Short term hyperthermia prevents the activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase p38.
We demonstrated earlier that hyperthermia (HT), a form of balneotherapy, suppresses transcription and translation of a number of pro-inflammatory genes. Here we show that short term HT not only acts by preventing the activation of NF-kappaB, but also by blocking the activation of the MAPK p38. Data are presented that show that the effects of HT on p38 are clearly independent of HT effects on NF-kappaB. This is demonstrated by the ability of short term HT to prevent IL-1beta induced activation of MAPK p38 dependent, but NF-kappaB independent genes. In general it is assumed that the protective effects of HT are mediated by de novo synthesis of a number of heat shock proteins. However, data presented herein imply the need to distinguish early and late acting mechanisms of short term HT. Neither a recovery period nor de novo protein synthesis is essential for the early protective effects of HT. The effectiveness of short term HT in preventing the activation of two important signaling pathways and the relative ease by which the temperature in joints of arthritis patients might be modulated, seemingly offer an appealing opportunity to prevent or diminish inflammation by balneological means.
Stuhlmeier
Karl M
KM
Medical University of Vienna and Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Rheumatology and Balneology, Kurbadstrasse 10, Vienna 1100, Austria. karl-manfred.stuhlmeier@meduniwien.ac.at
D001168:Arthritis / Q000235:genetics / Q000628:therapy*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002460:Cell Line; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D006979:Hyperthermia, Induced / Q000379:methods; D018836:Inflammation Mediators / Q000378:metabolism*; D016328:NF-kappa B / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects; D048051:p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
D018836:Inflammation Mediators; D016328:NF-kappa B; D048051:p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases