Heat shock proteins 60 and 70 specific proinflammatory and cytotoxic response of CD4+CD28null cells in chronic kidney disease

Chaperone duality: the role of extracellular and intracellular HSP70 as a biomarker of endothelial dysfunction in the development of atherosclerosis

The 70-kDa heat shock proteins (HSP70) may provide relevant information about the endothelial dysfunction in cardiovascular diseases. Located in the intracellular milieu (iHSP70), they are essential chaperones that inhibit nuclear factor kappa B activation, stimulate nitric oxide production and superoxide dismutase activity, and inhibit apoptosis. However, under stressful conditions, HSP70 can be released into the extracellular medium (eHSP70) and act as an inflammatory mediator. Although studies have reported the vasoprotective role of iHSP70, the evidence regarding eHSP70 is contradictory. eHSP70 can activate NFκB and activator protein-1, thus stimulating the release of inflammatory cytokines and production of reactive oxygen species. Due to the antagonistic nature of HSP70 according to its location, the eHSP70/iHSP70 ratio (Heck index) has been proposed as a better marker of inflammatory status; however, more studies are required to confirm this hypothesis. Therefore, this review summarises studies that, together, describe the role of HSP70 in endothelial dysfunction.

Immunosenescence: an unexplored role in glomerulonephritis

Immunosenescence is a natural ageing phenomenon with alterations in innate and especially adaptive immunity and contributes to reduced antimicrobial defence and chronic low‐grade inflammation. This is mostly reflected by an increase in organ‐directed and/or circulating reactive and cytolytic terminally differentiated T cells that have lost their expression of the costimulatory receptor CD28. Apart from being induced by a genetic predisposition, ageing or viral infections (particularly cytomegalovirus infection), immunosenescence is accelerated in many inflammatory diseases and uraemia. This translates into an enhancement of vascular inflammation and cardiovascular disease varying from endothelial dysfunction to plaque rupture. Emerging data point to a mechanistic role of CD28^null T cells in glomerulonephritis, where they initiate and propagate local inflammation in concordance with dendritic cells and macrophages. They are suitably equipped to escape immunological dampening by the absence of homing to lymph nodes, anti‐apoptotic properties and resistance to suppression by regulatory T cells. Early accumulation of senescent CD28^null T cells precedes glomerular or vascular injury, and targeting these cells could open avenues for early treatment interventions that aim at abrogating a detrimental vicious cycle.

HSP70 as a biomarker of the thin threshold between benefit and injury due to physical exercise when exposed to air pollution

Physical exercise has acute and chronic effects on inflammatory balance, metabolic regulation, and redox status. Exercise-induced adaptations are mediated by enhanced 70-kDa heat shock protein (HSP70) levels and an improved heat shock response (HSR). Therefore, exercise could be useful against disease conditions [obesity, diabetes mellitus (DM), and exposure to atmospheric pollutants] marked by an impaired HSR. However, exercise performed by obese or diabetic subjects under pollution conditions might also be dangerous at certain intensities. Intensity correlates with an increase in HSP70 levels during physical exercise until a critical point at which the effort becomes harmful and impairs the HSR. Establishing a unique biomarker able to indicate the exercise intensity on metabolism and cellular fatigue is essential to ensure adequate and safe exercise recommendations for individuals with obesity or DM who require exercise to improve their metabolic status and live in polluted regions. In this review, we examined the available evidence supporting our hypothesis that HSP70 could serve as a biomarker for determining the optimal exercise intensity for subjects with obesity or diabetes when exposed to air pollution and establishing the fine threshold between anti-inflammatory and pro-inflammatory exercise effects.

T cell subsets and functions in atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the arterial wall and the primary underlying cause of cardiovascular disease. Data from in vivo imaging, cell-lineage tracing and knockout studies in mice, as well as clinical interventional studies and advanced mRNA sequencing techniques, have drawn attention to the role of T cells as critical drivers and modifiers of the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. CD4+ T cells are commonly found in atherosclerotic plaques. A large body of evidence indicates that T helper 1 (TH1) cells have pro-atherogenic roles and regulatory T (Treg) cells have anti-atherogenic roles. However, Treg cells can become pro-atherogenic. The roles in atherosclerosis of other TH cell subsets such as TH2, TH9, TH17, TH22, follicular helper T cells and CD28null T cells, as well as other T cell subsets including CD8+ T cells and γδ T cells, are less well understood. Moreover, some T cells seem to have both pro-atherogenic and anti-atherogenic functions. In this Review, we summarize the knowledge on T cell subsets, their functions in atherosclerosis and the process of T cell homing to atherosclerotic plaques. Much of our understanding of the roles of T cells in atherosclerosis is based on findings from experimental models. Translating these findings into human disease is challenging but much needed. T cells and their specific cytokines are attractive targets for developing new preventive and therapeutic approaches including potential T cell-related therapies for atherosclerosis.

