Expression of the peptide C4b-binding protein beta in the arthritic joint

C4b-binding protein inhibits particulate- and crystalline-induced NLRP3 inflammasome activation

Dysregulated NLRP3 inflammasome activation drives a wide variety of diseases, while endogenous inhibition of this pathway is poorly characterised. The serum protein C4b-binding protein (C4BP) is a well-established inhibitor of complement with emerging functions as an endogenously expressed inhibitor of the NLRP3 inflammasome signalling pathway. Here, we identified that C4BP purified from human plasma is an inhibitor of crystalline- (monosodium urate, MSU) and particulate-induced (silica) NLRP3 inflammasome activation. Using a C4BP mutant panel, we identified that C4BP bound these particles via specific protein domains located on the C4BP α-chain. Plasma-purified C4BP was internalised into MSU- or silica-stimulated human primary macrophages, and inhibited MSU- or silica-induced inflammasome complex assembly and IL-1β cytokine secretion. While internalised C4BP in MSU or silica-stimulated human macrophages was in close proximity to the inflammasome adaptor protein ASC, C4BP had no direct effect on ASC polymerisation in in vitro assays. C4BP was also protective against MSU- and silica-induced lysosomal membrane damage. We further provide evidence for an anti-inflammatory function for C4BP in vivo, as C4bp^-/- mice showed an elevated pro-inflammatory state following intraperitoneal delivery of MSU. Therefore, internalised C4BP is an inhibitor of crystal- or particle-induced inflammasome responses in human primary macrophages, while murine C4BP protects against an enhanced inflammatory state in vivo. Our data suggests C4BP has important functions in retaining tissue homeostasis in both human and mice as an endogenous serum inhibitor of particulate-stimulated inflammasome activation.

Proteomics changes after negative pressure wound therapy in diabetic foot ulcers

Label-free quantitative mass spectrometry was used to analyze the differences in the granulation tissue protein expression profiles of patients with diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) before and after negative-pressure wound therapy (NPWT) to understand how NPWT promotes the healing of diabetic foot wounds. A total of three patients with DFUs hospitalized for Wagner grade 3 were enrolled. The patients received NPWT for one week. The granulation tissue samples of the patients prior to and following NPWT for one week were collected. The protein expression profiles were analyzed with label-free quantitative mass spectrometry and the differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) in the DFU patients prior to and following NPWT for one week were identified. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analyses were conducted to annotate the DEPs and DEP-associated signaling pathways. Western blotting and ELISA were performed to validate the results. By comparing the differences in the protein profiles of granulation tissue samples prior to and following NPWT for one week, 36 proteins with significant differences were identified (P<0.05); 33 of these proteins were upregulated and three proteins were downregulated. NPWT altered proteins mainly associated with antioxidation and detoxification, the cytoskeleton, regulation of the inflammatory response, complement and coagulation cascades and lipid metabolism. The functional validation of the DEPs demonstrated that the levels of cathepsin S in peripheral blood and granulation tissue were significantly lower than those prior to NPWT (P<0.05), while the levels of protein S isoform 1, inter α-trypsin inhibitor heavy chain H4 and peroxiredoxin-2 in peripheral blood and granulation tissue were significantly higher than those prior to NPWT (P<0.05). The present study identified multiple novel proteins altered by NPWT and laid a foundation for further studies investigating the mechanism of action of NPWT.

Serum amyloid A, protein Z, and C4b-binding protein β chain as new potential biomarkers for pulmonary tuberculosis

