Distribution of mitochondrial chaperonins in lung cells

Abstract

Hsp60 and Hsp10 are considered typical mitochondrial chaperonins, residing inside the organelle, but works in the last years showed they can also be outside mitochondria and cells. The exact extramitochondrial locations of the chaperonins in the various normal cells and tissues under diverse conditions remain to be ascertained. Consequently, we undertook to examine the subcellular distribution of Hsp60 and Hsp10 in lung cells in order to provide a baseline for comparison between normal and pathological tissues. We used a battery of methods (light and electron microscopies, immunocytochemistry, subcellular fractionation‐purification plus electrophoresis, Western blotting) to study two cell types, lung fibroblasts and epithelial cells, unstressed and exposed to the stressor cigarette smoke extract, which is pertinent to lung pathology. Here we focus on Hsp10, which was found in the mitochondria, cytosol, and nucleus, with their levels changing after stress. Nuclear Hsp10 has not been reported before and was demonstrated in various ways, including immunoelectromicroscopy with specific antibodies.Grant Funding Source: University of Palermo