Abstract
Induction of NF-κB–dependent gene expression plays an important role in a number of biological processes including inflammation and ischemia-reperfusion injury. However, few attempts aimed at selective regulation of this transcription factor have been successful. We report here that a naturally occurring antibacterial peptide PR39 reversibly binds to the α7 subunit of the 26S proteasome and blocks degradation of NF-κB inhibitor IκBα by the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway without affecting overall proteasome activity. IκBα phosphorylation and ubiquitination occur normally after PR39 treatment, and binding of valosin-containing proteins is not impaired. The inhibition of IκBα degradation abolishes induction of NF-κB–dependent gene expression in cell culture and in mouse models of acute pancreatitis and myocardial infarction, including upregulation of endothelial adhesion proteins VCAM-1 and ICAM-1. In the latter model, sustained infusion of PR39 peptide resulted in significant reduction of myocardial infarct size. PR39 and related peptides may provide novel means to regulate cellular function and to control of NF-κB–dependent gene expression for therapeutic purposes.
Authors
Youhe Gao, Stewart Lecker, Mark J. Post, Antti J. Hietaranta, Jian Li, Rudiger Volk, Min Li, Kaori Sato, Ashok K. Saluja, Michael L. Steer, Alfred L. Goldberg, Michael Simons
Abstract
Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) is prominently overexpressed after myocardial infarction (MI). We tested the hypothesis that mice with targeted deletion of
Authors
Anique Ducharme, Stefan Frantz, Masanori Aikawa, Elena Rabkin, Merry Lindsey, Luis E. Rohde, Frederick J. Schoen, Ralph A. Kelly, Zena Werb, Peter Libby, Richard T. Lee
Abstract
Elastases degrade the extracellular matrix, releasing growth factors and chemotactic peptides, inducing glycoproteins such as tenascin, and thereby promoting vascular cell proliferation and migration. Administration of serine elastase inhibitors reduces experimentally induced vascular disease. The ability to mount an intrinsic anti-elastase response may, therefore, protect against intimal/medial thickening after vascular injury. To investigate this, we showed that wire-induced endothelial denudation of the carotid artery is associated with transient elevation in elastase activity and confirmed that this is abolished in transgenic mice overexpressing the serine elastase inhibitor, elafin, targeted to the cardiovascular system. Ten days after injury, nontransgenic littermates show vessel enlargement, intimal thickening, increased medial area and cellularity, and 2-fold increase in tenascin. Injured vessels in transgenic mice become enlarged but are otherwise similar to sham-operated controls. Injury-induced vessel wall thickening, which is observed only in nontransgenic mice, is related to foci of neutrophils and macrophages, in addition to smooth muscle cells that fail to stain for α-actin and are likely dedifferentiated. Our study therefore suggests that a major determinant of the vascular response to injury is the early transient induction of serine elastase activity, which leads to cellular proliferation and inflammatory cell migration.
Authors
Syed H.E. Zaidi, Xiao-Mang You, Sorana Ciura, Stacey O’Blenes, Mansoor Husain, Marlene Rabinovitch
Abstract
Bone destruction is the most difficult target in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Here, we report that local overexpression of IL-4, introduced by a recombinant human type 5 adenovirus vector (Ad5E1mIL-4) prevents joint damage and bone erosion in the knees of mice with collagen arthritis (CIA). No difference was noted in the course of CIA in the injected knee joints between Ad5E1mIL-4 and the control vector, but radiographic analysis revealed impressive reduction of joint erosion and more compact bone structure in the Ad5E1mIL-4 group. Although severe inflammation persisted in treated mice, Ad5E1mIL-4 prevented bone erosion and diminished tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) activity, indicating that local IL-4 inhibits the formation of osteoclast-like cells. Messenger RNA levels of IL-17, IL-12, and cathepsin K in the synovial tissue were suppressed, as were IL-6 and IL-12 protein production. Osteoprotegerin ligand (OPGL) expression was markedly suppressed by local IL-4, but no loss of OPG expression was noted with Ad5E1mIL-4 treatment. Finally, in in vitro studies, bone samples of patients with arthritis revealed consistent suppression by IL-4 of type I collagen breakdown. IL-4 also enhanced synthesis of type I procollagen, suggesting that it promoted tissue repair. These findings may have significant implications for the prevention of bone erosion in arthritis.
Authors
Erik Lubberts, Leo A.B. Joosten, Martine Chabaud, Liduine van den Bersselaar, Birgitte Oppers, Christina J.J. Coenen-de Roo, Carl D. Richards, Pierre Miossec, Wim B. van den Berg
Abstract
The cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) is an ATP-gated Cl– channel that regulates other epithelial transport proteins by uncharacterized mechanisms. We employed a yeast two-hybrid screen using the COOH-terminal 70 residues of CFTR to identify proteins that might be involved in such interactions. The α1 (catalytic) subunit of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) was identified as a dominant and novel interacting protein. The interaction is mediated by residues 1420–1457 in CFTR and by the COOH-terminal regulatory domain of α1-AMPK. Mutations of two protein trafficking motifs within the 38–amino acid region in CFTR each disrupted the interaction. GST-fusion protein pull-down assays in vitro and in transfected cells confirmed the CFTR-α1-AMPK interaction and also identified α2-AMPK as an interactor with CFTR. AMPK is coexpressed in CFTR-expressing cell lines and shares an apical distribution with CFTR in rat nasal epithelium. AMPK phosphorylated full-length CFTR in vitro, and AMPK coexpression with CFTR in Xenopus oocytes inhibited cAMP-activated CFTR whole-cell Cl– conductance by approximately 35–50%. Because AMPK is a metabolic sensor in cells and responds to changes in cellular ATP, regulation of CFTR by AMPK may be important in inhibiting CFTR under conditions of metabolic stress, thereby linking transepithelial transport to cell metabolic state.
Authors
Kenneth R. Hallows, Viswanathan Raghuram, Bruce E. Kemp, Lee A. Witters, J. Kevin Foskett
Abstract
We sought to delineate the molecular regulatory events involved in the energy substrate preference switch from fatty acids to glucose during cardiac hypertrophic growth. α1-adrenergic agonist–induced hypertrophy of cardiac myocytes in culture resulted in a significant decrease in palmitate oxidation rates and a reduction in the expression of the gene encoding muscle carnitine palmitoyltransferase I (M-CPT I), an enzyme involved in mitochondrial fatty acid uptake. Cardiac myocyte transfection studies demonstrated that M-CPT I promoter activity is repressed during cardiac myocyte hypertrophic growth, an effect that mapped to a peroxisome proliferator–activated receptor-α (PPARα) response element. Ventricular pressure overload studies in mice, together with PPARα overexpression studies in cardiac myocytes, demonstrated that, during hypertrophic growth, cardiac PPARα gene expression falls and its activity is altered at the posttranscriptional level via the extracellular signal–regulated kinase mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway. Hypertrophied myocytes exhibited reduced capacity for cellular lipid homeostasis, as evidenced by intracellular fat accumulation in response to oleate loading. These results indicate that during cardiac hypertrophic growth, PPARα is deactivated at several levels, leading to diminished capacity for myocardial lipid and energy homeostasis.
Authors
Philip M. Barger, Jon M. Brandt, Teresa C. Leone, Carla J. Weinheimer, Daniel P. Kelly
Abstract
The immune response to oxidized LDL (OxLDL) may play an important role in atherogenesis. Working with apoE-deficient mice, we isolated a panel of OxLDL-specific B-cell lines that secrete IgM Abs that specifically bind to oxidized phospholipids such as 1-palmitoyl-2-(5-oxovaleroyl)-sn-glycero-3-phosphorylcholine (POVPC). These Abs block uptake of OxLDL by macrophages, recognize similar oxidation-specific epitopes on apoptotic cells, and are deposited in atherosclerotic lesions. The Abs were found to be structurally and functionally identical to classic “natural” T15 anti-PC Abs that are of B-1 cell origin and are reported to provide optimal protection from virulent pneumococcal infection. These findings suggest that there has been natural selection for B-1 cells secreting oxidation-specific/T15 antibodies, both for their role in natural immune defense and for housekeeping roles against oxidation-dependent neodeterminants in health and disease.
Authors
Peter X. Shaw, Sohvi Hörkkö, Mi-Kyung Chang, Linda K. Curtiss, Wulf Palinski, Gregg J. Silverman, Joseph L. Witztum
Abstract
To clarify the physiological roles of histamine H2 receptor (H2R), we have generated histamine H2R-deficient mice by gene targeting. Homozygous mutant mice were viable and fertile without apparent abnormalities and, unexpectedly, showed normal basal gastric pH. However, the H2R-deficient mice exhibited a marked hypertrophy with enlarged folds in gastric mucosa and an elevated serum gastrin level. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed increased numbers of parietal and enterochromaffin-like (ECL) cells. Despite this hypertrophy, parietal cells in mutant mice were significantly smaller than in wild-type mice and contained enlarged secretory canaliculi with a lower density of microvilli and few typical tubulovesicles in the narrow cytoplasm. Induction of gastric acid secretion by histamine or gastrin was completely abolished in the mutant mice, but carbachol still induced acid secretion. The present study clearly demonstrates that H2R-mediated signal(s) are required for cellular homeostasis of the gastric mucosa and normally formed secretory membranes in parietal cells. Moreover, impaired acid secretion due to the absence of H2R could be overcome by the signals from cholinergic receptors.
Authors
Takashi Kobayashi, Shunsuke Tonai, Yasunobu Ishihara, Ritsuko Koga, Susumu Okabe, Takeshi Watanabe
Abstract
Exposure of skin to ultraviolet (UV) radiation is known to induce NF-κB activation, but the functional role for this pathway in UV-induced cutaneous inflammation remains uncertain. In this study, we examined whether experimentally induced sunburn reactions in mice could be prevented by blocking UV-induced, NF-κB–dependent gene transactivation with oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) containing the NF-κB cis element (NF-κB decoy ODNs). UV-induced secretion of IL-1, IL-6, TNF-α, and VEGF by skin-derived cell lines was inhibited by the decoy ODNs, but not by the scrambled control ODNs. Systemic or local injection of NF-κB decoy ODNs also inhibited cutaneous swelling responses to UV irradiation. Moreover, local UV-induced inflammatory changes (swelling, leukocyte infiltration, epidermal hyperplasia, and accumulation of proinflammatory cytokines) were all inhibited specifically by topically applied decoy ODNs. Importantly, these ODNs had no effect on alternative types of cutaneous inflammation caused by irritant or allergic chemicals. These results indicate that sunburn reactions culminate from inflammatory events that are triggered by UV-activated transcription of NF-κB target genes, rather than from nonspecific changes associated with tissue damage.
Authors
Kazuhiro Abeyama, William Eng, James V. Jester, Arie A. Vink, Dale Edelbaum, Clay J. Cockerell, Paul R. Bergstresser, Akira Takashima
Abstract
Pancreatic islet transplantation represents a potential treatment for insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. However, the precise cellular and molecular mechanisms of the immune reactions against allogeneic and xenogeneic transplanted islets remain unclear. Here, we demonstrate that CD4+ Vα14 natural killer T (NKT) cells, a recently identified lymphoid cell lineage, are required for the acceptance of intrahepatic rat islet xenografts. An anti-CD4 mAb, administrated after transplantation, allowed islet xenografts to be accepted by C57BL/6 mice, with no need for immunosuppressive drugs. The dose of anti-CD4 mAb was critical, and the beneficial effect appeared to be associated with the reappearance of CD4+ NKT cells at around 14 days after transplantation. Interestingly, rat islet xenografts were rejected, despite the anti-CD4 mAb treatment, in Vα14 NKT cell–deficient mice, which exhibit the normal complement of conventional lymphoid cells; adoptive transfer of Vα14 NKT cells into Vα14 NKT cell–deficient mice restored the acceptance of rat islet xenografts. In addition, rat islet xenografts were accepted by Vα14 NKT mice having only Vα14 NKT cells and no other lymphoid cells. These results indicate that Vα14 NKT cells play a crucial role in the acceptance of rat islet xenografts in mice treated with anti-CD4 antibody, probably by serving as immunosuppressive regulatory cells.
Authors
Yasuto Ikehara, Yohichi Yasunami, Shohta Kodama, Takanobu Maki, Masahiko Nakano, Toshinori Nakayama, Masaru Taniguchi, Seiyo Ikeda
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