Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are ubiquitously expressed in all organisms. HSP47 is a molecule expressed constitutively in cells that synthesizes collagen. HSP47 is a procollagen-specific molecular chaperon that resides in the endoplasmic reticulum of procollagen-producing cells and is essential for secretion of procollagen from cells. Significantly, HSP47 plays a vital role in folding and assembling collagen. HSP47 is also known as colligin 1, serpinh1, collagen-binding protein 1 (CBP1) and gp46. The human HSP 47 gene encodes a 47 kDa protein.
