Heat-shock proteins and platelet function

Heat-shock proteins are found in organisms as diverse as slime moulds, bacteria, plants and higher eukarycotes. They play fundamental roles in cell function, ranging from protein folding to transmembrane protein movement, to serving as scaffolds or frameworks for the assembly of enzyme signalling complexes such as the steroid receptors. Intracellular concentrations may be high, in the range of structural proteins such as actin, with which they often interact. Therefore, it is not surprising that heat-shock proteins are present in blood platelets, and recent studies point to important roles in platelet function. The small heat-shock protein, hsp27, becomes phosphorylated following cell stimulation with thrombin and associates with the actin-rich cytoskeleton. Phosphorylation results from activation of a protein kinase cascade involving the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), the MAPKAP-K2 kinase, as well as PRAK, or p38-regulated protein kinase. Intriguingly, platelet hsp27 can associate with platelet factor XIII, suggesting a role for regulation of transglutaminase activity in stabilizing fibrin-platelet clots. The higher molecular-weight heat-shock proteins hsc70 and hsp90 are also present in platelets, being found in a large phosphorylated complex that contains the catalytic and myosin-targeting subunits of protein phosphatase 1 (PP1). Platelet adhesion to collagen via the alpha 2 beta 1 integrin causes the rapid dissociation of this complex and dephosphorylation of components. These results suggest that hsc70 and hsp90 can serve as signalling scaffolds, helping regulate function, including platelet adhesion and spreading via modulation of protein phosphatase activity. Hsp27, on the other hand, may be more involved in controlling actin polymerization during the platelet shape change and subsequent aggregation.