First published online March 16, 2007
Journal of Experimental Biology 210, 1275-1287 (2007)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2007
doi: 10.1242/jeb.02743
Extracellular heat shock protein 70 has novel functional effects on sea urchin eggs and coelomocytes
Carole L. Browne1,2,*,
Justin B. Swan1,2,
Ellen E. Rankin2,3,
Hayes Calvert1,
Shylise Griffiths2,4 and
Michael Tytell2,5
1 Department of Biology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC 27109,
USA
2 Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA
3 Department of Psychology, Colgate University, Hamilton, NY 13346,
USA
4 Biology Department, University of North Carolina at Greensboro,
Greensboro, NC 27402, USA
5 Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Wake Forest University School of
Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA

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Fig. 1. The effect of Hsp/Hsc70 on nuclear envelope breakdown (NEB) in fertilized
sea urchin eggs. Fertilized sea urchin eggs were incubated in varying
concentrations of Hsc70 and Hsc/Hsp70 ranging from 0.110 µg
ml1, in artificial sea water (ASW) (control) or in 1 µg
ml1 of bovine serum albumin (BSA) or ovalbumin, and the
times to NEB and cleavage were observed. Eggs exposed to Hsp/Hsc70 reached NEB
earlier than eggs incubated in ASW, ovalbumin or BSA. There were no
significant differences in the time to NEB between untreated control eggs and
BSA- and ovalbumin-treated eggs. The difference between Hsc/Hsp70-treated and
control, BSA and ovalbumin-treated eggs was statistically significant at all
concentrations, as indicated by the asterisks (P<0.05). Values are
means ± s.e.m. N=6 replicate experiments in which at least 100
eggs were observed.
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Fig. 2. The effect of rbHsc70 on nuclear envelope breakdown (NEB) in fertilized sea
urchin eggs. Fertilized sea urchin eggs were incubated in varying
concentrations of Hsc70, and the times to NEB and cleavage were observed.
Exogenous Hsc70 reduced the time to NEB at all concentrations tested. The
difference between Hsc-treated and control eggs was statistically significant
at 5 µg ml1 Hsc, as indicated by the asterisk
(P<0.05). Values are means ± s.e.m. N=6 replicate
experiments in which at least 100 eggs were observed.
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Fig. 3. Renaturation of luciferase in the presence of Hsc/Hsp70 or Hsc70 as a
measure of their refolding activities. 2 µg ml1 of Hsp70
and of Hsc/Hsp70 was heated in the presence of luciferase to determine the
ability of the Hsp preparations to prevent luciferase denaturation. The heated
luciferaseHsp mixture was combined with luciferin reagent and
luminescence recorded as a percentage of unheated luciferase. The difference
in phosphorescence between luciferase heated in the absence of Hsp and in the
presence of Hsp was statistically significant as indicated by the asterisk
(P<0.05). There was no difference in effectiveness between the two
Hsp preparations. Values are means ± s.e.m. N=6 replicate
experiments.
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Fig. 4. Distribution of Hsc70 immunofluorescence in unfertilized eggs. These images
are examples of two eggs out of 25 observed. (A,B) Examples of diffuse
cytoplasmic distribution of Hsc70 and exclusion from the nucleus in two eggs
incubated in 20 or 5 µg Hsc70, respectively. In each set of panels, 1, 2
and 3, and 1', 2' and 3' are corresponding DIC and
fluorescence optical sections. Section 2' in each panel is through the
center of the nucleus (arrow), whereas 1' and 3' are 1.5 µm
above and below that, respectively. (C) An enlargement of one area of an egg
treated with 5 µg Hsc70 for 30 min, illustrating the absence of
correspondence between locations of higher Hsc70 immunofluorescence and
vesicles. The left and right panels are, respectively, the DIC and
fluorescence images of identical regions. The solid circles enclose examples
of vesicles in the DIC image and the corresponding areas in the fluorescence
image, showing that higher fluorescence intensity does not co-localize with
vesicles. Conversely, two locations of bright fluorescence enclosed by the
broken circles in the right panel do not co-localize with vesicles in the left
DIC image. The center pseudocolored rendition of the fluorescence image was
created to confirm that the circles correspond exactly to the same areas in
the two images. In this image, blue represents low and red represents high
fluorescence intensity. The gray oval is a portion of the DIC image rendered
semitransparent and superimposed over the identical area in the pseudocolor
image to confirm correspondence.
