Can Hsp Targeted Gene Therapy Be a New Hope for Gliomas?

Abstract

Gliomas from glial cells of the brain are highly aggressive neoplasms. Traditional treatment has very limited effectiveness, and the prognosis is still poor. One of the major obstacles to therapy of gliomas is the resistance to treatment and the increased heat shock protein (Hsp) levels have a great effect on this. Overexpression of many Hsp, especially Hsp27, Hsp70 and Hsp90, is observed in gliomas. There is a relationship between Hsp expression levels and the tumor grade, and their functions aides the advancement of cancer. Therefore, it has become important to target Hsp in glioma treatment. Today, the disciplines of gene therapy (GT) have been experiencing a revolutionary growth in the field of cancer treatment. Developments in the field of genome-editing have made the GT methods a powerful potential tool for downregulation of Hsp and the breakdown of gliomas' treatment resistance. In this respect, the GT appears to be a promising innovative approach against gliomas. In this chapter, we reviewed the role of overexpressed Hsp in gliomas and the importance of the GT methods for silencing of them. We emphasized the principles, expectations and limitations of the methods, and highlighted the potential of the GT methods for Hsp targeted treatment of gliomas.