The avian-specific small heat shock protein HSP25 is a constitutive protector against environmental stresses during blastoderm dormancy.
Small heat shock proteins (sHSPs) range in size from 12 to 42 kDa and contain an α-crystalline domain. They have been proposed to play roles in the first line of defence against various stresses in an ATP-independent manner. In birds, a newly oviposited blastoderm can survive several weeks in a dormant state in low-temperature storage suggesting that blastoderm cells are basically tolerant of environmental stress. However, sHSPs in the stress-tolerant blastoderm have yet to be investigated. Thus, we characterised the expression and function of sHSPs in the chicken blastoderm. We found that chicken HSP25 was expressed especially in the blastoderm and was highly upregulated during low-temperature storage. Multiple alignments, phylogenetic trees, and expression in the blastoderms of Japanese quail and zebra finch showed homologues of HSP25 were conserved in other avian species. After knockdown of chicken HSP25, the expression of pluripotency marker genes decreased significantly. Furthermore, loss of function studies demonstrated that chicken HSP25 is associated with anti-apoptotic, anti-oxidant, and pro-autophagic effects in chicken blastoderm cells. Collectively, these results suggest avian HSP25 could play an important role in association with the first line of cellular defences against environmental stress and the protection of future embryonic cells in the avian blastoderm.
Department of Agricultural Biotechnology and Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Sciences, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea.
Young Sun
YS
Hwang
Department of Agricultural Biotechnology and Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Sciences, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea.
Mee Hyun
MH
Ko
Department of Agricultural Biotechnology and Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Sciences, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea.
Young Min
YM
Kim
Department of Agricultural Biotechnology and Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Sciences, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea.
Young Hyun
YH
Park
Division of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Shinshu University, Minamiminowa, Nagano 399-4598, Japan.
Tamao
T
Ono
Department of Agricultural Biotechnology and Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Sciences, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea.|Institute for Biomedical Sciences, Shinshu University, Minamiminowa, Nagano 399-4598, Japan.
Jae Yong
JY
Han
D000818:Animals; D030161:Avian Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D001756:Blastoderm / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology*; D002642:Chick Embryo; D002645:Chickens; D046369:Finches / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000502:physiology*; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D010802:Phylogeny; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000502:physiology*; D015854:Up-Regulation / Q000502:physiology*
D030161:Avian Proteins; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins