Generation of antibodies against human hsp27 and murine hsp25 by immunization with a chimeric small heat shock protein.

A hybrid protein containing the N-terminal part of the murine stress protein hsp25 (amino acids 1 to 110) and the C-terminal part of the human stress protein hsp27 (amino acids 111 to 208) was expressed in E. coli using a T7 polymerase/promoter system. The recombinant hybrid protein was purified and used for immunization of rabbits. In contrast to immunization experiments using hsp25 and hsp27 alone, immunization with the hybrid protein hsp25/27 leads to antibodies which can be used for detection of both hsp25 and hsp27.