title: Heat shock factor 2 levels are associated with the severity of ulcerative colitis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The morbidity of ulcerative colitis (UC) is increasing in China every year. In addition, there is a lack of accurate diagnostic indices with which to evaluate the activity of the disease. The aim of this study was to identify UC-associated proteins as biomarkers for the diagnosis, and objective assessment of disease activity.
  
  
  METHODS
  Differential expression of serum proteins from UC patients compared to normal controls was analyzed by two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS). The expression of heat shock factor 2(HSF2)in colonic mucosa in Crohn's disease, Behcet's disease, ulcerative colitis, intestinal tuberculosis, infective enteritis, intestinal lymphoma, and normal controls was investigated by immunohistochemistry (IHC). The expression of the HSF2 in colonic mucosa of UC subjects with varying severity of disease was measured by real time-PCR and Western Blots. The expression of HSF2 was inhibited by HSF2 small interfering RNA (siRNA) transfection in Caco-2 cells. The concentrations of HSF2, IL-1β, and TNF-α in serum and IL-1β, and TNF-α in the supernatants of transfected Caco-2 cells were determined by ELISA.
  
  
  RESULTS
  HSF2 was differentially expressed in UC patients compared to normal controls. HSF2 expression was significantly higher in the intestinal mucosa of UC patients compared to other six groups. The results of immunohistochemistry, real time-PCR, Western Blots, and ELISA showed that the expression of HSF2 increased in parallel with the severity of UC. The serum concentration of HSF2 also positively correlated with levels of IL-1β and TNF-α. After down-regulation expression of HSF2 in Caco-2 cells by RNA interference, the productions of IL-1β and TNF-α stimulated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) increased dramatically.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  HSF2 appears to be a potential novel molecular marker for UC activity, and may provide a basis for studies on the pathogenesis and novel therapeutic targets for UC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Jiarong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Miao
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Junkun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Niu
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Kunhua
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Yuliang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory, The First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Du
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Lifeng
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Liping
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Shuan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Gang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Lifang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Mingxia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tong
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Yinglei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Miao
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001528:Behcet Syndrome / Q000378:metabolism; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics*; D003106:Colon / Q000378:metabolism; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000378:metabolism; D004751:Enteritis / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D053583:Interleukin-1beta / Q000378:metabolism; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism; D008223:Lymphoma / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000378:metabolism; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000378:metabolism; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins; D053583:Interleukin-1beta; D014157:Transcription Factors; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; C070389:HSF2 protein, human