Transcriptional activation of fibroblast collagenase gene expression by a novel lymphokine, leukoregulin

Inhibition of type I collagen production by dermal fibroblasts upon contact with activated T cells: different sensitivity to inhibition between systemic sclerosis and control fibroblasts

OBJECTIVE

To assess the role of T lymphocyte-fibroblast contact in type I collagen production by cultured dermal fibroblasts from normal individuals and from patients with diffuse systemic sclerosis (SSc).

METHODS

Cell membranes were prepared from activated CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, or type 1 T helper (Th1) clones, and added to confluent fibroblast monolayers. Type I collagen production was measured in culture supernatants, and messenger RNA (mRNA) levels of type I procollagen alpha1 (pro alpha1[I]) and matrix metalloproteinase 1 (MMP-1) were evaluated by Northern hybridization analysis.

RESULTS

Dose-dependent inhibition of type I collagen production was observed with CD4+ and CD8+ T cells from both SSc patients and controls. Inhibition of type I collagen was significantly less pronounced in fibroblasts from SSc patients than in fibroblasts from controls (P < 0.02). Inhibition was not reversed by the addition of exogenous transforming growth factor beta, interleukin-4, interleukin-1 receptor antagonist, anti-tumor necrosis factor, anti-CD40, or indomethacin, whereas anti-interferon-gamma (IFNgamma) reversed Th1-mediated inhibition. This inhibitory activity was specific for type I collagen, since mRNA levels of pro alpha1(I) were decreased, whereas mRNA levels of MMP-1 were strongly increased.

CONCLUSION

The production of type I collagen by skin fibroblasts is specifically down-regulated by membranes from activated T cells. The contact-dependent regulatory activity exerted by T cells on fibroblasts depends, at least in part, on the presence of membrane-associated IFNgamma. However, SSc fibroblasts are more resistant to inhibition than are fibroblasts from normal individuals.

Leukoregulin induces plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 in human orbital fibroblasts

Leukoregulin, a 50-kDa T lymphocyte-derived cytokine, influences the synthesis of collagenase, stromelysin-1, collagen, and hyaluronan in human fibroblasts and is thus a determinant of extracellular matrix economy. We studied the effect of leukoregulin on the expression of plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 (PAI-1) in human orbital and dermal fibroblasts. The lymphokine upregulated 35S-labeled PAI-1 protein expression in orbital fibroblasts in dose-dependent manner. The effect on extracellular matrix-associated PAI-1 evolved over several hours and was maximal at 10 h, when levels were 75-fold higher than controls, and then fell by 24 h. Leukoregulin treatment increased prostaglandin E2 production in orbital cultures after 24 h. When this increase was blocked with indomethacin, peak PAI-1 levels were maintained. Northern analysis demonstrated a substantial induction of steady-state PAI-1 mRNA levels within 6 h of treatment in orbital cultures. In contrast, leukoregulin lowered PAI-1 protein levels dramatically in skin fibroblasts from the abdominal wall. With regard to PAI-1 expression, it would appear that the anatomic site of origin of fibroblasts is a crucial determinant of the cellular response to leukoregulin.

Cyclosporin A enhances cytokine and phorbol ester-induced fibroblast collagenase expression

Cyclosporin A is successfully used in the treatment of scleroderma, a condition with excessive deposition of collagen in the dermis. Cultured human dermal fibroblasts were used as a model to study the effects of cyclosporin A on metalloproteinase expression and activity. Fibroblasts were treated with collagenase inducing agents, phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), cytokines interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha), and the calcium ionophore A23187 in the presence of cyclosporin A under serum-free conditions, and alterations in metalloproteinase expression were studied by Northern hybridization and immunoblotting analyses, and assays for collagenolytic activity. Induction of collagenase expression by PMA and cytokines was enhanced severalfold by 1-10 microM cyclosporin A. Treatment of cells with cyclosporin A alone caused only a minor increase in collagenase mRNA levels. The secretion of immunoreactive collagenase protein and the level of p-aminophenylmercuric acetate activatable collagenase activity were increased by PMA and further enhanced by cyclosporin A. The expression of the other metalloproteinases stromelysin-1, 92-kD gelatinase, and 72-kD gelatinase or metalloproteinase inhibitor TIMP-1 were not affected by cyclosporin A. Time dependence analysis of the expression of the mRNAs for c-jun and junB indicated that the induction of these genes persisted significantly longer in cells treated with both PMA and cyclosporin A than in cells treated with PMA alone. Enhanced induction of collagenase mRNA may thus result from prolonged AP-1 activity. The results indicate that cyclosporin A potently enhances the expression of collagenase in dermal fibroblasts.

