Mutations in the small heat shock protein Hsp27, encoded by the HSPB1 gene, have been shown to cause Charcot Marie Tooth Disease type 2 (CMT-2) or distal hereditary motor neuropathy (dHMN). Protein aggregation and axonal transport deficits have been implicated in the disease. In this study, we conducted analysis of bidirectional movements of mitochondria in primary motor neuron axons expressing...

A heat stress causes a rapid inhibition of splicing. Exogenous expression of Hsp27 did not prevent that inhibition but enhanced the recovery of splicing afterward. Another small heat shock protein, alphaB-crystallin, had no effect. Hsp27, but not alphaB-crystallin, also hastened rephosphorylation of SRp38-dephosphorylated a potent inhibitor of splicing-after a heat shock, although it did not pr...

The use of doxorubicin (Dox) and its derivatives as chemotherapeutic drugs to treat patients with cancer causes dilated cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure due to Dox-induced cardiotoxicity. In this work, using heat shock factor-1 wild-type (HSF-1(+/+)) and HSF-1 knockout (HSF-1(-/-)) mouse fibroblasts and embryonic rat heart-derived cardiac H9c2 cells, we show that the magnitude of pro...

We have begun to characterize the low molecular weight, 27-kD heat shock or stress protein (HSP27) in normal keratinocytes and in HaCaT, a spontaneously transformed keratinocyte line. The presence and location of HSP27 was determined by indirect immunofluorescence on fixed whole cells and immunoblot analysis of cytosolic, membrane, nuclear, and cytoskeletal cell fractions. HSP27 is localized th...

One strategy to improve therapies in prostate cancer involves targeting cytoprotective genes activated by androgen withdrawal to delay the emergence of the androgen-independent (AI) phenotype. The objectives of this study were to define changes in Hsp27 levels after androgen ablation and to evaluate the functional relevance of these changes in AI progression. Using a tissue microarray of 232 sp...

AIMS Expression of Heat Shock Protein-27 (HSP27) is reduced in human coronary atherosclerosis. Over-expression of HSP27 is protective against the early formation of lesions in atherosclerosis-prone apoE(-/-) mice (apoE(-/-)HSP27(o/e)) - however, only in females. We now seek to determine if chronic HSP27 over-expression is protective in a model of advanced atherosclerosis in both male and female...

Heat shock protein 27 (Hsp27), a member of the heat shock protein (Hsp) family, is critical in the regulation of cancer development, progression and chemotherapy resistance. However, the role of Hsp27 in the pathogenesis of pediatric acute leukemia (AL) remains unknown. In this study, we evaluated the expression levels of Hsp27 in bone marrow samp...

Heat-shock proteins (HSPs) are molecular chaperones that protect proteins from damage. HSP27 expression is associated with cancer transformation and invasion. Ginkgo biloba extract (EGb761), the most widely sold herbal supplement, has antiangiogenic effects and induces tumor apoptosis. Data regarding the effect of EGb761 on HSP expression is limited, particularly in cancer. HSP27 expression in ...

We have previously reported that endothelin-1 (ET-1) stimulates heat shock protein (HSP) 27 induction in osteoblast-like MC3T3-E1 cells and that p38 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase acts at a point downstream from protein kinase C (PKC) in HSP27 induction. In the present study, we investigated the effect of the adenylyl cyclase-cAMP system on ET-1-stimulated induction of HSP27 in MC3T3-E1...

The aim of this study was to determine the intensity of Hsp27 protein expression in fibrocystic breast changes (FC) and invasive ductal breast carcinoma (IDC) and to examine its impact on patients' clinico-pathological characteristics and overall survival. Immunohistochemical reactions were conducted on archival samples of 20 cases of FC and 101 cases of IDC treated in 1999-2002. Nuclear-cytopl...