OBJECTIVE Because culprit atherosclerotic plaques contain proteases, we hypothesized that the diminished heat shock protein 27 (HSP27) released by atherosclerotic plaques could be due to proteolysis. We assessed the role of HSP27 in human vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) under proteolytic injury. METHODS AND RESULTS Active plasmin is present in culprit atherosclerotic plaques. Recombinant...

Heat shock protein 27 (HSP27, HSPB1) is an anti-apoptotic protein characterized for its tumorigenic and metastatic properties, and now referenced as a major therapeutic target in many types of cancer. The biochemical properties of HSP27 rely on a structural oligomeric and dynamic organization that is important for its chaperone activity. Down-regulation by small interfering RNA or inhibition wi...

We have identified and cloned a novel serine/ threonine kinase, p38-regulated/activated protein kinase (PRAK). PRAK is a 471 amino acid protein with 20-30% sequence identity to the known MAP kinase-regulated protein kinases RSK1/2/3, MNK1/2 and MAPKAP-K2/3. PRAK was found to be expressed in all human tissues and cell lines examined. In HeLa cells, PRAK was activated in response to cellular stre...

In contrast to most metastatic cancers, testicular germ cell tumors are cured in more than 80% of patients using cisplatin-based combination chemotherapy. Testis tumor cells in vitro retain their sensitivity to chemotherapeutic drugs, radiation, and other stresses, such as heat shock. Having shown that this is associated with low constitutive levels of heat shock protein (HSP) 27, we determined...

Objectives. Elevated plasma homocysteine (Hcy) could lead to endothelial dysfunction and is viewed as an independent risk factor for atherosclerosis. Heat shock protein 27 (HSP27), a small heat shock protein, is reported to exert protective effect against atherosclerosis. This study aims to investigate the protective effect of HSP27 against Hcy-induced endothelial cell apoptosis in human umbili...

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...

We have previously reported that transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) stimulates heat shock protein 27 (HSP27) induction via p44/p42 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase, p38 MAP kinase and stress-activated protein kinase/c-Jun N-terminal kinase in osteoblast-like Mc3T3-E1 cells, and that the release of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is induced by TGF-β in these cells. In the prese...

Dairy animals have a significant role in every country’s agricultural economy. Livestock is the major sub-sector of industry and value dairy products increasing globally. Under pathological circumstances heat shock proteins (HSPs) promote protein repair, folding, refolding misfolded peptides, possible breakdown irreparable proteins. Heat 27 (HSP27) member small family (sHSPs) also called HSPB1....

The underlying mechanisms that regulate uterine contractions during labour are still poorly understood. A candidate regulatory protein is heat shock protein 27 (Hsp27). It belongs to the small heat shock protein family and can regulate actin cytoskeleton dynamics, act as a chaperone, and may regulate contractile protein activation. As a result, we hypothesized that Hsp27 expression would be hig...

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most prevalent cause of cancer-related deaths in the Western world. 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) is a standard chemotherapeutic drug to treat CRC. However, the response rate is less than 20% and patients who have responded to 5-FU may become resistant. Therefore there is an urgent need to examine the 5-FU response proteins so that patients with no response to 5-FU...