Interleukin-6 and cyclic AMP stimulate release of cathepsin B in human osteoblasts

Quantitative Proteomics Reveal That CB2R Agonist JWH-133 Downregulates NF-κB Activation, Oxidative Stress, and Lysosomal Exocytosis from HIV-Infected Macrophages

HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) affect 15-55% of HIV-positive patients and effective therapies are unavailable. HIV-infected monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM) invade the brain of these individuals, promoting neurotoxicity. We demonstrated an increased expression of cathepsin B (CATB), a lysosomal protease, in monocytes and post-mortem brain tissues of women with HAND. Increased CATB release from HIV-infected MDM leads to neurotoxicity, and their secretion is associated with NF-κB activation, oxidative stress, and lysosomal exocytosis. Cannabinoid receptor 2 (CB2R) agonist, JWH-133, decreases HIV-1 replication, CATB secretion, and neurotoxicity from HIV-infected MDM, but the mechanisms are not entirely understood. We hypothesized that HIV-1 infection upregulates the expression of proteins associated with oxidative stress and that a CB2R agonist could reverse these effects. MDM were isolated from healthy women donors (n = 3), infected with HIV-1ADA, and treated with JWH-133. After 13 days post-infection, cell lysates were labeled by Tandem Mass Tag (TMT) and analyzed by LC/MS/MS quantitative proteomics bioinformatics. While HIV-1 infection upregulated CATB, NF-κB signaling, Nrf2-mediated oxidative stress response, and lysosomal exocytosis, JWH-133 treatment downregulated the expression of the proteins involved in these pathways. Our results suggest that JWH-133 is a potential alternative therapy against HIV-induced neurotoxicity and warrant in vivo studies to test its potential against HAND.

Hormonal-receptor positive breast cancer: IL-6 augments invasion and lymph node metastasis via stimulating cathepsin B expression

Hormonal-receptor positive (HRP) breast cancer patients with positive metastatic axillary lymph nodes are characterized by poor prognosis and increased mortality rate. The mechanisms by which cancer cells invade lymph nodes have not yet been fully explored. Several studies have shown that expression of IL-6 and the proteolytic enzyme cathepsin B (CTSB) was associated with breast cancer poor prognosis. In the present study, the effect of different concentrations of recombinant human IL-6 on the invasiveness capacity of HRP breast cancer cell line MCF-7 was tested using an in vitro invasion chamber assay. The impact of IL-6 on expression and activity of CTSB was also investigated. IL-6 treatment promoted the invasiveness potential of MCF-7 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, MCF-7 cells displayed elevated CTSB expression and activity associated with loss of E-cadherin and upregulation of vimentin protein levels upon IL-6 stimulation. To validate these results in vivo, the level of expression of IL-6 and CTSB in the carcinoma tissues of HRP-breast cancer patients with positive and negative axillary metastatic lymph nodes (pLNs and nLNs) was assessed. Western blot and immunohistochemical staining data showed that expression of IL-6 and CTSB was higher in carcinoma tissues in HRP-breast cancer with pLNs than those with nLNs patients. ELISA results showed carcinoma tissues of HRP-breast cancer with pLNs exhibited significantly elevated IL-6 protein levels by approximately 2.8-fold compared with those with nLNs patients (P < 0.05). Interestingly, a significantly positive correlation between IL-6 and CTSB expression was detected in clinical samples of HRP-breast cancer patients with pLNs (r = 0.78, P < 0.01). Collectively, this study suggests that IL-6-induced CTSB may play a role in lymph node metastasis, and that may possess future therapeutic implications for HRP-breast cancer patients with pLNs. Further studies are necessary to fully identify IL-6/CTSB axis in different molecular subtypes of breast cancer.

Dysregulated serum IL-23 and SIRT1 activity in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Sirtuin 1 (Sirt1) is a class III histone deacetylase (HDAC) that modulates gene expression and is involved in the regulation of proinflammatory cytokines. Interleukin-23 (IL-23) is produced by activated macrophages and dendritic cells and could fuel the progression of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The goal of our study was to evaluate serum IL-23 levels and both Sirt1 activity and expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in patients with RA compared to healthy controls (HC) and to determine the relationship between Sirt1 activity/expression and IL-23 levels. We assessed apoptosis in PBMCs of RA patients and its association with Sirt1 expression and serum IL-23. Serum IL-23 levels were increased in RA patients in comparison with controls. We found a positive correlation between the levels of serum IL-23 and serum IL-6 in RA patients. Decreased cytoplasmic Sirt1 activity was observed in RA patients with severe disease compared to HC. The expression of Sirt1 protein was significantly decreased in PBMCs of RA patients compared to HC using western blotting. Serum IL-23 levels correlated positively with the cytoplasmic Sirt1 activity in RA patients. Apoptosis rate of PBMCs isolated from RA patients was increased compared to HC and correlated negatively with the expression of Sirt1 protein and serum IL-23 levels. Levels of serum IL-23 and Sirt1 activity and expression were disturbed in RA parallel to increased PBMC apoptosis. Our findings might provide the rationale for the development of new therapeutic approaches in RA.

