Small heat shock protein Hsp27 is required for proper heart tube formation-CMT

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Genesis. 2007 Nov 6;45(11):667-678

Small heat shock protein Hsp27 is required for proper heart tube

formation.

Brown DD, KS, Showell C, Conlon FL.

Department of Biology, UNC Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

The small heat shock protein Hsp27 has been shown to be involved in

a diverse array of cellular processes, including cellular stress

response, protein chaperone activity, regulation of cellular

glutathione levels, apoptotic signaling, and regulation of actin

polymerization and stability.

Furthermore, mutation within Hsp27 has been associated with the

human congenital neuropathy Charcot-Marie Tooth (CMT) disease.

Hsp27 is known to be expressed in developing embryonic tissues;

however, little has been done to determine the endogenous

requirement for Hsp27 in developing embryos.

In this study, we show that depletion of XHSP27 protein results in a

failure of cardiac progenitor fusion resulting in cardia bifida.

Furthermore, we demonstrate a concomitant disorganization of actin

filament organization and defects in myofibril assembly. Moreover,

these defects are not associated with alterations in specification

or differentiation.

We have thus demonstrated a critical requirement for XHSP27 in

developing cardiac and skeletal muscle tissues.