Exosomal Hsp60 levels in large bowel cancer patients before and after ablative surgery
Francesco CAPPELLO
(Università degli Studi di Palermo, Istituto Euro-Mediterraneo di Scienza e Tecnologia - IEMEST)
Heat shock protein 60 (Hsp60) is a chaperonin involved in tumorigenesis, but its participation in tumor development and progression is not well understood and its value as a tumor biomarker has not been fully elucidated. In the current study, we investigated if Hsp60 has potential as a biomarker as well as a therapeutic target in patients with large bowel cancer. We studied a population of 97 subjects, including patients and controls. Immunomorphology, Western blot analysis, and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction were performed on tissue specimens. Exosomes were isolated from blood and characterized by electron microscopy, biochemical tests, and Western blot analysis. Hsp60 was found to be increased in cancerous tissue, in which it was localized in the tumor cell plasma membrane, and in the interstitium associated with cells of the immune system, in which it was associated with exosomes liberated by tumor cells and, as such, circulated in the blood. An interesting finding was that these parameters returned to normal shortly after tumor removal. The data suggested that Hsp60 is a good candidate for theranostics applied to patients with large bowel carcinoma and encourage similar research among patients with other tumors in which Hsp60 has been implicated.
