1. HSP60 as an autoantigen in obesity.
- Author
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Emrah Şelli, M., Newby, Andrew C., and Wraith, David C.
- Subjects
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AUTOANTIGENS , *ANIMAL models in research , *OBESITY , *IMMUNOTHERAPY , *AUTOIMMUNITY , *EFFECT of drugs on T cells , *MITOCHONDRIAL proteins - Abstract
Although the association of a chronic low-grade inflammation with obesity has long been appreciated, its molecular basis is yet to be defined. The proven involvement of adaptive immunity, coupled with a phenotypic switch from autoimmune suppressive tolerogenic Treg to pro-inflammatory CD4+ Th1 and CD8+ T cells, during progression of obesity necessitates the presence of a triggering antigen as an activator of T and B cells. Not surprisingly in this context, it is found that visceral adipose tissue-specific T cells show severely biased T cell receptor Vα repertoires in diet induced obese mice (Winer et al. 2009), implying an antigen-specific clonal expansion of T cells during obesity. HSP60 is an evolutionary conserved mitochondrial chaperonin that assists the correct folding of other mitochondrial proteins. However, its occurrence is not restricted to mitochondria and it can be located in the cytosol or exposed on the cell membrane also. An increase in cell membrane HSP60, which may be accompanied by HSP60 release into circulation, is especially considered a signal of autoimmunity. HSP60 has been associated with a broad range of diseases so far, particularly those with an autoimmune component. More recently, HSP60 is also linked to obesity as a mediator of adipose tissue inflammation and insulin resistance. Moreover, circulating HSP60 levels are found to be higher in obese individuals than lean controls (Märker et al. 2012). We observed an adaptive immune response against HSP60 at both T cell and B cell (antibody) levels during continuous high fat feeding of C57bl6 mice. Hence HSP60 appears to be one of the mystery auto-antigens triggering the early T and B cell responses during obesity. Furthermore, we attempted a peptide therapy in a dose escalation protocol aiming to down-regulate the inflammatory related adverse effects of obesity by achieving tolerance in T cell populations and suppressing the pathogenic antibody response. Treatment with a mixture of three proven immunomodulatory HSP60 peptides did not reduce weight but completely reversed the increase in VLDL/LDL levels and partially reversed the glucose intolerance in obese mice, which encourages further research to improve peptide therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2016