Transcriptional interactions of transforming growth-factor-β with pro-inflammatory cytokines

BACKGROUND

Inflammation and tissue injury are characterized by a massive infiltration of mononuclear cells. These pro-inflammatory cells, which are the precursors of an inflammatory response by the immune system, secrete a variety of cytokines and growth factors that alter the biosynthetic repertoire of the resident connective tissue cells. Specifically, expression of connective tissue matrix metalloproteinases, such as stromelysin and interstitial collagenase, is enhanced, together with the expression of chemoattractants for leukocytes, such as interleukin-8 (IL-8). These events lead to increased connective tissue degradation. We have examined the growth factor regulation of expression in cultured fibroblasts of the prototypic pro-inflammatory factors interstitial collagenase and IL-8.

RESULTS

We demonstrate that transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) does not interfere with cytokine-induced IL-8 gene expression, nor does it affect the activity of NF-kappaB-driven promoters. In contrast, TGF-beta down-regulates collagenase gene expression through the induction of the jun-B proto-oncogene. Jun-B is a negative regulator of c-jun, which mediates cytokine activation of collagenase gene expression through its action as a component of the AP-1 transcription factor.

CONCLUSION

Our data suggest that TGF-beta may attenuate the deleterious events that occur in inflammation by preventing cytokine-induced extracellular matrix degradation, although it does not affect cytokine-induced recruitment of pro-inflammatory cells. Furthermore, our data suggest a potential therapeutic use for jun-B, which may be a candidate for gene therapy in disease states that are characterized by excessive connective tissue degradation.

Cytokine regulation of metalloproteinase gene expression

Matrix metalloproteinases belong to a family of zinc-dependent enzymes capable of degrading extracellular matrix and basement membrane components. Their expression is greatly modulated by cytokines and growth factors and involves the gene products of the Fos and Jun families of oncogenes. After extra(peri)cellular activation, their activity can be further controlled by specific tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases. A correct balance between these regulatory mechanisms is necessary to ensure matrix remodeling in normal physiological processes such as embryonic development, but the overexpression of these enzymes may initiate or contribute to pathological situations such as cartilage degradation in rheumatoid arthritis or to tumor progression and metastasis. Delineation of the mechanisms of metalloproteinase and metalloproteinase inhibitors gene expression, understanding of their mode of interactions, and characterization of their patterns of expression in various tissues in normal and pathological states will lead to new therapeutic strategies to counteract the deleterious effects of matrix metalloproteinases in human disease.

Leukoregulin, a T-cell derived cytokine, upregulates stromelysin-1 gene expression in human dermal fibroblasts: evidence for the role of AP-1 in transcriptional activation

Leukoregulin (LR), a product of activated T-cells, has been recently shown to modulate the metabolism of extracellular matrix components in human skin fibroblast cultures (Mauviel et al., J Cell Biol 113:1455-1462, 1991). In this study we focused our attention on the effects of LR on the expression of stromelysin-1 gene. This matrix metalloprotease has a broad spectrum of degradative activity and it is also required for maximal activation of interstitial collagenase. Incubation of skin fibroblast cultures with LR resulted in a dose- and time-dependent elevation of stromelysin-1 mRNA levels, the maximum enhancement being up to approximately sevenfold. This effect was abolished by cycloheximide, suggesting a requirement for ongoing protein synthesis. Transient cell transfections with a promoter/reporter gene construct containing 1.3 kb of 5' flanking DNA of the human stromelysin-1 gene linked to the chloramphenicol acetyl transferase (CAT) gene, indicated enhancement of promoter activity by LR. This enhancement was abolished by a single base substitution in the AP-1 binding site of the promoter. Furthermore, gel mobility shift assays demonstrated enhanced AP-1 binding activity in nuclear extracts from cells incubated with LR. However, LR did not alter the activity of a construct containing three AP-1 sequences in front of the thymidine kinase promoter linked to the CAT gene. These results collectively suggest that activation of stromelysin-1 gene expression by LR is mediated by AP-1 regulatory elements which are necessary, but not sufficient, for gene response.