Heat Shock and Development

The possible roles of heat shock proteins in normal development in animals, plants and model systems and the effects of elevated temperature on developmental programs are comprehensively treated. All relevant aspects of heat shock genes in normal and abnormal development are discussed, as are the major biological systems currently used to study the developmental biology of heat shock genes. Heat is a medically significant teratogen in humans and animals. The heat shock response itself is developmentally regulated and is likely to be protective in the developing embryo. In addition to roles in stress responses, heat shock genes are differentially expressed during normal development in germ tissues and in the specialized cell types of somatic tissues such as the mammalian brain. Heat shock genes are regulated during the cell cycle and heat shock promoters can be used in ectopic expression systems to study the functions of particular genes during development.