Immunological comparison of heat-shock proteins and alpha-crystallin

α‐crystallin: a review of its structure and function

alpha-crystallin, the major protein of the mammalian lens in most species, is an aggregate assembled from two polypeptides, each with a molecular weight around 20,000 Da. It is polydisperse and can be isolated in a variety of forms, including spherical particles with molecular weights ranging upwards from about 200 kDa. Sequence comparisons reveal that it is a member of the small heat shock protein (shsp) family. These proteins are aggregates assembled from polypeptides of 10 to 25 kDa that share a common central domain of about 90 residues (the 'alpha-crystallin domain') with variable N- and C-terminal extensions. alpha-crystallin has been intensively studied for more than 50 years but its three-dimensional structure remains unknown because it has not been possible to obtain crystals for X-ray studies and it is too large for NMR measurements. Structural information has been derived from a variety of solution studies. Because of the protein's polydispersity, interpretation of data has been difficult. This led to different viewpoints and vigorous debate on its structure and properties. Recently, the crystal structures of two closely-related small heat shock proteins have been determined. These have provided some insight into the structure of a-crystallin and explanations of previous observations. Like many other heat shock proteins, alpha-crystallin exhibits chaperone-like properties, including the ability to prevent the precipitation of denatured proteins and to increase cellular tolerance to stress. It has been suggested that these functions are important for the maintenance of lens transparency and the prevention of cataract.

The humoral immune response to heat shock proteins

Humoral immune reactions to heat shock proteins (hsp) from microorganisms are one aspect of microbial infections in humans. The production of antibodies which are specific to epitopes present on procaryotic hsp leads also to the appearance of cross-reactive serum antibodies in the host organism that react with human hsp. This article discusses the consequences of such autoreactive antibodies for the host in context with the development of immune tolerance and autoimmune diseases, especially rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and in experimental animal models for arthritis such as adjuvant arthritis in rats. On the basis of epitope cross-reactivity between hsp and other host proteins, a hypothesis is presented for the development of autoimmune disease following the production of hsp-specific antibodies.

Nucleotide sequence analysis of soybean small heat shock protein genes belonging to two different multigene families

In soybean, the small heat shock proteins of 15 to 18 kDa are encoded in the nucleus by at least two different multigene families, designated class I and class VI. Genomic DNA sequences of two new heat shock genes and flanking regions were determined: Gmhsp18.5-C, a class I gene, and Gmhsp17.9-D, the first known class VI gene. Comparison of both genes revealed a moderate homology (approx. 38%) mainly within the 3' ends of their coding regions. Hydropathic characterizations and secondary-structure predictions of the deduced amino acid sequences revealed two conserved domains within the C-terminal halves of the polypeptides that are also present in related proteins of other organisms. The transcription of both genes is heat shock dependent and the mRNA start sites, as determined by S1 nuclease mapping, are located downstream from typical TATA box sequences and multiple heat shock promoter elements such as 5' CT-GAA--TTC-AG. The putative promoter regions of the genes are preceded by long tracts of repetitive sequences with a high A + T content of 79 to 89%, which are bordered by runs of "simple sequences" such as (A) 12/13, (T)10 and (TA)10. Similar characteristic features are present in the promoter and 5'-flanking regions of other soybean heat shock genes. The possible function of these distinct sequences is discussed.