hsp70 synthesis in Schwann cells in response to heat shock and infection with Mycobacterium leprae

What happens when Schwann cells are exposed to Mycobacterium leprae - A systematic review

Mycobacterium leprae, the pathogen that causes human leprosy, has a unique affinity for infecting and persisting inside Schwann cells, the principal glia of the peripheral nervous system. Several studies have focused on this intricate host-pathogen interaction as an attempt to advance the current knowledge of the mechanisms governing nerve destruction and disease progression. However, during the chronic course of leprosy neuropathy, Schwann cells can respond to and internalize both live and dead M. leprae and bacilli-derived antigens, and this may result in divergent cellular pathobiological responses. This may also distinctly contribute to tissue degeneration, failure to repair, inflammatory reactions, and nerve fibrosis, hallmarks of the disease. Therefore, the present study systematically searched for published studies on M. leprae-Schwann cell interaction in vitro to summarize the findings and provide a focused discussion of Schwann cell dynamics following challenge with leprosy bacilli.

Bacterial infection elicits heat shock protein 72 release from pleural mesothelial cells

Heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) has been implicated in infection-related processes and has been found in body fluids during infection. This study aimed to determine whether pleural mesothelial cells release HSP70 in response to bacterial infection in vitro and in mouse models of serosal infection. In addition, the in vitro cytokine effects of the HSP70 isoform, Hsp72, on mesothelial cells were examined. Further, Hsp72 was measured in human pleural effusions and levels compared between non-infectious and infectious patients to determine the diagnostic accuracy of pleural fluid Hsp72 compared to traditional pleural fluid parameters. We showed that mesothelial release of Hsp72 was significantly raised when cells were treated with live and heat-killed Streptococcus pneumoniae. In mice, intraperitoneal injection of S. pneumoniae stimulated a 2-fold increase in Hsp72 levels in peritoneal lavage (p<0.01). Extracellular Hsp72 did not induce or inhibit mediator release from cultured mesothelial cells. Hsp72 levels were significantly higher in effusions of infectious origin compared to non-infectious effusions (p<0.05). The data establish that pleural mesothelial cells can release Hsp72 in response to bacterial infection and levels are raised in infectious pleural effusions. The biological role of HSP70 in pleural infection warrants exploration.

The continuing challenges of leprosy

Leprosy is best understood as two conjoined diseases. The first is a chronic mycobacterial infection that elicits an extraordinary range of cellular immune responses in humans. The second is a peripheral neuropathy that is initiated by the infection and the accompanying immunological events. The infection is curable but not preventable, and leprosy remains a major global health problem, especially in the developing world, publicity to the contrary notwithstanding. Mycobacterium leprae remains noncultivable, and for over a century leprosy has presented major challenges in the fields of microbiology, pathology, immunology, and genetics; it continues to do so today. This review focuses on recent advances in our understanding of M. leprae and the host response to it, especially concerning molecular identification of M. leprae, knowledge of its genome, transcriptome, and proteome, its mechanisms of microbial resistance, and recognition of strains by variable-number tandem repeat analysis. Advances in experimental models include studies in gene knockout mice and the development of molecular techniques to explore the armadillo model. In clinical studies, notable progress has been made concerning the immunology and immunopathology of leprosy, the genetics of human resistance, mechanisms of nerve injury, and chemotherapy. In nearly all of these areas, however, leprosy remains poorly understood compared to other major bacterial diseases.

Bacterial infection and tissue-specific Hsp72, -73 and -90 expression in western painted turtles

Heat shock proteins (Hsps) are molecular chaperones that assist intracellular folding, assembly and translocation of proteins in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. A variety of stresses including hyperthermia, radiation, heavy metals, ischemia, anoxia and reoxygenation have been shown to increase the expression of Hsps. Likewise, bacterial infection represents a stress for the host cell. In this study, expression of the constitutive (Hsp73) and inducible (Hsp72) isoforms of Hsp70 and Hsp90 was monitored in brain, heart, liver and skeletal muscle from the western painted turtle Chrysemys picta bellii diagnosed with Septicemic Cutaneous Ulcerative Dermatitis (SCUD). This disease is caused by a gram-negative bacterium probably belonging to the Citrobacter spp. The expression of Hsp73 increased 1.8-fold in brain and liver, 2.2-fold in heart but did not change in skeletal muscle; Hsp72 expression increased 5.5-fold in brain and 3-fold in liver but did not change in heart or skeletal muscle; Hsp90 expression increased 9-fold in brain, 2.7-fold in heart and 2.4-fold in skeletal muscle but did not change in liver. These results suggest a tissue-specific Hsp response during bacterial infection and a role for Hsps in immunopathological events in reptiles.

