Endogenous expression and developmental changes of HSP72 in rat skeletal muscles

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether endogenous factor(s) contributes to the expression of heat shock proteins (HSPs) during the early developmental stages of rat skeletal muscles. HSP72 was expressed in both the soleus and plantaris muscles at embryonic day 22 (E22). On the basis of myosin heavy chain (MHC) immunohistochemistry, HSP72 was specifically expressed in slow type I fibers in both muscles. These slow fibers were observed throughout the entire cross section of the soleus muscle and only in the deep region (close to the bone) of the plantaris muscle. These results indicate that the expression of HSP72 is related to endogenous factors associated with type I fibers, because E22 rats have minimal exogenous influences and the soleus and plantaris muscles of E22 rats have similar metabolic and contractile profiles at this stage of development. We then examined the changes in HSP72 and heat shock cognate (HSC) 73 in the same two muscles from E22 to postnatal day 56 via Western blotting. The level of HSP72 in the soleus muscle gradually increased in parallel with the increment in the type I MHC isoform. Compared with the soleus, only a small amount of HSP72 could be detected in the plantaris muscle throughout the developmental period. For both muscles, HSC73 reached levels observed in adult muscles at postnatal day 3, and these levels were unchanged thereafter. These results indicate that the expression of HSP72, but not HSC73, is influenced by both endogenous and exogenous factors during the embryonic and early developmental periods.