How cells respond in the face of stress is a critical component of maintaining homeostasis and preventing disease, but its mechanisms are poorly understood. New research out of the University of Chicago has fit together another piece of the puzzle by identifying a key protein, Sis1, involved in the rapid activation of the heat shock response, which allows cells to respond in the face of temperature changes that can lead to misfolded proteins. This has implications for conditions where changes in the stress response have been implicated in the pathology of the disease.The results were published on Jan. 4 in the Journal of Cell Biology.
