The heat shock proteins (HSPs) comprise a group of highly conserved, abundantly expressed proteins with diverse functions, including the assembly and sequestering of multi-protein complexes, the transportation of nascent polypeptide chains across cellular membranes and the regulation of protein folding. HSPA12A (heat shock 70kDa protein 12A) is a 675 amino acid protein that belongs to the HSP 70 family and is expressed in muscle, kidney and brain where it may play a role in cellular metabolism and regulation of neuronal function. The gene encoding HSPA12A maps to human chromosome 10, which houses over 1,200 genes and comprises nearly 4.5% of the human genome. Defects in some of the genes that map to chromosome 10 are associated with Charcot-Marie Tooth disease, Jackson-Weiss syndrome, Usher syndrome, nonsyndromatic deafness, Wolman’s syndrome, Cowden syndrome, multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 and porphyria.