Hsp110 belongs to a family of large stress proteins known as the Hsp110/SSE Family. The proteins in this family are the most distantly known relatives of the well studied Hsp70 family. They share 30-33% amino acid identity, mostly in the conserved ATP-binding domain (1).
Hsp110 cooperates with Hsp70 in protein folding in the eukaryotic cytosol (2). In mammals, Hsp110 is constitutively expressed, but exhibits particularly high levels in the brain. Both Hsp70 and Hsp110 are elevated after cerebral ischemia. Recent studies demonstrate that the protective effects of Hsp110 deficiency in cerebral ischemia may partly be mediated by an increase in the chaperone activity of Hsp70 (3).
Studies also suggest that Hsp110 can be used in heat shock protein-based cancer immunotherapy (4).