Resveratrol, a sirtuin 1 activator, increases IL-6 production by peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with knee osteoarthritis

BACKGROUND

Sirtuin 1 (Sirt1) is a nuclear enzyme from the class III histone deacetylases that modulates gene expression and is involved in bone and cartilage remodeling. The goal of our study was to evaluate Sirt1 activity in peripheral blood mononuclear cells in patients with osteoarthritis in comparison with control patients, and to determine the relationship between Sirt1 activity and production of TNFα, IL-6 and IL-8 by peripheral blood mononuclear cells after ex vivo treatment with resveratrol, a Sirt1 activator.

RESULTS

A prospective study was performed to compare the activity of Sirt1 in patients with primary osteoarthritis of the knee (American College of Rheumatology criteria) with its activity in controls. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated from peripheral blood, and Sirt1 activity evaluated from cytoplasmic and nuclear compartments using a fluorometric assay. Culture supernatant levels of TNFα, IL-6, and IL-8 were quantified before and after resveratrol ex vivo treatment. Nineteen patients with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis (age 64 ±9 years) and 18 controls (age 54 ±13 years) were included. No differences were found in cytoplasmic or nuclear Sirt1 activity between patients and controls. After resveratrol treatment, no changes in TNFα or IL-8 levels were found, but a significant dose-dependent increase in IL-6 levels was demonstrated in patients with osteoarthritis, but not controls. Sirt1 activity did not correlate with clinical activity (Lequesne's index) or inflammation (erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein).

CONCLUSION

Sirt1 activity (cytoplasmic and nuclear) from peripheral blood mononuclear cells did not differ between patients with osteoarthritis and controls. Ex vivo treatment of peripheral blood mononuclear cells with resveratrol was associated with a dose-dependent increase in IL-6 levels only in patients with osteoarthritis.

Tumor necrosis factor α-mediated cleavage and inactivation of SirT1 in human osteoarthritic chondrocytes

OBJECTIVE

The protein deacetylase SirT1 positively regulates cartilage-specific gene expression, while the proinflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) negatively regulates these same genes. This study was undertaken to test the hypothesis that SirT1 is adversely affected by TNFα, resulting in altered gene expression.

METHODS

Cartilage-specific gene expression, SirT1 activity, and results of chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis at the α2(I) collagen enhancer site were determined in RNA, protein extracts, and nuclei of human osteoarthritic chondrocytes left untreated or treated with TNFα. Protein extracts from human chondrocytes transfected with epitope-tagged SirT1 that had been left untreated or had been treated with TNFα were analyzed by immunoblotting with SirT1 and epitope-specific antibodies. The 75-kd SirT1-reactive protein present in TNFα-treated extracts was identified by mass spectroscopy, and its amino-terminal cleavage site was identified via Edman sequencing. SirT1 activity was assayed following an in vitro cathepsin B cleavage reaction. Cathepsin B small interfering RNA (siRNA) was transfected into chondrocytes left untreated or treated with TNFα.

RESULTS

TNFα-treated chondrocytes had impaired SirT1 enzymatic activity and displayed 2 forms of the enzyme: a full-length 110-kd protein and a smaller 75-kd fragment. The 75-kd SirT1 fragment was found to lack the carboxy-terminus. Cathepsin B was identified as the TNFα-responsive protease that cleaves SirT1 at residue 533. Reducing cathepsin B levels via siRNA following TNFα exposure blocked the generation of the 75-kd SirT1 fragment.

CONCLUSION

These data indicate that TNFα, a cytokine that mediates joint inflammation in arthritis, induces cathepsin B-mediated cleavage of SirT1, resulting in reduced SirT1 activity. This reduced SirT1 activity correlates with the reduced cartilage-specific gene expression evident in these TNFα-treated cells.