The aim of this study was to discover novel biomarkers for pulmonary tuberculosis (TB). Differentially expressed proteins in the serum of patients with TB were screened and identified by iTRAQ-two dimensional liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry analysis. A total of 79 abnormal proteins were discovered in patients with TB compared with healthy controls. Of these, significant differences were observed in 47 abnormally expressed proteins between patients with TB or pneumonia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Patients with TB (n = 136) exhibited significantly higher levels of serum amyloid A (SAA), vitamin K-dependent protein Z (PROZ), and C4b-binding protein β chain (C4BPB) than those in healthy controls (n = 66) (P<0.0001 for each) albeit significantly lower levels compared with those in patients with pneumonia (n = 72) (P<0.0001 for each) or COPD (n = 72) (P<0.0001, P<0.0001, P = 0.0016, respectively). After 6 months of treatment, the levels of SAA and PROZ were significantly increased (P = 0.022, P<0.0001, respectively), whereas the level of C4BPB was significantly decreased (P = 0.0038) in treated TB cases (n = 72). Clinical analysis showed that there were significant differences in blood clotting and lipid indices in patients with TB compared with healthy controls, patients with pneumonia or COPD, and treated TB cases (P<0.05). Correlation analysis revealed significant correlations between PROZ and INR (rs = 0.414, P = 0.044), and between C4BPB and FIB (rs = 0.617, P = 0.0002) in patients with TB. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis revealed that the area under the curve value of the diagnostic model combining SAA, PROZ, and C4BPB to discriminate the TB group from the healthy control, pneumonia, COPD, and cured TB groups was 0.972, 0.928, 0.957, and 0.969, respectively. Together, these results suggested that SAA, PROZ, and C4BPB may serve as new potential biomarkers for TB. Our study may thus provide experimental data for the differential diagnosis of TB.

Identification of α1-Antitrypsin as a Potential Candidate for Internal Control for Human Synovial Fluid in Western Blot

Western blot of synovial fluid has been widely used for osteoarthritis (OA) research and diagnosis, but there is no ideal loading control for this purpose. Although β-actin is extensively used as loading control in western blot, it is not suitable for synovial fluid because it is not required in synovial fluid as a cytoskeletal protein. A good loading control for synovial fluid in OA studies should have unchanged content in synovial fluids from normal and OA groups, because synovial fluid protein content can vary with changes in synovial vascular permeability with OA onset. In this study, we explore the potential of using α1-antitripsin (A1AT) as loading control for OA synovial fluid in western blot. A1AT level is elevated in inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Unlike RA, OA is a non-inflammation disease, which does not induce A1AT. In this study, we identified A1AT as an abundant component of synovial fluid by Mass Spectrometry and confirmed that the level of A1AT is relative constant between human OA and normal synovial fluid by western blot and ELISA. Hence, we proposed that A1AT may be a good loading control for western blot in human OA synovial fluid studies provided that pathological conditions such as RA or A1AT deficiency associated liver or lung diseases are excluded.

Dependence on vitamin K-dependent protein S for eukaryotic cell secretion of the beta-chain of C4b-binding protein

The anticoagulant vitamin K-dependent protein S (PS) circulates in plasma in two forms, 30% free and 70% being bound to the complement regulatory protein C4b-binding protein (C4BP). The major C4BP isoform consists of 7 α-chains and 1 β-chain (C4BPβ(+)), the chains being linked by disulfide bridges. PS binds to the β-chain with high affinity. In plasma, PS is in molar excess over C4BPβ(+) and due to the high affinity, all C4BPβ(+) molecules contain a bound PS. Taken together with the observation that PS-deficient patients have decreased levels of C4BPβ(+), this raises the question of whether PS is important for secretion of the β-chain from the cell. To test this hypothesis, HEK293 cells were stably and transiently transfected with β-chain cDNA in combinations with cDNAs for PS and/or the α-chain. The concentration of β-chains in the medium increased after co-transfection with PS cDNA, but not by α-chain cDNA, suggesting secretion of the β-chains from the cells to be dependent on concomitant synthesis of PS, but not of the α-chains. Thus, β-chains that were not disulfide-linked to the α-chains were secreted in complex with PS, either as monomers or dimers. Pulse-chase demonstrated that the complexes between PS and β-chain were formed intracellularly, in the endoplasmic reticulum. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that successful secretion of β-chains depends on intracellular complex formation with PS, but not on the α-chains. This provides an explanation for the decreased β-chain levels observed in PS-deficient patients.