Changes in the expression of Heat Shock Proteins in ovaries from bovines with cystic ovarian disease induced by ACTH.

Cystic ovarian disease (COD), which is considered one of the most important causes of reproductive failure in dairy cattle, induces intraovarian changes in the expression of numerous genes. The purpose of this study was to analyze the changes in the expression of Heat Shock Proteins (HSPs) in ovaries from bovines with cystic ovarian disease induced by ACTH. Immunoreactivity for Heat Shock Proteins (HSPs) in ovaries of cows with induced COD showed differential expression patterns in growing follicles from the control group. The immunopositive area for Hsp27 and Hsp60 in granulosa cells showed significant differences between tertiary follicles from normal cycling animals and those from animals with induced COD. The cysts showed increased Hsp27 immunostaining in theca cells in relation to tertiary follicles from normal cycling cows. Hsp70 immunostaining was more intense in cystic follicles than in other follicular categories from animals with induced COD, in both granulosa and theca cells. In granulosa cells, tertiary follicles from the control group showed higher levels of Hsp90 than cysts. These results demonstrate that there are differences in HSP protein expression when COD is induced. In fact, HSP expression would be part of the functional response to the changes in hormones and neurotransmitters induced by stress, indicating that HSPs can control hormonal functions and vice versa.

Administration of Mycobacterium leprae rHsp65 aggravates experimental autoimmune uveitis in mice.

The 60 kDa heat shock protein family, Hsp60, constitutes an abundant and highly conserved class of molecules that are highly expressed in chronic-inflammatory and autoimmune processes. Experimental autoimmune uveitis [EAU] is a T cell mediated intraocular inflammatory disease that resembles human uveitis. Mycobacterial and homologous Hsp60 peptides induces uveitis in rats, however their participation in aggravating the disease is poorly known. We here evaluate the effects of the Mycobacterium leprae Hsp65 in the development/progression of EAU and the autoimmune response against the eye through the induction of the endogenous disequilibrium by enhancing the entropy of the immunobiological system with the addition of homologous Hsp. B10.RIII mice were immunized subcutaneously with interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein [IRBP], followed by intraperitoneally inoculation of M. leprae recombinant Hsp65 [rHsp65]. We evaluated the proliferative response, cytokine production and the percentage of CD4(+)IL-17(+), CD4(+)IFN-gamma(+) and CD4(+)Foxp3(+) cells ex vivo, by flow cytometry. Disease severity was determined by eye histological examination and serum levels of anti-IRBP and anti-Hsp60/65 measured by ELISA. EAU scores increased in the Hsp65 group and were associated with an expansion of CD4(+)IFN-gamma(+) and CD4(+)IL-17(+) T cells, corroborating with higher levels of IFN-gamma. Our data indicate that rHsp65 is one of the managers with a significant impact over the immune response during autoimmunity, skewing it to a pathogenic state, promoting both Th1 and Th17 commitment. It seems comprehensible that the specificity and primary function of Hsp60 molecules can be considered as a potential pathogenic factor acting as a whistleblower announcing chronic-inflammatory diseases progression.