Nanomedicine Laboratory, Institute for Nanobiomedical Technology and Membrane Biology, and West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, PR China.
Mol Med Rep. 2011 Jan-Feb;4(1):105-11. doi: 10.3892/mmr.2010.382. Epub 2010 Oct 11.
Cardiovascular heat shock protein (cvHsp) is an abundant and selectively expressed component in cardiac tissue with putative molecular functionality. The most prominent feature of cvHsp is the characteristic α-crystallin domain, which makes it a member of the small heat shock protein (sHsp) family. In the present study, we cloned and expressed the cvHsp gene, purified cvHsp to homogeneity, and characterized its structural and molecular properties. The cvHsp mainly consisted of β-sheets and randomly coiled secondary structural elements, and in addition possessed variable tertiary structures and several solvent-exposed hydrophobic patches on its molecular surface. The purified cvHsp existed as a mixture of dimers and oligomers containing 12 monomers, and exhibited subunit exchange capacity when labeled with AIAS and LYI. In total, the cvHsp was characterized as having an oligomeric molecular architecture, and displayed various properties common to the sHsp family. The cvHsp gene may have physiologically important implications in the cardiac stress response.
心血管热休克蛋白 (cvHsp) 是心脏组织中丰富且具有选择性表达的成分，具有潜在的分子功能。cvHsp 的最显著特征是特征性的 α-晶状体蛋白结构域，使其成为小分子热休克蛋白 (sHsp) 家族的一员。在本研究中，我们克隆并表达了 cvHsp 基因，将 cvHsp 纯化为均相，并对其结构和分子特性进行了表征。cvHsp 主要由 β-折叠和无规卷曲的二级结构元件组成，此外还具有可变的三级结构和分子表面的几个暴露于溶剂的疏水性斑块。纯化的 cvHsp 以包含 12 个单体的二聚体和寡聚体混合物形式存在，并且在用 AIAS 和 LYI 标记时具有亚基交换能力。总的来说，cvHsp 的特征是具有寡聚分子结构，并表现出 sHsp 家族的各种常见特性。cvHsp 基因在心脏应激反应中可能具有重要的生理意义。
