The Hsp60's role as an autoantigen has also been illustrated in the development of a range of other autoimmune diseases including Hashimoto's thyroiditis (Marino Gammazza et al., 2014; Tonello et al., 2015), myasthenia gravis (Astarloa and Castrillo, 1996; Cappello et al., 2010; Marino Gammazza et al., 2012), inflammatory bowel diseases (Tomasello et al., 2011; Füst et al., 2012), chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD) (Cappello et al., 2011). This evidence concerns the gene HSPD1 and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.