Hsp90 and its co-chaperone, Sgt1, as autoantigens in dilated cardiomyopathy

Recently, it has been suggested that some heat shock proteins such as Hsp70 and Hsp60 are involved in autoimmune diseases including cardiospecific ones. In this work we focused on the involvement of another well known heat shock protein, Hsp90, and its novel co-chaperone, Sgt1, in dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). We found that the level of autoantibodies against these two proteins was significantly higher in patients with DCM and ischemic heart disease than in sera of healthy donors. We have also analyzed the expression level and subcellular localization of Hsp90 and Sgt1 in diseased myocardia. Using Western blot we found changes in subcellular localization of Hsp90 in the left ventricle of DCM hearts while the total level of this protein remained unchanged. Regarding the Sgt1 protein, we found an increased level in DCM and no changes in subcellular localization. Taken together, our data suggest that Hsp90 and Sgt1 might be involved in the progression of heart failure and might serve as markers for cardiomyopathies of different origin.