Small Heat Shock Protein Hsp27 Directly Binds to Alpha/Beta Tnbulin Heterodimer and Inhibits DMSO-Induced Tubulin Polymerization

In this study, the interaction between the small heat shock protein Hsp27 and α/β tubulin heterodimer was investigated. First, immunoprecipitation analysis using recombinant Hsp27 and purified tubulin indicated that Hsp27binds with α/β tubulin heterodimer. Next, the effect of Hsp27 on tubulin polymerization was examined. Hsp27 showed the inhibitory effect on dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO)-induced tubulin polymerization. The inhibitory effect was dose-dependent: about 30% inhibition of polymerization was found after addition of 0.85 mg/mL of Hsp27, 70% inhibition was found by 3.4 mg/mL of Hsp27.