scholarly journals Role of Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases in Peptidoglycan-Induced Expression of Inducible Nitric Oxide Synthase and Nitric Oxide in Mouse Peritoneal Macrophages: Extracellular Signal-Related Kinase, a Negative Regulator

2011 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 994-1001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kunal H. Bhatt ◽  
Ajit Sodhi ◽  
Rituparna Chakraborty

ABSTRACTThe expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and the production of nitric oxide (NO) are important host defense mechanisms against pathogens in mononuclear phagocytes. The objectives of this study were to examine the roles of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and transcription factors (nuclear factor-κB [NF-κB] and activating protein 1 [AP-1]) in peptidoglycan (PGN)-induced iNOS expression and NO production in macrophages. PGN is a cell wall component of Gram-positive bacteria that stimulates inflammatory responses bothex vivoandin vivo. PGN stimulates the activation of all three classes of MAPKs, extracellular signal-related kinase (ERK), c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), and p38mapkin macrophages, albeit with differential activation kinetics. Using a selective inhibitor of JNK (SP600125) and JNK1/2 small interfering RNA (siRNA) knocked-down macrophages, it was observed that PGN-induced iNOS and NO expression is significantly inhibited. This suggested that JNK MAPK plays an essential role in PGN-induced iNOS expression and NO production. In contrast, inhibition of the ERK pathway using PD98059 dose dependently enhanced PGN-induced iNOS expression and NO production. PGN-induced ERK activation was attenuated in ERK1/2 siRNA knocked-down macrophages; however, NO and iNOS expression were significantly enhanced. An electrophoretic mobility shift assay showed that SP600125 inhibited PGN-induced NF-κB and AP-1 activation, whereas inhibition of the ERK pathway enhanced NF-κB activation, but with no effect on AP-1. These results indicate that the JNK MAPK positively regulate PGN-induced iNOS and NO expression by activating NF-κB and AP-1 transcription factors, whereas the ERK pathway plays a negative regulatory role via affecting NF-κB activity.

2003 ◽  
Vol 82 (3) ◽  
pp. 183-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Yamaza ◽  
K.F. Masuda ◽  
Y. Tsukiyama ◽  
K. Nishijima ◽  
R. Murakami ◽  
...  

NF-κB plays a pivotal role in pathogenesis in general arthritis. However, the participation of NF-κB in inflammation of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is poorly understood. We examined NF-κB expression in rat TMJs with synovitis induced by condyle hypermobility. By immunohistochemistry, NF-κB immunoreactivity was found mainly in the cytoplasm, not the nucleus, of the synovial lining cells of induced-synovitis and control TMJs. Southwestern histochemistry, a new method for detecting transcription factors, showed greater NF-κB expression in the nucleus of the synovial lining cells in the hypertrophic synovium than in control synovium. Increased numbers of the synovial lining cells with immunoreactivity for inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), which is transcriptionally regulated by NF-κB, were also seen in the inflamed synovium. These findings indicate that excess mechanical stress increases NF-κB activation in the TMJ and suggest that active NF-κB is involved in the progression of TMJ inflammation.


2008 ◽  
Vol 295 (1) ◽  
pp. L96-L103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Viktor Brovkovych ◽  
Xiao-Pei Gao ◽  
Evan Ong ◽  
Svitlana Brovkovych ◽  
Marie-Luise Brennan ◽  
...  

The myeloperoxidase (MPO)-hydrogen peroxide-halide system is an efficient oxygen-dependent antimicrobial component of polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN)-mediated host defense. However, MPO deficiency results in few clinical consequences indicating the activation of compensatory mechanisms. Here, we determined possible mechanisms protecting the host using MPO−/−mice challenged with live gram-negative bacterium Escherichia coli. We observed that MPO−/−mice unexpectedly had improved survival compared with wild-type (WT) mice within 5–12 h after intraperitoneal E. coli challenge. Lungs of MPO−/−mice also demonstrated lower bacterial colonization and markedly attenuated increases in microvascular permeability and edema formation after E. coli challenge compared with WT. However, PMN sequestration in lungs of both groups was similar. Basal inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression was significantly elevated in lungs and PMNs of MPO−/−mice, and NO production was increased two- to sixfold compared with WT. Nitrotyrosine levels doubled in lungs of WT mice within 1 h after E. coli challenge but did not change in MPO−/−mice. Inhibition of iNOS in MPO−/−mice significantly increased lung edema and reduced their survival after E. coli challenge, but iNOS inhibitor had the opposite effect in WT mice. Thus augmented iNOS expression and NO production in MPO−/−mice compensate for the lack of HOCl-mediated bacterial killing, and the absence of MPO-derived oxidants mitigates E. coli sepsis-induced lung inflammation and injury.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafael Simone Saia ◽  
Fabíola Leslie Mestriner ◽  
Giuliana Bertozi ◽  
Fernando Queiróz Cunha ◽  
Evelin Capellari Cárnio

