Molecular-Morphological Relationships of the Scaffold Protein FKBP51 and Inflammatory Processes in Knee Osteoarthritis
Fabián Poletti,
Rebeca González-Fernández,
María-del-Pino García,
Deborah Rotoli,
Julio Ávila,
Ali Mobasheri,
Pablo Martín-Vasallo
Affiliations
Fabián Poletti
Laboratorio de Biología del Desarrollo, UD de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular Instituto de Tecnologías Biomédicas de Canarias, Universidad de La Laguna, La Laguna, Av. Astrofísico Sánchez s/n, 38206 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
Rebeca González-Fernández
Laboratorio de Biología del Desarrollo, UD de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular Instituto de Tecnologías Biomédicas de Canarias, Universidad de La Laguna, La Laguna, Av. Astrofísico Sánchez s/n, 38206 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
María-del-Pino García
Department of Pathology, Eurofins® Megalab-Hospiten Hospitals, 38001 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
Deborah Rotoli
Laboratorio de Biología del Desarrollo, UD de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular Instituto de Tecnologías Biomédicas de Canarias, Universidad de La Laguna, La Laguna, Av. Astrofísico Sánchez s/n, 38206 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
Julio Ávila
Laboratorio de Biología del Desarrollo, UD de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular Instituto de Tecnologías Biomédicas de Canarias, Universidad de La Laguna, La Laguna, Av. Astrofísico Sánchez s/n, 38206 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
Ali Mobasheri
Research Unit of Medical Imaging, Physics and Technology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oulu, 90570 Oulu, Finland
Pablo Martín-Vasallo
Laboratorio de Biología del Desarrollo, UD de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular Instituto de Tecnologías Biomédicas de Canarias, Universidad de La Laguna, La Laguna, Av. Astrofísico Sánchez s/n, 38206 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most prevalent chronic conditions affecting the adult population. OA is no longer thought to come from a purely biomechanical origin but rather one that has been increasingly recognized to include a persistent low-grade inflammatory component. Intra-articular corticosteroid injections (IACSI) have become a widely used method for treating pain in patients with OA as an effective symptomatic treatment. However, as the disease progresses, IACSI become ineffective. FKBP51 is a regulatory protein of the glucocorticoid receptor function and have been shown to be dysregulated in several pathological scenario’s including chronic inflammation. Despite of these facts, to our knowledge, there are no previous studies of the expression and possible role of FKBP51 in OA. We investigated by double and triple immunofluorescence confocal microscopy the cellular and subcellular expression of FKBP51 and its relations with inflammation factors in osteoarthritic knee joint tissues: specifically, in the tibial plateau knee cartilage, Hoffa’s fat pad and suprapatellar synovial tissue of the knee. Our results show co-expression of FKBP51 with TNF-α, IL-6, CD31 and CD34 in OA chondrocytes, synovial membrane cells and adipocytes in Hoffa’s fat pad. FKBP51 is also abundant in nerve fibers within the fat pad. Co-expression of FKBP51 protein with these markers may be indicative of its contribution to inflammatory processes and associated chronic pain in OA.
