Hsp60 as a novel target in IBD management: A prospect

Abstract

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) encompasses various pathological conditions similar but distinct that share a multifactorial etiology, including involvement of the intestinal barrier function, the immune system, and intestinal microorganisms. Hsp60 is a chaperonin component of the chaperoning system, present in all cells and tissues, including the intestine. It plays important roles in cell physiology outside and inside mitochondria, its canonical place of residence. However, Hsp60 can also be pathogenic in many conditions, the Hsp60 chaperonopathies, possibly including IBD. The various clinico-pathological types of IBD have a complicated mix of causative factors, among which Hsp60 can be considered a putatively important driver of events and could play an etiopathogenic role. This possibility is discussed in this review. We also indicate that Hsp60 can be a biomarker useful in disease diagnosing and monitoring and, if found active in pathogenesis, should become a target for developing new therapies. The latter are particularly needed to alleviate patient suffering and to prevent complications, including colon cancer. Copyright © 2019 Cappello, Mazzola, Jurjus, Zeenny, Jurjus, Carini, Leone, Bonaventura, Tomasello, Bucchieri, Conway de Macario and Macario. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.