Expresión de aquaporinas en tejido pulmonar de pacientes con enfermedad pulmonar obstructiva crónica / Aquaporin expression in the lung tissue of copd patients

INTRODUCCIÓN: Estudio de la expresión de aquaporinas (AQP1 y AQP5) en el tejido bronquial y parénquima pulmo-nar de pacientes con enfermedad pulmonar obstructiva cróni-ca (EPOC) y fumadores sin la enfermedad. MÉTODO: Utilizando un diseño caso-control, se seleccionó un grupo de 15 pacientes con EPOC (93,3% varones, con una edad media de 68 años, una media de FEV1 del 72% y 26,7% con corticosteroides inhalados) y 15 fumadores sin la enfermedad, a los cuales se les sometió a cirugía de resección pulmonar por neoplasia pulmonar. Se estudió la expresión de AQP1 y AQP5 en el tejido bronquial y en parénquima pulmo-nar mediante reacción en cadena de la polimerasa en tiempo real.RESULTADOS: No encontramos diferencias en la expresión génica de estas AQPs en ambos territorios pulmonares entre los pacientes con EPOC y los fumadores sin la enfermedad. Sin embargo, en los pacientes EPOC, la expresión de AQP1 era 2,41 veces mayor en el parénquima comparado con los controles, mientras que la AQP5 mostraba un patrón inverso, con 7,75 veces mayor expresión en el tejido bronquial de los sujetos control.CONCLUSIÓN: Los resultados del presente trabajo proporcio-nan evidencia inicial respecto a la expresión de AQP1 y AQP5 en pacientes con EPOC

INTRODUCTION: Study of aquaporin expression (AQP1 and AQP5) in the bronchial tissue and lung parenchyma of pa-tients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and smokers without the disease. METHOD: Using a case-control design, a group of 15 patients with COPD was selected (93.3% males, with an average age of 68 years, an average FEV1 of 72% and 26.7% with inha-led corticosteroids) and 15 smokers without the disease, who underwent lung resection surgery due to lung neoplasm. The expression of AQP1 and AQP5 in the bronchial tissue and in lung parenchyma was studied using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). RESULTS: No differences were found in the gene expression of these AQPs in either lung territories between the patients with COPD and the smokers without the disease. Nevertheless, in the COPD patients, the expression of AQP1 was 2.41 times greater in the parenchyma compared with the controls, while the AQP5 showed an inverse pattern, with 7.75 times greater expression in the bronchial tissue of the control subject. CONCLUSION: The results of this study provide initial evidence regarding the expression of AQP1 and AQP5 in patient with COPD

Unusual characteristics of ciliate actins.

Actin is a cytoskeletal protein that is ubiquitous in eukaryotes, hence the corresponding genes and proteins have been isolated from numerous organisms as different as animals, plants, fungi and protozoa. Several atomic models are available for the monomeric as well as the filamentous form, and more than 70 proteins that bind actin and control filament dynamics have been isolated from diverse eukaryotes. Moreover, the function and dynamics of the actin cytoskeleton in several eukaryotic systems have been depicted in depth. Unlike other protozoa, such as amoeba, actin is not an abundant protein in ciliates, whose cytoskeleton is mainly composed of microtubular arrays. Ciliate actin has been studied in several species, and it was established early on that this ciliate protein is very different from that of other eukaryotes. Similarly, the actin-binding proteins studied in ciliates display great differences with those of other eukaryotes. Consequently, ciliate actin has been considered as "unconventional," and this review focuses on molecular data leading to this conclusion.