Heat shock-enhanced T cell apoptosis with heat shock protein 70 on T cell surface in multicentric Castleman's disease

Abstract

We report here that T cells from patients with multicentric Castleman's disease (MCD) are sensitive to hyperthermia. T cells from two of three patients with MCD revealed DNA ladder formation and chromatin condensation following heat shock (30 min at 41.5°C). Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from the same MCD patients exhibited high levels of spontaneous apoptosis after 72 h in culture and elevated apoptosis after heat shock, as evaluated by a quantitative flow cytometric assay. Heat shock protein 70 (hsp70) was detected on the cell surface of T cells in all three patients after heat shock. Furthermore, hsp70 was detected on T cells in the two MCD patients with apoptosis even in the absence of heat shock. T cells from normal samples did not show either heat-shock-induced expression of cell-surface hsp70 or apoptosis. Thus, heat shock treatment augmented hsp70 expression on the cell surface of T cells and enhanced apoptosis. Our studies suggest that hyperthermia may influence the clinical course of MCD.

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