title: Small heat shock proteins and vasospasm in human umbilical artery smooth muscle.
abstract: Human umbilical artery smooth muscle is uniquely refractory to cyclic nucleotide-dependent vasorelaxation. Small heat shock proteins (HSPs) have been implicated as contractile regulatory proteins. Thus, we hypothesized that alterations in the phosphorylation of small HSPs may contribute to human umbilical artery smooth muscle vasospasm. Physiologic contractile responses were determined in a muscle bath and compared with phosphorylation events determined with whole-cell phosphorylation and 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Precontraction of bovine carotid artery smooth muscle with serotonin followed by relaxation with forskolin was associated with increases in the phosphorylation of HSP27 and HSP20. Precontraction of umbilical artery with serotonin followed by forskolin treatment led to increases in the phosphorylation of HSP27. However, the umbilical artery smooth muscle did not relax, nor was there an increase in the phosphorylation of HSP20 with forskolin treatment. These data suggest that impaired cyclic nucleotide-dependent relaxation of umbilical artery smooth muscle is associated with a lack of phosphorylation of HSP20.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, The Institute for Molecular Medicine and Genetics, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta 30912, USA. colleenb@mail.mcg.edu
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Brophy
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Beall
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lamb
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dickinson
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Ware
mesh_terms: D005576:Colforsin / Q000494:pharmacology; D017362:Cyclic AMP Response Element-Binding Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D017868:Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D050886:HSP20 Heat-Shock Proteins; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D009119:Muscle Contraction; D009131:Muscle, Smooth, Vascular / Q000502:physiology*; D010750:Phosphoproteins / Q000378:metabolism; D010766:Phosphorylation; D014469:Umbilical Arteries / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D017362:Cyclic AMP Response Element-Binding Protein; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D050886:HSP20 Heat-Shock Proteins; C494382:HSPB6 protein, human; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins; D010750:Phosphoproteins; D005576:Colforsin; D017868:Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinases