Issue Archive

[S100A8 protein in inflammation.] [Article in Chinese]

XU Yu-Dong, YIN Lei-Miao, WANG Yu, WEI Ying, YANG Yong-Qing^*

Shanghai Research Institute of Acupuncture and Meridian, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 200030, China

Abstract

S100A8, an important member of the S100 protein family, is a low-molecular-weight (10.8 kDa) calcium-binding protein containing conserved EF-hand structural motifs. Previous studies have shown that the biological function of S100A8 protein is associated with a variety of inflammatory diseases, for example asthma. S100A8 protein plays important roles in the regulation of inflammation. It can activate inflammatory cells and cytokines via chemotactic activity for neutrophils, and bind to the receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) and Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), thus mediating intracellular inflammatory signaling transduction. Additionally, recent studies have reported the anti-inflammation activity of S100A8 protein, which indicates that S100A8 may have a more complex function of biological regulation in the different pathophysiological conditions. In this review, we summarized the studies on the functions and molecular mechanisms of S100A8 protein in inflammation, which would propose a novel strategy for the prophylaxis and treatment of asthma and other inflammatory diseases.

Key words: S100A8; inflammation; signal transduction; asthma

Received: 2011-10-24　　Accepted: 2011-12-21

Corresponding author: 杨永清　　E-mail: yyq@shutcm.edu.cn

Citing This Article：

XU Yu-Dong, YIN Lei-Miao, WANG Yu, WEI Ying, YANG Yong-Qing. [S100A8 protein in inflammation.] [Article in Chinese]. Acta Physiol Sin 2012; 64 (2): 231-237 (in Chinese with English abstract).