Heat shock response and autophagy—cooperation and control

Cells possess several mechanisms and processes to maintain proteostasis. At one end of the spectrum, the heat shock proteins modulate protein folding and repair.

At the other end, the proteasome and autophagy as well as other lysosome-dependent systems, function in the degradation of dysfunctional proteins. In this review, we examine how these systems interact to maintain proteostasis. Both the direct cellular data on heat shock control over autophagy and the time course of exercise-associated changes in humans support the model that heat shock response and autophagy are tightly linked.