Hsp70 Gene Polymorphisms Are Associated With Disease Susceptibility and HRQOL Improvement in Chinese Han Population With Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to investigate whether heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) gene polymorphisms are implicated in systemic lupus erythematous (SLE) susceptibility, the efficacy of glucocorticoids (GCs) treatment, and improvement of health-related quality of life. METHODS: A total of 499 SLE patients and 499 controls were included in a case-control study, and 468 SLE patients treated with GCs for 12 weeks were involved in a follow-up study. Patients who completed the 12-week follow-up were divided into GCs-sensitive and GCs-insensitive group by using the SLE disease activity index. The SF-36 was used to evaluate the health-related quality of life of SLE patients, and genotyping was performed by improved multiplex ligation detection reaction. RESULTS: rs2075800 was associated with SLE susceptibility (adjusted odds ratio [ORadj], 1.437; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.113-1.855; Padj = 0.005; PBH = 0.020 by dominant model; ORadj, 1.602; 95% CI, 1.072-2.395; Padj = 0.022; PBH = 0.029 by TT vs CC model; ORadj = 1.396; 95% CI = 1.067-1.826; Padj = 0.015; PBH = 0.029 by TC vs CC model). In the follow-up study, rs2075799 was associated with the improvement in mental health (p = 0.004, PBH = 0.044), but we failed to find any association between the efficacy of GCs and Hsp70 gene polymorphisms. CONCLUSIONS: Hsp70 gene polymorphisms may be associated with susceptibility to SLE and improvement of mental health in Chinese Han population.

Associations of HSP90AA2 gene polymorphisms with disease susceptibility, glucocorticoids efficacy and health-related quality of life in Chinese systemic lupus erythematosus patients.

Although the current glucocorticoids (GCs) treatment for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is effective to a certain extent, the difference in therapeutic effect between patients is still a widespread problem. Some patients can have repeated attacks that greatly diminish their quality of life. This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between HSP90AA2 polymorphisms and disease susceptibility, GCs efficacy and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in Chinese SLE patients. A case-control study was performed in 470 SLE patients and 470 normal controls. Then, 444 patients in the case group were followed up for 12 weeks to observe efficacy of GCs and improvement of HRQoL. Two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of HSP90AA2 were selected for genotyping: rs1826330 and rs6484340. HRQoL was assessed using the SF-36 questionnaire. The minor T allele of rs1826330 and the TT haplotype formed by rs1826330 and rs6484340 showed associations with decreased SLE risk (T allele: PBH = 0.022; TT haplotype: PBH = 0.033). A significant association between rs6484340 and improvement of HRQoL was revealed in the follow-up study. Five subscales of SF-36 were appeared to be influenced by rs6484340: total score of SF-36 (additive model: PBH = 0.026), physical function (additive model: PBH = 0.026), role-physical (recessive model: PBH = 0.041), mental health (dominant model: PBH = 0.047), and physical component summary (additive model: PBH = 0.026). No statistical significance was found between HSP90AA2 gene polymorphisms and GCs efficacy. These results revealed a genetic association between HSP90AA2 and SLE. Remarkably, HSP90AA2 has an impact on the improvement of HRQoL in Chinese population with SLE.

