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Mimicking phosphorylation of alphaB-crystallin on serine-59 is necessary and sufficient to provide maximal protection of cardiac myocytes from apoptosis.

AlphaB-crystallin (alphaBC), a small heat shock protein expressed in high levels in the heart, is phosphorylated on Ser-19, 45, and 59 after stress. However, it is not known whether alphaBC phosphorylation directly affects cell survival. In the …