Role of heme oxygenase-1 (HSP32) and HSP90 in glioblastoma

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and malignant primary brain tumor in adults. The current treatment regimes for glioblastoma demonstrated a low efficiency and offer a poor prognosis. Advancements in conventional treatment strategies have only yielded modest improvements in overall survival. The heat shockproteins, heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and Hsp90, serve these pivotal roles in tumor cells and have been identified as effective targets for developing therapeutics. This topic review summarizes the current preclinical and clinical evidences and rationale to define the potential of HO-1 and Hsp90 in GBM progression and chemoresistance.