Heat shock response in Escherichia coli: research progress and its application on recombinant protein expression systems

Abstract:

The heat shock response (HSR) in Escherichia coli is de?ned as the cellular response to temperature increase. A set of proteins are synthesized when E. coli is stressed with elevated temperatures. These proteins are known as heat shock proteins (Hsp) many of which are molecular chaperones, proteases and folding factors. Some of heat shock proteins can promote proper folding of proteins and the degradation of misfolded proteins. This paper introduces the characterization and regulation of the heat shock proteins, the application of heat inducible secretion vector pHsh-ex to recombinant protein expression, and the resent research progress on chaperone co-expression systems.

Key words:E. coli, expression system, heat shock response, pHsh vector, heat shock induction