Characterization of glucocorticoid inhibition of antigen-induced inositolphosphate formation by rat basophilic leukemia cells: possible involvement of phosphatases

Multiplicity of Glucocorticoid Action in Inhibiting Allograft Rejection

Glucocorticoids (GCs) are used as immunosuppressive and antiinflammatory agents in organ transplantation and in treating autoimmune diseases and inflammatory disorders. GCs were shown to exert their antiproliferative effects directly through blockade of certain elements of an early membrane-associated signal transduction pathway, modulation of the expression of select adhesion molecules, and by suppression of cytokine synthesis and action. GCs may act indirectly by inducing lipocortin synthesis, which in turn, inhibits arachidonic acid release from membrane-bound stores, and also by inducing transforming growth factor (TGF)-β expression that subsequently blocks cytokine synthesis and T cell activation. Furthermore, by preferentially inhibiting the production of Th1 cytokines, GCs may enhance Th2 cell activity and, hence, precipitate a long-lasting state of tolerance through a preferential promotion of a Th2 cytokine-secreting profile. In exerting their antiproliferative effects, GCs influence both transcriptional and posttranscriptional events by binding their cytosolic receptor (GR), which subsequently binds the promoter region of cytokine genes on select DNA sites compatible with the GCs responsible elements (GRE) motif. In addition to direct DNA binding, GCs may also directly bind to, and hence antagonize, nuclear factors required for efficient gene expression, thereby markedly reducing transcriptional rate. The pleiotrophy of the GCs action, coupled with the diverse experimental conditions employed in assessing the GCs effects, indicate that GCs may utilize more than one mechanism in inhibiting T cell activation, and warrant careful scrutiny in assigning a mechanism by which GCs exert their antiproliferative effects. © 1998 Elsevier Science Inc.

Acute and chronic effects of estrogenic compounds on glutamate-stimulated phosphatidylinositol metabolism in primary neuronal cultures

Glutamate (Glu)-stimulated phosphatidylinositol (PI) metabolism in primary neuronal cultures was found to be modulated by acute and chronic treatment with two estrogenic compounds. 17 beta-Estradiol 3-benzoate (0.1 and 1 microM), when applied with Glu, significantly reduced Glu (40 microM)-stimulated PI metabolism by 20-36%, an effect not seen with 17 alpha-estradiol. The weak estrogen phenol red (20 microM), had no effect when added immediately before Glu stimulations. Two-week pretreatment with 17 beta-estradiol 3-benzoate (1 microM) resulted in a significant decrease in Glu-stimulated PI metabolism (10-100 microM). Chronic treatment with 20 microM phenol red, at a concentration commonly found in culture medium, resulted in parallel but not statistically significant effects to those observed with chronic estradiol treatment. Estrogenic compounds may modulate the excitatory responses of neurons by both genomic and non-genomic means.

Regulation of apoptosis by steroid hormones

Steroid hormones play major roles in regulation in growth, development, homeostasis, and cell death. Together with other hormones and growth factors, steroids regulate both the function and cellular composition of organs throughout the body. In this article we will discuss the mechanisms of steroid hormone regulated apoptosis. Emphasis will be placed on the effect of glucocorticoids on lymphoid cells.

A role for reactive oxygen species in zymosan and beta-glucan induced protein tyrosine phosphorylation and phospholipase A2 activation in murine macrophages

Previously we have shown that reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation induced by phorbol ester in association with vanadate is essential for protein tyrosine phosphorylation and phospholipase A2 (PLA2) activation. Here we show that the interaction of beta-glucan particles (glucanp) or zymosan with complement receptor type 3 (CR3) leads, when associated with vanadate, to a cascade of reactions culminating in PLA2 activation. Vanadate + zymosan (or glucanp) markedly enhance protein tyrosine phosphorylation in bone marrow derived macrophages (BMMs), whereas neither of the agents alone has any effect. The enhancement was due to both sustained activation of protein tyrosine kinase (PTK) and inactivation of protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP) as assessed in lysates of treated cells. Zymosan elevates membranal PKC, an effect that is potentiated by vanadate. Activation of both PTK and PKC leads to the activation of NADPH oxidase and to ROS formation. The formed ROS together with vanadate are potent inactivators of PTP leading to amplification of tyrosine phosphorylation and myelin basic protein kinase (MBP-K) activation. The activation of the cascade of protein kinases eventually leads to activation of PLA2. All the activation steps, i.e., activation of PTK, NADPH oxidase, MBP-K,PLA2 and the inactivation of PTP are sensitive to the NADPH oxidase inhibitor diphenyleneiodonium (DPI), to antioxidants and to PKC inhibitors. Thus, ROS formation (in the presence of vanadate) is critical for protein phosphorylation processes constituting the regulatory pathway of PLA2 activation by ligand-CR3 interaction.