Role of HSP40 proteins in genome maintenance, insulin signaling and cancer therapy.

The DnaJ heat shock protein family (HSP40) is the biggest chaperone family in mammalian cells, mainly functioning as cochaperone of HSP70 to maintain proteostasis and cellular homeostasis under both normal and stressful conditions. Although the functions of HSP70s have been extensively studied in diverse biological pathways and senesces including genome maintenance, HSP40s' biological functions at basal state or in response to exogenous insults remain largely under-investigated. Emerging evidence shows that HSP40 proteins participate in genome maintenance pathways and modulate cancer therapy efficacy. This review aims to summarize recent progresses regarding HSP40's functions in genome maintenance and cancer therapy, and provides hints for future studies in the field.