A guide to heat shock factors as multifunctional transcriptional regulators
FEBS J. 2025 Jun 2. doi: 10.1111/febs.70139. Online ahead of print.
Published on June 2, 2025
ABSTRACT
The heat shock factors (HSFs) form a family of transcription factors, which are evolutionarily conserved in eukaryotes. They are best known as transcriptional regulators of molecular chaperone genes, including those encoding heat shock proteins, in response to heat shock and other protein-damaging stresses. Since the discovery of the first HSF and its eponymous role in the heat shock response four decades ago, the currently known HSFs in vertebrates, that is, HSF1-5, HSFX, and HSFY, have been implicated in a wide array of physiological and pathological processes, including organismal development and cancer progression. To date, most studies have focused on individual HSFs, but it is becoming increasingly evident that the role of multiple HSFs and their potential crosstalk should be considered. In this review, we provide a comprehensive overview of the structures, functions, and regulation of the mammalian HSF family members and explore their interplay in biological processes. We highlight recent advancements regarding the roles of HSF family members in viral infection, cell adhesion, and spermatogenesis, and discuss the key questions to be addressed by forthcoming studies in HSF biology.
PMID:40457168 | DOI:10.1111/febs.70139
Latest Publications
- HSF2 drives breast cancer progression by acting as a stage-specific switch between proliferation and invasion
- Breast Milk Proteome: Changes in the Different Stages of Lactation and Impacts of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus and Body Mass Index
- Metabolome informs about the chemical exposome and links to brain health
- Designing Fluorescent Estrogen Mimetic 7-hydroxycoumarin Probe Substrates for Human Sulfotransferase Enzymes
- Cholesterol Ester Storage Disease in Two Field Spaniels With Lysosomal Acid Lipase Deficiency