Limited Heat-Shock Protein 72 Induction in Caco-2 Cells by <i>L</i>-Glutamine

Abstract

Background/Aims:L-Glutamine (L-gln) is a conditionally essential amino acid which is consumed by certain tissues like the intestine in large amounts as energy source during critical illness. Apart from nutritive action, recent data suggest a link to heat-shock protein (hsp) induction. We investigated the effect of L-gln on hsp72 expression in the intestinal cell line Caco-2 under basal and heat-shock conditions and compared it with related amino acids. Methods: Total cellular protein was extracted and separated by SDS-PAGE. Immunoblots were performed with anti-hsp72 followed by chemiluminescence detection and densitometric scanning. Results: Following heat shock, hsp72 protein expression increased by 72 and 53% at 2 and 4 mmol/l L-gln, respectively, compared to heat shock alone (p < 0.05). Under basal conditions a limited increase occurred only at 8 mmol/l L-gln (p < 0.01). Levels remained unaffected when related amino acids including alanine, glutamate or glycine were supplemented under basal and heat-shock conditions. Similarly, the nonmetabolizable glutamine analogue DON or the toxic metabolite L-pyroglutamate did not induce hsp72. Conclusion: We conclude that the glutamine-mediated effect may be specifically attributed to the metabolic action of L-gln.

Glutamine‐induced heat shock protein protects against renal ischaemia‐reperfusion injury in rats

“…administration of glutamine by a single dose of 0.75 g/kg. Ex vivo studies [16][17][18] showed that glutamine at a plasma concentration of 4-8 mmol/L could promote HSP expression best. In the studies of Wischmeyer et al, 2 Uehara et al 15 and Singleton et al, 5 where they used i.v.…”

Oral Glutamine Enhances Heat Shock Protein Expression and Improves Survival Following Hyperthermia

“…It is fully broken down to free L-GLN in G15 min following administration (32). The alanyl-glutamine dipeptide was chosen, as alanine is not known to lead to significant enhancement of HSP-70 ( (33) and Wischmeyer PE, unpublished observations). Further, we found that alanine alone was not protective against lethal endotoxemia (Wischmeyer PE, unpublished observations).…”

Critical review evaluating the pig as a model for human nutritional physiology

“…IAP distribution along the small intestine is opposite between pigs and rodents, the former having higher IAP activity in the ileum and lower in the duodenum compared with rodents (126,144) . Human cell line Caco2 and porcine IPEC-I display inducible HSP (for example, HSP70) (145,146) . Human cell line Caco2 and porcine IPEC-I display inducible HSP (for example, HSP70) (145,146) .…”