Heat shock protein gene expression and survival in critical illness

Introduction The advent of recombinant DNA technologies has created unprecedented opportunities for significantly improving the treatment and prevention of human disease. Recombinant DNA technology has made it possible to study the molecular factors that modulate cellular responses to various metabolic and environmental stresses. Incorporating molecular biology techniques into the research arsenal of the physician will provide the opportunity to dissect and define the reversible and irreversible intracellular processes that give rise to acute respiratory distress syndrome, sepsis, septic shock, and multiple system organ failure (ie the major causes of mortality in most respiratory and multidisciplinary intensive care units). Primarily, this short review discusses a specific example of gene expression that has been studied over the past 20 years, and its relevance to acute lung injury and sepsis, two of the most common causes of critical illness.