Comparison of two-dimensional electrophoresis patterns of heat shock protein Hsp27 species in normal and cardiomyopathic hearts

Heat shock protein Hsp27 occurs in a complex pattern in human myocardial ti ssue. Normal and failing explanted human heart from patients with dilated c ardiomyopathy (DCM) or ischemic heart failure (IHF), respectively, were ana lyzed by high resolution two-dimensional electrophoresis (23x30 cm) and Hsp 27 immunostaining. Twelve Hsp27 spots in DCM samples were significantly alt ered in intensity and ten of these were significantly changed in IHF. Four spots (h1, h2, h4, h5) in DCM samples and three spots (h2, h4, h5) in IHF a t a molecular mass of 28 kDa were decreased in intensity. In this study, in vestigating left ventricles of human myocardium, spot h4 was only detected in normal heart samples. On the other hand, spots with a lower molecular ma ss of 27 kDa (h14, h15, h17, h20, h21) and 22-23 kDa (46, h47, h50) increas ed in intensity in failing hearts, suggesting that some form of Hsp27 degra dation occurs during heart failure.