Genomic approaches in the search for molecular biomarkers in chronic kidney disease

BACKGROUND

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is recognised as a global public health problem, more prevalent in older persons and associated with multiple co-morbidities. Diabetes mellitus and hypertension are common aetiologies for CKD, but IgA glomerulonephritis, membranous glomerulonephritis, lupus nephritis and autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease are also common causes of CKD.

MAIN BODY

Conventional biomarkers for CKD involving the use of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) derived from four variables (serum creatinine, age, gender and ethnicity) are recommended by clinical guidelines for the evaluation, classification, and stratification of CKD. However, these clinical biomarkers present some limitations, especially for early stages of CKD, elderly individuals, extreme body mass index values (serum creatinine), or are influenced by inflammation, steroid treatment and thyroid dysfunction (serum cystatin C). There is therefore a need to identify additional non-invasive biomarkers that are useful in clinical practice to help improve CKD diagnosis, inform prognosis and guide therapeutic management.

CONCLUSION

CKD is a multifactorial disease with associated genetic and environmental risk factors. Hence, many studies have employed genetic, epigenetic and transcriptomic approaches to identify biomarkers for kidney disease. In this review, we have summarised the most important studies in humans investigating genomic biomarkers for CKD in the last decade. Several genes, including UMOD, SHROOM3 and ELMO1 have been strongly associated with renal diseases, and some of their traits, such as eGFR and serum creatinine. The role of epigenetic and transcriptomic biomarkers in CKD and related diseases is still unclear. The combination of multiple biomarkers into classifiers, including genomic, and/or epigenomic, may give a more complete picture of kidney diseases.

Physical activity and autoimmune diseases: Get moving and manage the disease

Physical activity, by definition, is any skeletal muscle body movement that results in energy expenditure. In the last few decades, a plethora of scientific evidences have accumulated and confirmed the beneficial role of physical activity as a modifiable risk factor for a wide variety of chronic diseases including cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), diabetes mellitus and cancer, among others. Autoimmune diseases are a heterogeneous group of chronic diseases, which occur secondary to loss of self-antigen tolerance. With the advent of biological therapies, better outcomes have recently been noted in the management of autoimmune diseases. Nonetheless, recent research highlights the salient role of modifiable behaviors such as physical inactivity on various aspects of the immune system and autoimmune diseases. Physical activity leads to a significant elevation in T-regulatory cells, decreased immunoglobulin secretion and produces a shift in the Th1/Th2 balance to a decreased Th1 cell production. Moreover, physical activity has been proven to promote the release of IL-6 from muscles. IL-6 released from muscles functions as a myokine and has been shown to induce an anti-inflammatory response through IL-10 secretion and IL-1β inhibition. Physical activity has been shown to be safe in most of autoimmune diseases including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), multiple sclerosis (MS), inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), as well as others. Additionally, the incidence of RA, MS, IBD and psoriasis has been found to be higher in patients less engaged in physical activity. As a general trend, patients with autoimmune diseases tend to be less physically active as compared to the general population. Physically active RA patients were found to have a milder disease course, better cardiovascular disease (CVD) profile, and improved joint mobility. Physical activity decreases fatigue, enhances mood, cognitive abilities and mobility in patients with MS. In SLE patients, enhanced quality of life and better CVD profile were documented in more physically active patients. Physically active patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus have a decreased risk of autonomic neuropathy and CVD. Both fibromyalgia and systemic sclerosis patients report decreased disease severity, pain, as well as better quality of life with more physical activity. Further, SSc patients improve their grip strength, finger stretching and mouth opening with increased level of exercise. The purpose of this paper is to review the clinical evidence regarding the safety, barriers to engagement, and impact of physical activity on autoimmune diseases.

Increased levels of serum granzyme-B is associated with insulin resistance and increased cardiovascular risk in adolescent polycystic ovary syndrome patients

OBJECTIVES

Our aim was to determine serum perforin and granzyme-B levels in adolescent PCOS patients, and to investigate whether they are associated with some of the insulin sensitivity, obesity and cardiovascular (CV) risk markers and metabolic syndrome.

STUDY DESIGN

A case-control study was carried out including a total of 172 adolescents (83 PCOS patients and 89 age-matched healthy controls). Participants were recruited consecutively. Homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR), lipid parameters, and anthropometric measurements were determined. Serum perforin and granzyme B levels were measured by commercially available ELISA kits. HOMA-IR>3.16 was considered to indicate the presence of insulin resistance. Logistic regression analysis was applied for the predictive value of granzyme-B for increased CV risk in PCOS patients.

RESULTS

As body mass index (BMI) of the PCOS patients was significantly higher than the controls (median 24.6kg/m(2) and 21.4kg/m(2), respectively, p<0.001) all parameters were evaluated after adjustment for BMI. Adolescents with PCOS had significantly higher levels of fasting glucose, insulin, HOMA-IR and granzyme-B when compared with controls. According to the results of logistic regression analysis, granzyme-B levels were found to be significantly associated with increased HOMA-IR (OR=6.120, 95% CI: 2.352-15.926, p<0.001) in adolescent PCOS patients. Additionally, elevated levels of serum granzyme-B were predictive for increased CV risk in PCOS patients (OR=0.237, 95% CI: 0.091-0.616, p=0.003).

CONCLUSIONS

Increased levels of serum granzyme-B are independently associated with insulin resistance and also with increased CV risk in adolescent polycystic ovary syndrome patients.

The detection and role of heat shock protein 70 in various nondisease conditions and disease conditions: a literature review

As an intracellular polypeptide, heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) can be exposed on the plasma membrane and/or released into the circulation. However, the role of HSP70 in various nondisease and disease conditions remains unknown. Quantitative methods for the detection of HSP70 have been used in clinical studies, revealing that an increase in circulating HSP70 is associated with various types of exercise, elderly patients presenting with inflammation, mobile phones, inflammation, sepsis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, carotid intima-media thickness, glutamine-treated ill patients, mortality, diabetes mellitus, active chronic glomerulonephritis, and cancers. Circulating HSP70 decreases with age in humans and in obstructive sleep apnea, arteriosclerosis, atrial fibrillation (AF) following coronary artery bypass surgery, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, moderate-to-severe alcoholic fatty liver disease, hepatic steatosis, and Helicobacter pylori infection. In conclusion, quantitative methods can be used to detect HSP70, particularly in determining circulating HSP70 levels, using more convenient and rapid screening methods. Studies have shown that changes in HSP70 are associated with various nondisease and disease conditions; thus, HSP70 might be a novel potential biomarker reflecting various nondisease conditions and also the severity of disease conditions. However, the reliability and accuracy, as well as the underlying mechanism, of this relationship remain poorly understood, and large-sample clinical research must be performed to verify the role.

Effect of dyslipidemia on intima-media thickness of intra- and extracranial atherosclerosis by regulating the expression of hsp70 in rabbits

The aim of this study was to explore the effect of dyslipidemia on intima-media thickness (IMT) of Intra- and extracranial atherosclerosis by regulating the expression of heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) in rabbits. Twenty-seven male white rabbits were randomly divided into normal control group A, high fat group B and high fat + endothelial injury operation group C (each group was 9), we measured lipids and obtained tissues from different cerebral arteries including Bilateral common carotid artery (CCA), Internal carotid artery (ICA), middle cerebral artery (MCA) and vertebral artery (VA). Pathological analysis were done, western blot analysis was used to detect the expression of HSP70 in CCA and MCA. The Serum lipid levels were overall significantly increased at 12(th) week in Group B and Group C compared to normal control (P < 0.05); at 12(th) week, the IMT of CCA and MCA in group B and C were showed significant increment compared with Group A; the correlation between HDL/CHOL/LDL and IMT of different cerebral arteries are as follows: MCA > ICA > CCA > VA; between TG and IMT of different cerebral arteries: VA > ICA > MCA > CCA; the expression of HSP70 from MCA were increased compared with CCA in group B and group C (P < 0.05). Significant positive correlations were observed between hyperlipidemia and different cerebral arteries. Hyperlipidemia has more impact on IMT of intracranial cerebral arteries. The expression of HSP70 from intracranial cerebral arteries is significantly increased. The mechanisms underlied was speculated that might be involved in inhibiting the inflammatory via HSP70.

Chronic ingestion of high dosed Phikud Navakot extraction induces mesangiolysis in rats with alteration of AQP1 and Hsp60 expressions

Phikud Navakot (PN) is commonly used in Thai traditional medicine for alleviation of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular symptoms; however little is known about the chronic toxicity effects of the extracts from the herbs in PN. Repeated extraction doses of 10, 100, and 1,000 mg/kg/day were randomly administered to both male and female Sprague Dawley rats for 12 months. Histopathological study revealed that mesangiolysis was predominately found at the highest dose. Aquaporin 1 (AQP1) expression in the mesangiolytic glomeruli was significantly lower than in the intact glomeruli. This may be relevant to an imbalance of vascular function manifested by AQP1 alteration. In the mesangiolytic glomeruli, 60 kDa heat shock protein (Hsp60) was significantly upregulated on the endothelial lining cells of aneurysm and vascular cyst. Hsp60 increase may be related to endothelial cell damage due to its intracellular protective role. Blood urea nitrogen and creatinine levels remained within their normal range indicating well-functioning renal reserve function. In conclusion, high dosed PN may affect the endothelium leading to inability of vascular permeability and consequence to mesangiolysis. Our results suggest that only a high dose of chronic oral administration of PN is relatively toxic in association with mesangiolysis. The NOAEL was determined to be 100 mg/kg/day.

