[Mammalian small stress proteins and responses to stress]

When cells are exposed to heat stress or chemical stress, expression of genes for heat shock proteins or stress proteins (HSPs) is enhanced and the proteins are accumulated in cells. The cells with increased HSPs exhibit tolerance against the additional stress. HSPs are expressed also in unstressed tissues or cells for essential biochemical cellular processes including growth and differentiation. Since the responses of HSPs in tissues to stress loaded to a whole living body are much more sensitive compared to those in cultured cells, it is suggested that endogenous factors modulate the stress-induced expression of HSPs. Here we summarize the responses of small HSPs (alpha crystallins, HSP27 and p20) to stress and their modifications by various factors.