heat shock proteins in hypothermia: A review
Provisionally accepted
Shang Jin Song1,2*
Guo Cheng Wu1Li Yi2,3Xin Liu1Ming Min Jiang1Xiao Chen Zhang1Zi Fei Yin2*Wei Gu2*
Yi Ruan2,3*- 1Xingcheng Sanatorium of PLA, Huludao, Liaoning Province, China
- 2School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, China
- 3Naval Medical Center, Shanghai, China
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Hypothermia is a serious condition marked by a significant decrease in core body temperature, posing considerable risks to biological systems. In response to thermal stress, cells activate protective mechanisms, often synthesizing heat shock proteins (HSPs). These highly conserved proteins are crucial in cellular stress responses, primarily functioning as chaperones. HSPs facilitate correct protein folding and prevent misfolding and aggregation, thereby protecting cellular integrity during adverse conditions. This paper explains how HSPs alleviate stress responses related to low body temperature, focusing on energy metabolism, apoptosis, cellular membrane fluidity and stability, and stress signaling pathways. By enhancing cellular repair mechanisms, HSPs help maintain cellular balance and prevent further harm to the organism. Ultimately, the review emphasizes the complex relationship between cellular stress responses and HSPs in hypothermia, highlighting their potential as therapeutic targets for enhancing resistance to the harmful effects of extreme cold exposure. A deeper understanding of these mechanisms could lead to strategies that improve survival rates in hypothermic patients. It may also reveal ways to modulate HSP activity for enhanced cellular protection.
Keywords: Heat shock proteins, Hypothermia, cellular stress, Energy Metabolism, Apoptosis
Received: 22 Jan 2025; Accepted: 08 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Song, Wu, Yi, Liu, Jiang, Zhang, Yin, Gu and Ruan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Shang Jin Song, Xingcheng Sanatorium of PLA, Huludao, Liaoning Province, China
Zi Fei Yin, School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, China
Wei Gu, School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, China
Yi Ruan, Naval Medical Center, Shanghai, 200052, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.