title: Attenuating systemic inflammatory markers in simulated high-altitude exposure by heat shock protein 70-mediated hypobaric hypoxia preconditioning in rats.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The primary goal of this study was to test whether high-altitude exposure (HAE: 0.9% O(2) at 0.47 ATA for 24 hours) was capable of increasing the systemic inflammatory markers as well as the toxic organ injury indicators in rats, with a secondary goal to test whether preinduction of heat shock protein (HSP) 70 by hypobaric hypoxia preconditioning (HHP: 18.3% O(2) at 0.66 ATA for 5 h/day on 5 days consecutively for 2 weeks) attenuated the proposed increased serum levels of both the systemic inflammatory markers and the toxic organ injury indicators.
  
  
  METHODS
  Rats were assigned to: (1) non-HHP (21% O(2) at 1.0 ATA)+non-HAE (21% O(2) at 1.0 ATA) group; (2) non-HHP+HAE group; (3) HHP+non-HAE group; (4) HHP+HAE group; and (5) HHP+HSP70 antibodies (Ab)+HAE group. For the HSP70Ab group, a neutralizing HSP70Ab was injected intravenously at 24 hours prior to HAE. All the physiological and biochemical parameters were obtained at the end of HAE or the equivalent time period of non-HAE. Blood samples were obtained for determination of both the systemic inflammatory markers (e.g., serum tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β, E-selectin, intercellular adhesion molecule-1, and liver myeloperoxidase activity) and the toxic organ injury indicators (e.g., nitric oxide metabolites, 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid, and lactate dehydrogenase).
  
  
  RESULTS
  HHP, in addition to inducing overexpression of tissue HSP70, significantly attenuated the HAE-induced hypotension, bradycardia, hypoxia, acidosis, and increased tissue levels of both the systemic inflammatory markers and the toxic organ injury indicators. The beneficial effects of HHP in inducing tissue overexpression of HSP70 as well as in preventing the HAE-induced increased levels of the systemic inflammatory markers and the toxic organ injury indicators could be significantly reduced by HSP70Ab preconditioning.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggest that HHP may downgrade both the systemic inflammatory markers and the toxic organ injury indicators in HAE by upregulating tissue HSP70.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Chi Mei Medical Center, Tainan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chia-Ti
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Chi Mei Medical Center, Tainan, Taiwan; Department of Biotechnology, Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Tainan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hung-Jung
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Tainan, Taiwan; Department of Surgery, Chi Mei Medical Center, Tainan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Bor-Chih
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Research, Chi Mei Medical Center, Tainan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Mao-Tsun
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Tainan, Taiwan. Electronic address: jessica@mail.stust.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Ching-Ping
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Chang
mesh_terms: D000532:Altitude Sickness / Q000097:blood*; D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D019040:E-Selectin / Q000097:blood; D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D062385:Hydroxybenzoates / Q000097:blood; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D019040:E-Selectin; D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins; D062385:Hydroxybenzoates; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D009569:Nitric Oxide; C009135:2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid
keywords: cytokines; free radicals; heat shock protein 70; high-altitude exposure; hypobaric hypoxia preconditioning; multiple organ dysfunction syndrome