Drug resistance is an important open problem in cancer treatment. In recent years, the heat shock protein HSP27 (HSPB1) was identified as a key player driving resistance development. HSP27 is overexpressed in many cancer types and influences cellular processes such as apoptosis, DNA repair, recombination, and formation of metastases. As a result cancer cells are able to suppress apoptosis and d...

We investigated how heat shock protein 27 (HSP27) and its phosphorylation are involved in the action of cholecystokinin (CCK) on the actin cytoskeleton by genetic manipulation of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells stably transfected with the CCK-A receptor. In these cells, as in rat acini, CCK activated p38 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase and increased the phosphorylation of HSP27. This e...

Many types of cancer express high levels of heat shock proteins (HSPs) that are molecular chaperones regulating protein folding and stability ensuring protection of cells from potentially lethal stress. HSPs in cancer cells promote survival, growth and spreading even in situations of growth factors deprivation by associating with oncogenic proteins responsible for cell transformation. Hence, it...

Abstract Background Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is a scoliotic deformity of unknown etiology that occurs during adolescent development. Abnormal bone metabolism closely related to AIS, but the cause uncertain. Recent studies have shown heat shock protein 27 (HSP27) and its phosphorylation (pHSP27) play important roles in metabolism. However, whether HSP27 pHSP27 are involved abnormal ...

BACKGROUND Heat shock protein 27 (Hsp27), a member of the small heat shock protein family, is an apoptosis regulator. Our previous proteomic study showed that Hsp27 mainly expressed in human oocyte, and that Hsp27 expression was downregulated in the ovaries derived from women with the polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a well known endocrinal disorder with abnormal apoptotic activity and follicu...

17-Allylamino-demethoxygeldanamycin (17-AAG), currently in phase I and II clinical trials as an anticancer agent, binds to the ATP pocket of heat shock protein (Hsp90). This binding induces a cellular stress response that up-regulates many proteins including Hsp27, a member of the small heat shock protein family that has cytoprotective roles, including chaperoning of cellular proteins, regulati...

Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is a life-threatening autoimmune blistering skin disease characterized by detachment of keratinocytes (acantholysis). It has been proposed that PV IgG might trigger signaling and that this process may lead to acantholysis. Indeed, we recently identified a rapid and dose-dependent phosphorylation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38MAPK) and heat shock protein (HS...

Sustained smooth muscle contraction is mediated by protein kinase C (PKC) through a signal transduction cascade leading to contraction. Heat-shock protein 27 (HSP27) appears to be the link between these two major events, i.e., signal transduction and sustained smooth muscle contraction. We have investigated the involvement of HSP27 in signal transduction and HSP27 association with contractile p...

AIM To assess the role of clusterin in retinal vascular development and in free radical damage in vivo and in vitro. METHODS The expression of clusterin, von Willebrand factor (vWF), flk-1, heat shock protein 27 (Hsp27) and heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) was examined in the retinas of developing mice and oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR) mice by immunofluorescence staining and western blot anal...

OBJECTIVE Heat shock protein 27 (HSP27) is a member of the small heat shock protein family of proteins. HSP27 expression is enhanced in target tissues of diabetic microvascular complications, and changes in circulating serum HSP27 levels (sHSP27) have been reported in patients with macrovascular disease. We investigated whether sHSP27 levels were associated with micro- and macrovascular complic...