Changes in Activity of Heat Shock Protein-70 Family Genes is Associated With Early Acute Pancreatitis Severity

OBJECTIVES: Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a painful and potentially life-threatening disorder, with no effective therapy available to date. Genome assessment shows promise as a potential method for predicting AP severity. We hypothesized that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and expression changes in Heat Shock Protein 70 (HSP70) family genes may play a role in early prediction of AP severity. METHODS: A total of 44 AP patients and 47 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were studied. Leukocyte-extracted total RNA and genomic DNA were used for HSPA1A and HSPA1L gene expression and genotyping in promoter regions (HSPA1A: rs1008438 and HSPA1L: rs2227956) analyses, respectively. RESULTS: No statistically significant differences were found between the genotypes of AP patients and controls, however, HSPA1A expression was 2-fold lower in AP. Decrease in expression was more evident in mild and mild/moderate AP groups vs. controls (P=0.024 and P=0.008, respectively). HSPA1L expression in AG vs. AA carriers was higher in entire cohort (P=0.014) and markedly differed between AP patients (P=0.001). Also, HSPA1L expression was the highest in severe AG cases and significantly differed from AA genotype carriers (P=0.005). CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that HSP70 family genes expression may be a valuable marker for predicting disease severity in AP.