Cholecystokinin (CCK) was first described as a gastrointestinal hormone. However, apart from its gastrointestinal effects, studies have described that CCK also plays immunoregulatory roles. Taking in account the involvement of inducible nitric oxide synthase- (iNOS-) derived NO in the sepsis context, the present study was undertaken to investigate the role of CCK on iNOS expression in LPS-activated peritoneal macrophages. Our results revealed that CCK reduces NO production and attenuates the iNOS mRNA expression and protein formation. Furthermore, CCK inhibited the nuclear factor- (NF-)κB pathway reducing IκBαdegradation and minor p65-dependent translocation to the nucleus. Moreover, CCK restored the intracellular cAMP content activating the protein kinase A (PKA) pathway, which resulted in a negative modulatory role on iNOS expression. In peritoneal macrophages, the CCK-1R expression, but not CCK-2R, was predominant and upregulated by LPS. The pharmacological studies confirmed that CCK-1R subtype is the major receptor responsible for the biological effects of CCK. These data suggest an anti-inflammatory role for the peptide CCK in modulating iNOS-derived NO synthesis, possibly controlling the macrophage activation through NF-κB, cAMP-PKA, and CCK-1R pathways. Based on these findings, CCK could be used as an adjuvant agent to modulate the inflammatory response and prevent systemic complications commonly found during sepsis.


Blood ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 93 (6) ◽  
pp. 1843-1850 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kotaro Hori ◽  
Parris R. Burd ◽  
Keizo Furuke ◽  
Joseph Kutza ◽  
Karis A. Weih ◽  
...  

Nitric oxide (NO) plays an important role in normal neural cell function. Dysregulated or overexpression of NO contributes to neurologic damage associated with various pathologies, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-associated neurological disease. Previous studies suggest that HIV-infected monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM) produce low levels of NO in vitro and that inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) is expressed in the brain of patients with neurologic disease. However, the levels of NO could not account for the degree of neural toxicity observed. In this study, we found that induction of iNOS with concomitant production of NO occurred in primary human astrocytes, but not in MDM, when astrocytes were cocultured with HIV-1–infected MDM. This coincided with decreased HIV replication in infected MDM. Supernatants from cocultures of infected MDM and astrocytes also stimulated iNOS/NO expression in astrocytes, but cytokines known to induce iNOS expression (interferon-γ, interleukin-1β, and tumor necrosis factor-) were not detected. In addition, the recombinant HIV-1 envelope protein gp41, but not rgp120, induced iNOS in cocultures of uninfected MDM and astrocytes. This suggests that astrocytes may be an important source of NO production due to dysregulated iNOS expression and may constitute one arm of the host response resulting in suppression of HIV-1 replication in the brain. It also leads us to speculate that neurologic damage observed in HIV disease may ensue from prolonged, high level production of NO.


2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keisuke Imoto ◽  
Muneyoshi Okada ◽  
Hideyuki Yamawaki

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) leads to lethal right ventricular failure (RVF). Periostin (POSTN) mRNA expression is increased in right ventricles (RVs) of monocrotaline (MCT)-induced PAH model rats. However, the pathophysiological role of POSTN in RVF has not been clarified. We investigated the effects of POSTN on inducible nitric oxide (NO) synthase (iNOS) expression and NO production, which causes cardiac dysfunction, in right ventricular fibroblasts (RVFbs). Male Wistar rats were intraperitoneally injected with MCT (60 mg/kg) or saline. Three weeks after injection, RVFbs were isolated from RVs of MCT- or saline-injected rats (MCT-RVFb or CONT-RVFb). In MCT-RVFb, iNOS expression and phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2), c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) were higher than those in CONT-RVFb. Recombinant POSTN increased iNOS expression and NO production, which were prevented by a pharmacological inhibition of ERK1/2, JNK or NF-κB in RVFbs isolated from normal rats. Culture medium of POSTN-stimulated RVFbs suppressed Ca2+ inflow through l-type Ca2+ channel (LTCC) in H9c2 cardiomyoblasts. We demonstrated that POSTN enhances iNOS expression and subsequent NO production via ERK1/2, JNK, and NF-κB signaling pathways in RVFbs. POSTN might mediate RVF through the suppression of LTCC activity of cardiomyocytes by producing NO from RVFbs in PAH model rats.


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