Heat shock proteins: a therapeutic target worth to consider

Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are the molecular chaperones, that are not only expressed during the normal growth process of cell cycle consecutively, but also get induced in cells during various stress conditions produced by cellular insult, environmental changes, temperature, infections, tumors etc. According to their molecular weight and functions, HSPs are divided into five major families. HSP90, HSP70, HSP60 and HSP100 are the most studied members of the family. Experimental studies have proved that overexpression and/or inhibition of HSPs play an important role in maintaining the tolerance and cell viability under above-described stress conditions. HSP90 is found to be a promising the candidate for the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of cancer. Similarly, HSP70, HSP60 and small HSPs experimentally and clinically have potential for the treatment of neurodegenerative disease, ischemia, cell death, autoimmunity, graft rejection, etc. In a way, exploring, the cytoprotective and immunoregulatory role of HSPs can open a new avenue for the drug discovery and treatment of critical diseases.

Prevention of renal dysfunction by nutraceuticals prepared from oil rich plant foods

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the protective effect of extracts prepared from avocado, walnut, flaxseed and Eruca sativa seeds in a rat model of kidney dysfunction induced by intraperitoneal cisplatin.

METHODS

Ethanol and petroleum ether extracts mixture was prepared from each plant. Six groups of rats were conducted; control healthy, cisplatin group and four test groups where rats were given daily oral dose of each extract mixture before cisplatin injection. Different biochemical and cytogenetic parameters and kidney histopathology were determined. Acute toxicity was tested for the nutraceuticals. Total phenolic contents, fatty acids (FA) and unsaponifiable matter were assessed in the extracts.

RESULTS

Walnut ethanol extract showed the highest content of total phenolic. FA analysis revealed that all the studied plants were rich in unsaturated FA. Gas-liquid chromatographic investigation of the unsaponifiable matter showed the presence of campesterol, stigmasterol and β-sitosterol in all the studied plants. Cisplatin treatment induced significant increase in plasma urea, creatinine and malondialdehyde along with significant reduction of plasma albumin, total protein, catalase and total antioxidant as well as reduction in creatinine clearance. Histopathological examination proved the induction of kidney dysfunction. Some sorts of chromosomal aberration and sperm-shape abnormalities were noticed after cisplatin treatment. Administration of extracts mixtures produced improvements in biochemical, histopathological and cytogenetic parameters.

CONCLUSIONS

Administration of the studied nutraceuticals proved to possess protective role against cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity, chromosomal aberration and abnormal sperms. All studied nutraceuticals showed complete safety.

Impact of brief exercise on circulating monocyte gene and microRNA expression: implications for atherosclerotic vascular disease

Physical activity can prevent and/or attenuate atherosclerosis, a disease clearly linked to inflammation. Paradoxically, even brief exercise induces a stress response and increases inflammatory cells like monocytes in the circulation. We hypothesized that exercise would regulate the expression of genes, gene pathways, and microRNAs in monocytes in a way that could limit pro-inflammatory function and drive monocytes to prevent, rather than contribute to, atherosclerosis. Twelve healthy men (22-30year old) performed ten 2-min bouts of cycle ergometer exercise at a constant work equivalent to an average of 82% of maximum O2 consumption interspersed with 1-min rest. Blood was drawn before and immediately after the exercise. Monocytes were isolated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Flow cytometry was used to identify monocyte subtypes. We used Affymetrix U133 + 2.0 arrays for gene expression and Agilent Human miRNA V2 Microarray for miRNAs. A stringent statistical approach (FDR <0.05) was used to determine that exercise significantly altered the expression of 894 annotated genes and 19 miRNAs. We found distinct gene alterations that were likely to direct monocytes in an anti-inflammatory, anti-atherogenic pathway, including the downregulation of monocyte TNF, TLR4, and CD36 genes and the upregulation of EREG and CXCR4. Exercise significantly altered a number of microRNAs that likely influence monocytes involvement in vascular health. Exercise leads to a novel genomic profile of circulating monocytes, which appears to promote cardiovascular health despite the overall stress response.