Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory for Conservation and Exploitation of Biological Resources, School of Life Science, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu 241000, China.
Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory for Conservation and Exploitation of Biological Resources, School of Life Science, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu 241000, China.
Immunol Lett. 2018 Apr;196:80-90. doi: 10.1016/j.imlet.2018.01.006. Epub 2018 Jan 31.
As an abundantly expressed cysteine protease inhibitor widely distributed in the organisms, cystatin C is involved in various physiological processes. Due to its relatively small molecular weight and easy detection, cystatin C is commonly used as a measure for glomerular filtration rate. In pathological conditions, however, growing evidences suggest that cystatin C is associated with various immune responses against either exogenous or endogenous antigens, which ultimately result in inflammatory autoimmune diseases or tumor development if not properly controlled. Thus the fluctuation of cystatin C levels might have more clinical implications than a reflection of kidney functions. Here, we summarize the latest development of studies on the pathophysiological functions of cystatin C, with focus on its immune regulatory roles at both cellular and molecular levels including antigen presentation, secretion of cytokines, synthesis of nitric oxide, as well as apoptosis. Finally, we discuss the clinical implications and therapeutic potentials of what this predominantly expressed protease inhibitor can bring to us.
胱抑素 C 作为一种广泛存在于生物体内的富含半胱氨酸的蛋白酶抑制剂，参与多种生理过程。由于其分子量相对较小且易于检测，胱抑素 C 通常被用作肾小球滤过率的衡量标准。然而，在病理条件下，越来越多的证据表明胱抑素 C 与针对外源性或内源性抗原的各种免疫反应有关，如果不能得到适当控制，最终会导致炎症性自身免疫疾病或肿瘤的发展。因此，胱抑素 C 水平的波动可能比反映肾脏功能具有更重要的临床意义。在这里，我们总结了胱抑素 C 的病理生理功能的最新研究进展，重点关注其在细胞和分子水平上的免疫调节作用，包括抗原呈递、细胞因子分泌、一氧化氮合成以及细胞凋亡。最后，我们讨论了这种主要表达的蛋白酶抑制剂能为我们带来的临床意义和治疗潜力。