Elevated serum heat-shock protein 70 levels in patients with acute infection: use of an optimized enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

Heat-shock proteins (Hsps) are highly conserved throughout evolution and evoke great interest both in basic biology and in medicine. They are expressed in small quantities under normal conditions, and their expression can be strongly induced by several stressors. Although their action is basically intracellular, it is now obvious that these proteins can be released into the extracellular environment from viable cells. In this study, the human Hsp 70 serum concentrations were determined using an optimized, cost-effective enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The average intra-assay variation was 6%, whereas the average interassay variation was 9%. The sensitivity of the assay was 10 ng/ml, and spiking experiments showed recoveries between 101 and 109%. As an application of the technique, we have investigated the serum levels of human Hsp 70 in patients with infection and in healthy subjects. Our data show significantly higher levels of Hsp 70 (P = 0.003) in patients compared to control subjects. Positive correlations were noticed between the serum levels of Hsp 70 and various markers of inflammation (IL-6; r = 0.579, P = 0.009, TNF-alpha; r = 0.552, P = 0.012, IL-10; r = 0.361, P = 0.002). We conclude that Hsp 70 is involved in inflammation of infectious origin. The interindividual variation in the serum concentration of Hsp 70 precludes the use of serum Hsp 70 levels to distinguish patients from healthy subjects.

Differential expression of mycobacterial proteins following phagocytosis by macrophages

Mycobacterium tuberculosis resides within the macrophages of the host, but the molecular and cellular mechanisms of survival are poorly understood. Recent evidence suggests that the attenuated vaccine strain Mycobacterium bovis BCG is both a deletion and regulatory mutant, yet retains both its immunoprotective and intra-macrophage survival potential. In an attempt to define M. bovis BCG genes expressed during interaction with macrophages, the patterns of protein synthesis were examined by both one- and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis of BCG while inside the human leukaemic macrophage cell line THP-1. This study demonstrated that BCG expresses proteins while resident inside macrophages that are not expressed during in vitro growth in culture media or under conditions of heat shock. Western blotting analysis revealed that some of the differentially expressed proteins are specifically recognized by human M. tuberculosis-infected sera. Proteome analysis by two-dimensional electrophoresis and MS identified six abundant proteins that showed increased expression inside macrophages: 16 kDa alpha-crystallin (HspX), GroEL-1 and GroEL-2, a 31.7 kDa hypothetical protein (Rv2623), InhA and elongation factor Tu (Tuf). Identification of proteins by such a strategy will help elucidate the molecular basis of the attenuation and the vaccine potential of BCG, and may provide antigens that distinguish infection with M. tuberculosis from vaccination with BCG.

Heat shock protein 72 restores cyclic AMP accumulation after heat shock in N18TG2 cells

Although there are several reports on the alteration of intracellular signal transduction during heat shock in somatic cells, the long term effects of heat shock on neuronal cells remain unknown. In this report, we investigated cyclic AMP (cAMP) accumulation and the expression of heat shock proteins following heat shock in mouse neuroblastoma N18TG2 cells. Basal cAMP accumulation, or that stimulated by serotonin (10 microM), cholera toxin (1 microg/ml), and forskolin (1 microM) was suppressed at 0, 3, and 6 h following heat shock (45 degrees C for 30 min). The cAMP levels were restored at 15 and 24 h after heat shock, corresponding with the expression of stress-induced heat shock protein 72 (HSP72). Quercetin, an inhibitor of HSP expression, decreased the expression of HSP72 and inhibited the recovery of cAMP levels 24 h after heat shock. Quercetin also decreased the basal expression of the constitutive heat shock cognate protein 70 (HSC70) and suppressed cAMP accumulation in non-heat shocked cells. These results suggest that stress-induced HSP72 restores cAMP accumulation to control levels following heat shock and that constitutive HSC70 is related to cAMP levels in non-stress conditions.

Analysis of epithelial cell stress response during infection by Shigella flexneri

Shigella flexneri-infected macrophage cells undergo an apoptotic-like death as early as one hour after infection (A. Zychlinsky, M. C. Prévost, and P. J. Sansonetti, Nature [London] 358:167-168, 1992). To determine the fate of infected epithelial cells, we characterized the viability, morphology, and several metabolic activities of HeLa cells after treatment with M90T, an invoffve isolate of S. flexneri serotype 5, or BS176, a noninvasive isolate cured of the 220-kb virulence plasmid. Using standard assays, we found that for at least 4 h after infection with M90T, HeLa cells remained viable and did not detach or lyse. The ultrastructural morphology of HeLa cells heavily infected with M90T was free of hallmarks associated with cells undergoing apoptosis. Consistent with the idea that intracellular bacterial growth is metabolically stressful to the host cell, we observed that, compared with BS176 treated-HeLa cells, M90T-treated HeLa cells showed (i) a significant decrease in the total pool size of nucleoside triphosphates, (ii) a reduced ability to incorporate extracellular radiolabeled methionine into the soluble and insoluble cell fractions, and (iii) a stimulation of glucose uptake. However, there was no detectable increase in expression of the stress-inducible hsp70 gene in M90T-infected HeLa cells or activation of the anaerobic metabolic pathway as determined by measuring total lactate levels. These results demonstrate clearly that the fate of S.flexneri-infected cells can vary dramatically between cell types and agree with the hypothesis that the destruction of epithelial cells observed in experimental models of shigellosis is due to the host inflammatory response and probably not bacterial intracellular multiplication per se.

