EP 3: Journal club: The Spectrum of Small Heat Shock Protein B8 (HSPB8) - Associated Neuromuscular Disorders

How can a small heat shock protein cause big problems in muscle and nerve cells?

This episode explores HSPB8, a key player in chaperone-assisted selective autophagy (CASA), which helps clear misfolded and damaged proteins. What neuromuscular disorders are linked to HSPB8 mutations? How do specific variants — from missense to frameshift — give rise to distal hereditary motor neuropathy (dHMN), Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease type 2L (CMT2L), and myopathy with rimmed vacuoles? We break down the toxic gain-of-function mechanisms driving disease and highlight emerging therapeutic strategies, from small molecules to RNA-based approaches. Based on the latest review by Professor Hebatallah R. Rashed, Dr Samir R. Nath, and Professor Margherita Milone  ...