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Updated: Jul 12, 2026

Intracellular Refolding Assay
Published on: January 24, 2012
Heat shock response and ageing: mechanisms and applications
P Verbeke1, J Fonager, B F Clark
1Danish Centre for Molecular Gerontology, Laboratory of Cellular Ageing, Department of Molecular and Structural Biology, University of Aarhus, Gustav Wieds Vej 10-C, DK-8000, Aarhus-C, Denmark.
Abstract:
Ageing is associated with a decrease in the ability of cells to cope with environmental challenges. This is due partly to the attenuation of a primordial stress response, the so-called heat shock (HS) response, which induces the expression of heat shock proteins (HSPs), composed of chaperones and proteases. The attenuation of the HS response during ageing may be responsible for the accumulation of damaged proteins as well as abnormal regulation of cell death. Maintenance of the HS response by repeated mild heat stress causes anti-ageing hormetic effects on cells and organisms. Here, we describe the molecular mechanism and the state of the HS response as well as the role of specific HSPs during ageing, and discuss the possibility of hormetic modulation of ageing and longevity by repeated mild stress.
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