Heat shock proteins: the 'Swiss Army Knife' vaccines against cancers and infectious agents

The ability of heat shock proteins to: (a) chaperone peptides, including antigenic peptides: (b) interact with antigen presenting cells through a receptor: (c) stimulate antigen presenting cells to secrete inflammatory cytokines: and (d) mediate maturation of dendritic cells, makes them a one-stop shop for the immune system. These properties also permit the utilization of heat shock proteins for development of a new generation of prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines against cancers and infectious diseases. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.