Background of the antigen
The heat shock proteins (HSPs) comprise a group of highly conserved, abundantly expressed proteins with diverse functions, including the assembly and sequestering of multi-protein complexes, transportation of nascent polypeptide chains across cellular membranes and regulation of protein folding. HSPB2 (heat shock 27 kDa protein 2), also known as HSP 27 or MKBP, is a 182 amino acid protein that belongs to the heat shock protein family and is expressed preferentially in heart and skeletal muscle. Localized to mitochondria, HSPB2 functions as an ATP-dependent chaperone protein that plays a role in the refolding of denatured proteins and may also interact with the Actin cytoskeleton and prevent apoptotic cell death. HSPB2 is abundantly expressed in several cancer cell lines, suggesting that HSPB2 may be an important factor in tumor transformation and metastasis.
