Gerontology & Frailty in Aging (FRIA) research group, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium.
BMC Immunol. 2011 Mar 28;12:24. doi: 10.1186/1471-2172-12-24.
Heat shock proteins (Hsp) are ubiquitously synthesised in virtually all species and it is hypothesised that they might have beneficial health effects. Recent studies have identified circulating Hsp as an important mediator in inflammation - the effects of low-grade inflammation in the aging process are overwhelming. While much is known about intracellular Hsp70, scant data exist on circulating Hsp70 in the aging context. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to investigate the effect of age and disease on circulating Hsp70 and, in particular, to evaluate the association between circulating Hsp70 and inflammatory parameters.
Serum Hsp70, Interleukin (IL) -10, IL-6 and Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) alpha concentrations were determined in 90 hospitalised geriatric patients (aged 83 ± 6 years) and in 200 community-dwelling control subjects (100 elderly, aged 74 ± 5 years, and 100 young, aged 23 ± 3 years). In the community-dwelling elderly, serum Hsp70 and IL-10 concentrations were significantly lower and IL-6 was significantly higher when compared to healthy young control subjects. Elderly patients presenting inflammation (CRP serum levels ≥5 mg/L) showed significantly (p = 0.007) higher Hsp70 values; and Hsp70 correlated positively (p < 0.001) with IL-6 and CRP, but not with TNF-alpha or IL-10. A significant association was also noted between Hsp70 levels and the degree of dependency and cognitive decline in geriatric patients.
The present data provide new evidence that serum concentration of Hsp70 decreases with age in a normal population. Our study also shows that higher levels of Hsp70 are associated with inflammation and frailty in elderly patients.
热休克蛋白（Hsp）在几乎所有物种中广泛合成，据推测它们可能对健康有益。最近的研究表明，循环 Hsp 是炎症的重要介质-衰老过程中低度炎症的影响是压倒性的。虽然人们对细胞内 Hsp70 了解很多，但关于衰老背景下循环 Hsp70 的数据很少。因此，本研究的目的是研究年龄和疾病对循环 Hsp70 的影响，特别是评估循环 Hsp70 与炎症参数之间的关系。
测定了 90 名住院老年患者（年龄 83 ± 6 岁）和 200 名社区居住对照者（100 名老年人，年龄 74 ± 5 岁和 100 名年轻人，年龄 23 ± 3 岁）的血清 Hsp70、白细胞介素（IL）-10、IL-6 和肿瘤坏死因子（TNF）α浓度。在社区居住的老年人中，与健康的年轻对照组相比，血清 Hsp70 和 IL-10 浓度明显降低，IL-6 明显升高。出现炎症（血清 CRP 水平≥5mg/L）的老年患者的 Hsp70 值明显升高（p=0.007）；Hsp70 与 IL-6 和 CRP 呈正相关（p<0.001），但与 TNF-α或 IL-10 无关。在老年患者中，Hsp70 水平与依赖程度和认知能力下降也存在显著相关性。
本研究提供了新的证据，表明正常人群中血清 Hsp70 浓度随年龄的增长而降低。我们的研究还表明，较高的 Hsp70 水平与老年患者的炎症和虚弱有关。