Heat-shock proteins and molecular chaperones: implications for pathogenesis, diagnostics, and therapeutics

Cells react to physical (e.g., heat) or chemical (e.g., anoxia, low pH) stressors, mounting a stress (heat-shock) response. Most genes are turned down or off, while a few are activated. The latter encode the stress or heat-shock proteins (Hsps), whose levels increase in stressed cells. Various Hsps are molecular chaperones. These, and other molecular chaperones that are not Hsps, help the other cellular proteins to achieve their native state (correct folding or functional conformation), reach their final destination (e.g., the endoplasmic reticulum or the mitochondria), resist denaturing by stressors, and regain the native state after partial denaturation. Thus the Hsps and molecular chaperones occupy the stage's center whenever and wherever there is cellular and tissue injury caused by local or systemic stressors via protein damage. This feature, their participation in protein folding and transport, and their evolutionary conservation within the three phylogenetic domains, strongly suggest a vital role for Hsps and molecular chaperones. Their importance in pathogenesis, and as diagnostic markers and prognostic indicators, is beginning to be appreciated. The role of Hsps and molecular chaperones in cell recovery from injury by a variety of noxae of clinical and surgical relevance is also being assessed. Consequently, the potential of these molecules (and corresponding genes) as targets for treatment or as therapeutic tools is emerging and is being explored. Stroke, myocardial infarction, inflammatory syndromes, infectious and parasitic diseases, autoimmune disorders, cancer, and aging are but some examples of conditions in which Hsps and molecular chaperones are being scrutinized. The era of Hsp and molecular chaperone pathology has dawned. It is likely that genetic and acquired defects of Hsp and molecular chaperone structure and function will be identified, and will play a primary, or auxiliary but determinant, role in disease.

Host cell responses to Listeria monocytogenes infection include differential transcription of host stress genes involved in signal transduction

We examined the effect of Listeria monocytogenes infection of J774 macrophage-like mouse cells on induction of several stress genes, including genes for heat shock proteins (HSPs) and a protein-tyrosine phosphatase (PTP), to understand the host response in various steps of the bacterial invasion process. Exposure to wild-type L. monocytogenes strain EGD elicited an early induction of HSP70 mRNA with a corresponding early appearance of HSP70 protein. Cytochalasin D pretreatment prevented the induction of HSP70 mRNA in L. monocytogenes-infected macrophages. After a 2-hr infection with L. monocytogenes, PTP and to a lesser extent HSP90 mRNA levels were elevated. A listeriolysin-negative mutant of L. monocytogenes strain EGD and a noninvasive species of Listeria, Listeria innocua, did not induce PTP or HSP90 mRNA in infected macrophages. Mutations in other virulence genes did not affect transcription of PTP or HSP90. Expression of HSP60 mRNA remained constant over the time course studied in wild-type or mutant strains. These results suggest that phagocytosis of L. monocytogenes triggers transcription of HSP70 mRNA in macrophages; however, escape from the phagosome appears to be necessary for induction of PTP and HSP90 mRNA. Since both PTP and HSP90 may have links with signal transduction pathways in eukaryotic cells, the induction of these mRNAs suggests a role for L. monocytogenes in influencing the signal transduction routes of the host cell.

Nerve and skin damage in leprosy is associated with increased intralesional heat shock protein

Leprosy is frequently complicated by the development of reversal reactions in which peripheral nerve and skin lesions become inflamed and irreversible nerve damage may ensue. Increased expression of proteins belonging to the 70-kD heat shock family (hsp 70) occurs in cells of the central nervous system exposed to hyperthermia, physical damage or drug-induced trauma. In the present study we have used immunocytochemical staining to monitor hsp70 levels in peripheral nerves infected by Mycobacterium leprae. Hsp70 was detected in skin and nerve lesions from all leprosy patients, but was particularly prominent in lesions from patients undergoing reversal reactions. Hsp70 immunocytochemistry can thus be used as a marker of neural injury in the peripheral as well as in the central nervous system. The cellular dynamics of nerve damage in leprosy are currently poorly understood, and we postulate that the immunopathology of leprosy may be partly due to an autoimmune response to heat shock proteins.

Phagocytosis of Staphylococcus aureus induces a selective stress response in human monocytes-macrophages (M phi): modulation by M phi differentiation and by iron

Phagocytosis of microorganisms represents a stress not only for the phagocytosed agent but also for the host cell. We have investigated the stress response induced in human monocytes-macrophages (M phi) phagocytosing inactivated Staphylococcus aureus. Exposure of human M phi to S. aureus induced in these cells (i) a threefold increase in superoxide dismutase activity, (ii) a selective and differentiation-dependent induction of host heat shock protein synthesis (HSP70 but not HSP65), and (iii) de novo synthesis of heme oxygenase, but only when exogenous iron was added to the cultures. The coordinate upregulation of two scavenging enzymes and of HSP70 suggests that all three are part of cellular protective mechanisms against phagocytosis-related oxidative injury to host cells.