Hsp20 Functions as a Novel Cardiokine in Promoting Angiogenesis via Activation of VEGFR2
Figure 1
Hsp20 is secreted from cardiomyocytes in vivo.
(A) The serum Hsp20 level was increased in response to in vivo 30 min-LAD occlusion followed by 24 h-reperfusion. Cardiac-specific overexpression of Hsp20 increased the Hsp20 concentration in the serum under basal and myocardial ischemia/reperfusion conditions. (n = 6; *, p<0.05 vs. WTs; #, p<0.05 vs. Sham groups). (B) The levels of Hsp20 in hearts from Hsp20-transgenic mice were determined by Western blot. α-Actin was used as an internal control (n = 4). (C) Myocardial ischemia/reperfusion stimulated the translocation of Hsp20 to the cardiomyocyte membrane, which was detected by fluorescence microscopy. Images are representative sections from four mice per group (green, Hsp20; red, α-Actin; Scale bar, 100 µm). (D) Quantitative data for expression of Hsp20 was evaluated using IPP 5.1 (n = 4; *, p<0.05 vs. WTs; #, p<0.05 vs. Sham groups).