Association of HSP90B1 genetic polymorphisms with efficacy of glucocorticoids and improvement of HRQoL in systemic lupus erythematosus patients from Anhui Province.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between HSP90B1 gene polymorphisms and the efficacy of glucocorticoids (GCs) and the improvement of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in Anhui patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Method: A total of 305 patients with SLE were recruited to the study. These patients were treated with GCs for 12 weeks and classified into two groups (sensitivity and insensitivity) according to the response to GCs measured by the scores on SLE disease activity index (SLEDAI). The HRQoL of SLE patients were evaluated by 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) at baseline and 12 weeks respectively. HapMap database and Haploview software were used to select HSP90B1 gene tag single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Benjamini & Hochberg (BH) method based on false discovery rate (FDR) was used for multiple testing correction. Results: A total of 291 patients were included in final data analysis with 14 patients excluded due to loss to follow-up. Among these patients, 160 patients were sensitive to GCs and 131 patients were insensitive to GCs. Twelve tag SNPs of HSP90B1 gene were selected. The rs12426382 polymorphism was associated with the efficacy of GCs (dominant model: crude OR=0.514, 95% CI=0.321-0.824, P=0.006; adjusted OR=0.513, 95% CI=0.317-0.831, P=0.007). After BH correction, there was no association between rs12426382 polymorphism and efficacy of GCs (PBH =0.084). In haplotype analysis, the haplotype CCCGAACATCCC (OR=2.273, 95% CI=1.248-4.139, P=0.006) and CTGGGACGTTC (OR=0.436, 95% CI=0.208-0.916, P=0.025) showed significant associations with the efficacy of GCs. After corrected by BH method, CCCGAACATCCC was still associated with the efficacy of GCs (PBH =0.048). The rs3794241, rs1165681, rs2722188, rs3794240 and rs10861147 polymorphisms were associated with the improvement of HRQoL among SLE patients (P < 0.05). But no association existed after the correction of BH method (P > 0.05). Conclusions: The results of this study demonstrated that HSP90B1 genetic polymorphisms might be associated with the efficacy of GCs, but not associated with the improvement of HRQoL in Anhui population with SLE.

Analyzing gene expression profile in K562 cells exposed to sodium valproate using microarray combined with the connectivity map database.

To explore the mechanism underlying antileukaemia effect of sodium valproate, the growth and survival of the K562 cell line were investigated. Global profiles of gene expression in K562 cells exposed to sodium valproate were assessed and validated. The differentially expressed genes identified were further used to query the connectivity map database to retrieve a ranked list of compounds that act on the same intracellular targets as sodium valproate. A significant increase in cell apoptosis and a change in gene expression profile were observed in valproate-exposed K562 cells. The significant enrichment analysis of gene ontology terms for the differentially expressed genes showed that these genes were involved in many important biological processes. Eight differentially expressed genes involved in apoptosis were verified by quantitative real-time PCR. The connectivity map analysis showed gene expression profile in K562 cells exposed to sodium valproate was most similar to that of HDACi and PI3K inhibitors, suggesting that sodium valproate might exert antileukaemic action by inhibiting HDAC as well as inhibiting PI3K pathway. In conclusion, our data might provide clues to elucidate the molecular and therapeutic potential of VPA in leukaemia treatment, and the connectivity map is a useful tool for exploring the molecular mechanism of drug action.

Using an exon microarray to identify a global profile of gene expression and alternative splicing in K562 cells exposed to sodium valproate.

To investigate the effect of valproate treatment on the K562 cell line, a model for chronic myelogenous leukaemia, the growth and survival of the K562 cell line were investigated using the Annexin-V/PI dual staining method, and global profiles of gene expression and alternative splicing in K562 cells were assessed using exon microarrays. A significant increase in cell apoptosis was observed in valproate-exposed K562 cells using flow cytometry. A total of 628 transcripts were identified as being significantly differentially expressed. The number of genes demonstrating increased expression levels was greater than the number of genes demonstrating decreased expression levels (445 genes vs. 183 genes, respectively). The significant enrichment analysis of GO terms for the differentially expressed genes revealed that these genes are involved in many important biological processes such as apoptosis. Six of the genes observed to be differentially expressed that might be involved in apoptosis were selected to undergo qRT-PCR validation. In total, 198 candidates of alternative splicing variants were identified. Among them, three alternative splicing events were selected for validation, and CBLC and TBX1 were confirmed to be alternatively spliced by semi-nested PCR. In conclusion, valproate exposure facilitated cell apoptosis, altered mRNA expression and alternative splicing events in the K562 cell line.