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Fig. 5. Effect of Hsc70 on immunoreactive phospho-cdc2 levels following
fertilization. (A) Gray-scale image of one blot of immunoreactive
phospho-cdc2. (B) The same image in pseudocolor to emphasize the relative
differences in each lane. The color spectrum bar shows the grayscale-to-color
correspondence, with violet representing black, and red representing white.
Variation in background is what accounts for the blue color in the left half
of the blot and the blue-green on the right. Lanes 1 and 2 are unfertilized
eggs collected at 0 and 50 min after 5 µg ml1 Hsc70.
Lanes 3 and 4 are fertilized eggs in 5 µg ml1 Hsc70 at 25
and 50 min after fertilization, respectively. Lanes 5 and 6 are fertilized
eggs in the absence of Hsc70 at 35 and 50 min after fertilization,
respectively. Phospho-cdc2 remained at a higher level in Hsc70-treated eggs
for the first 2535 min after fertilization (compare lanes 3 and 5), but
was about the same in the two groups by 50 min after fertilization. This blot
is one of two, each showing the same trends.
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Fig. 6. Inhibition by Hsp of the spreading of hypotonically shocked coelomocytes.
Phagocytic coelomocytes were exposed to hypotonic shock in the presence or
absence of 5 µg ml1 recombinant Hsp70 or 5 µg
ml1 bovine Hsc70. Both Hsps dramatically inhibited hypotonic
medium-induced spreading in coelomocytes, increasing the numbers of smaller
diameter coelomocytes and decreasing the numbers of larger diameter ones.
Significant differences (P<0.05) between Hsc70- or Hsp70-treated
cells and controls are indicated by asterisks (determined by a two-factor
ANOVA). Values are means ± s.e.m. N=5 replicate experiments in
which at least 100 cells were observed.
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Fig. 7. The effect of endotoxin on cell spreading in hypotonically shocked
coelomocytes. Recombinant proteins may be contaminated with small amounts of
bacterial endotoxin. To confirm that inhibition of coelomocyte spreading in
the presence of recombinant Hsps was not a result of endotoxin, hypotonically
shocked coelomocytes were exposed to endotoxin in concentrations similar to
those measured in the recombinant Hsps. The endotoxin-treated cells were
compared to cells hypotonically shocked (control) and hypotonically shocked in
the presence of Hsp70 or Hsc70. Endotoxin-treated cells were not significantly
different from control cells that had received only a hypotonic shock. The
Hsp70- and Hsc70-treated cells were significantly different from both the
endotoxin-treated and control cells, as indicated by the asterisk
(P<0.05). Values are means ± s.e.m. N=5 replicate
experiments in which at least 100 cells were observed.
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Fig. 8. The inhibition of coelomocyte spreading in response to hypotonic shock is
specific to Hsc70 and Hsp70. Coelomocytes exposed to 5 µg
ml1 of other proteins (lactoglobulin, casein and actin)
during hypotonic shock spread normally, while those exposed to Hsp during
hypotonic shock were inhibited. This result confirms that inhibition of
spreading is Hsp-specific and not a result of the interaction of any protein
with the cells during hypotonic shock. Values are means ± s.e.m.
N=3 replicate experiments in which at least 100 cells were
observed.
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Fig. 9. The effect of heat shock on coelomocyte spreading. Isolated coelomocytes
were heat-shocked in isotonic medium at 31°C for 30 min. Controls remained
at room temperature. The percentages of cells on each slide that had petaloid,
fibroblastic, or filopodial morphology were determined. Heat-shocked cells
showed significantly more petaloid forms and fewer filopodial forms than
unshocked or hypotonically shocked cells (asterisks, P<0.05).
Thus, heat shock prior to hypotonic shock inhibited coelomocyte spreading to a
similar extent as exogenous Hsp70 and Hsc70. Values are means ±
s.e.m.
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Fig. 10. The appearance of the actin cytoskeleton in Hsp70-treated coelomocytes.
Coelomocytes exposed to hypotonic shock in the presence or absence of Hsp70
were fixed and stained with Texas Red phalloidin to visualize the actin
cytoskeleton. The actin in coelomocytes incubated in hypotonic medium
polymerized into long filaments that extend to the edges of the large,
flattened cells (AC). Hsp70-treated cells failed to spread or spread
only partially and the actin appears as unpolymerized pools in the center of
the rounded cells (DF).
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© The Company of Biologists Ltd 2007