Dear Colleagues,

Heat Shock Proteins (HSPs) are a family of proteins produced by cell under stressful conditions. Among them, Hsp90, Hsp70 and Hsp60 are the most studied proteins. HSPs such as Hsp90 and Hsp70 are molecular chaperones which play an essential role in proteostasis through protein folding and activation of client proteins in the cell. The Hsp90 dimer binds co-chaperones to ensure efficient folding of client proteins during an ATP hydrolysis cycle. Thus this machinery regulate numerous physiological processes including cell survival, immune response and neurodegenerative diseases. Hsp90 overexpression under conditions of stress is responsible for the folding, stabilization and maturation of oncoproteins involved in cancer progression. Disruption of Hsp90 leads to client protein degradation and cell death. Moreover, dysregulation of Hsp90 is associated in many other diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, inflammation and infectious diseases. Hsp90 is thereby considered as a relevant target and the discovery of Hsp inhibitors is actively developed in academic research and in the pharmaceutical industry. N-terminal ATP-binding site inhibitors have opened up a promising way for the discovery of anticancer agents and many efforts to improve their druggability and their tolerance is highly documented. C-terminal inhibition, co-chaperone/chaperone disruption, co-administration of drugs or drug repurposing have emerged as more recent strategies. As HSPs are responsible for biological activities of key signaling molecules such as protein kinases, steroid receptors, cell cycle regulators, and transcription factors regulating various cellular processes, HSPs machinery inhibition attracts a great interest in a wide therapeutic field: cancer, inflammation, neurodegenerative, cardiovascular and infectious diseases. The present Special Issue is aimed at covering the discovery of new HSPs inhibitors, as well as their novel therapeutic applications.

Dr. Marc-Antoine Bazin
Dr. Cyrille Garnier
Guest Editors

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• Heat Shock Proteins (HSPs)
• Hsp90
• Hsp70
• drug discovery
• drug design
• cancer
• inflammation
• neurodegenerative diseases
• infectious diseases
• cardiovascular diseases