A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Comprehensive analysis of human tissues reveals unique expression and localization patterns of HSF1 and HSF2
Authors: Joutsen Jenny, Pessa Jenny C., Jokelainen Otto, Sironen Reijo, Hartikainen Jaana M., Sistonen Lea
Publisher: Elsevier
Publication year: 2024
Journal: Cell Stress and Chaperones
Journal name in source: Cell Stress and Chaperones
Volume: 29
Issue: 2
First page : 235
Last page: 271
ISSN: 1355-8145
eISSN: 1466-1268
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cstres.2024.03.001
Web address : https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1355814524000531
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/387225602
Heat shock factors (HSFs) are the main transcriptional regulators of the evolutionarily conserved heat shock response. Beyond cell stress, several studies have demonstrated that HSFs also contribute to a vast variety of human pathologies, ranging from metabolic diseases to cancer and neurodegeneration. Despite their evident role in mitigating cellular perturbations, the functions of HSF1 and HSF2 in physiological proteostasis have remained inconclusive. Here, we analyzed a comprehensive selection of paraffin-embedded human tissue samples with immunohistochemistry. We demonstrate that both HSF1 and HSF2 display distinct expression and sub-cellular localization patterns in benign tissues. HSF1 localizes to the nucleus in all epithelial cell types, whereas nuclear expression of HSF2 was limited to only a few cell types, especially the spermatogonia and the urothelial umbrella cells. We observed a consistent and robust cytoplasmic expression of HSF2 across all studied smooth muscle and endothelial cells, including the smooth muscle cells surrounding the vasculature and the high-endothelial venules in lymph nodes. Outstandingly, HSF2 localized specifically at cell-cell adhesion sites in a broad selection of tissue types, such as the cardiac muscle, liver, and epididymis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to systematically describe the expression and localization patterns of HSF1 and HSF2 in benign human tissues. Thus, our work expands the biological landscape of these factors and creates the foundation for the identification of specific roles of HSF1 and HSF2 in normal physiological processes.
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