Caveolin-1 Promotes the Imbalance of Th17/Treg in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease by Regulating Hsp70 Expression.

Objective: To investigate whether the expression of Hsp70 is associated with Cav-1 in promoting the imbalance of Th17/Treg cells in COPD.

Methods: The plasma Cav-1, Hsp70 expression were quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The frequencies of circulating Th17, Treg cells and Th17/Treg ratio were determined by flow cytometry. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from subjects were transfected with Cav-1 or control plasmids and Hsp70 plasmid.

Results: We found that Cav-1 expression was lower but the levels of Hsp70 and Th17 cells were higher in COPD than in healthy control (HC). Hsp70 expressions were positively correlated with Cav-1 levels, Th17 cells, and Th17/Treg ratio in COPD but not in HC. Cav-1 over-expression resulted in an increase in Hsp70 and Th17 levels. Suppressing Hsp70 expressing by small interfering RNA (siRNA), the decline of Th17 frequency was observed in Cav-1-overexpressed PBMCs.

Conclusion: Collectively, our results illuminate that Cav-1 contributes to the imbalance of Th17/Treg through potentially regulating Hsp70 expression.