Effects of interleukin-6 ablation on fracture healing in mice

This study examined the impact of an interleukin-6 (IL-6) knockout on fracture healing in terms of histological and biomechanical responses. Following IACUC approval, tibial fractures were produced in 4- to 6-week-old IL-6 knockouts (n = 35) and wild-type mice (n = 36) and harvested along with contralateral limbs at 2 and 6 weeks postsurgery. Histology quantified stage of healing, lymphocyte infiltration, TRAP+ cells, and osteocalcin deposition. Bend testing established maximum load and stiffness. Based on normality assessments, Mann-Whitney U or independent t-tests were used for data analysis using a p-value threshold of 0.05. Stage of healing, lymphocyte infiltration, and osteocalcin deposition were similar for all time points (p ≥ 0.243). TRAP+ cell counts were reduced approximately 10-fold in the knockout at 2 weeks (p = 0.015) but were similar at 6 weeks (p = 0.689). Force-to-failure in knockouts was approximately 40% that of wild-type mice at 2 weeks (p = 0.040) but similar at 6 weeks (p = 0.735). Knockout bone was about 25% less stiff at 2 weeks but approximately 60% stiffer at 6 weeks (p ≥ 0.110). The absence of IL-6 during early fracture healing significantly reduced osteoclastogenesis and impaired callus strength. By 6 weeks, most histological and biomechanical parameters were similar to fractures in wild-type bone.

Cytokines regulate cysteine cathepsins during TLR responses

TLR activation is an important component of innate immunity but also contributes to the severity of inflammatory diseases. Cysteine cathepsins (Cat) B, L and S, which are endosomal and lysosomal proteases, participate in numerous physiological systems and are upregulated during various inflammatory disorders and cancers. Macrophages have the highest cathepsin expression and are major contributors to inflammation and tissue damage during chronic inflammatory diseases. We investigated the impact of TLR activation on macrophage Cat B, L and S activities using live-cell enzymatic assays. TLR2, TLR3 and TLR4 ligands increased intracellular activities of these cathepsins in a differential manner. TLR4-induced cytokines increased proteolytic activities without changing mRNA expression of cathepsins or their endogenous inhibitors. Neutralizing antibodies recognizing TNF-α, IL-1β and IFN-β differentially eliminated cathepsin upregulation. These findings indicate cytokines induced by MyD88-dependent and -independent signaling cascades regulate cathepsin activities during macrophage responses to TLR stimulation.

Interleukin-6 induces microglial CX3CR1 expression in the spinal cord after peripheral nerve injury through the activation of p38 MAPK

Peripheral nerve injury leading to neuropathic pain induces the upregulation of interleukin (IL)-6 and microglial CX3CR1 expression, and activation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) in the spinal cord. Here, we investigated whether IL-6 regulates CX3CR1 expression through p38 MAPK activation in the spinal cord in rats with chronic constriction injury (CCI) of the sciatic nerve. Similar temporal changes in the expression of IL-6, phosphorylated p38 MAPK and CX3CR1 were observed following CCI. The increases in CX3CR1 expression, p38 MAPK activation and pain behavior after CCI were suppressed by blocking IL-6 action with a neutralizing antibody, while they were enhanced by supplying exogenous recombinant rat IL-6 (rrIL-6). rrIL-6 also induced increases in spinal CX3CR1 expression, p38 MAPK activation and pain behavior in naive rats without nerve injury. Furthermore, treatment with the p38 MAPK-specific inhibitor, SB203580, suppressed the increase in CX3CR1 expression induced by CCI or rrIL-6 treatment. Finally, blocking CX3CR1 or p38 MAPK activation prevented the development of mechanical allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia induced by CCI or rrIL-6 treatment. These results suggest a new mechanism of neuropathic pain, in which IL-6 induces microglial CX3CR1 expression in the spinal cord through p38 MAPK activation, enhancing the responsiveness of microglia to fractalkine in the spinal cord, thus playing an important role in neuropathic pain after peripheral nerve injury.

Recent advances in neutralizing the IL-6 pathway in arthritis

Recent advances in understanding the mechanism(s) of how IL-6 trans-signaling regulates immune cell function and promotes inflammation in autoimmune arthritis are critically reviewed. Serum and/or synovial fluid (SF) IL-6 is markedly elevated in adult and juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and osteoarthritis (OA). IL-6, in concert with IL-17, determines the fate of CD4⁺ lymphocytes and therefore TH₁₇ cell differentiation. IL-6 also plays a critical role in modulating B-lymphocyte activity. The recognition that IL-6 trans-signaling regulates inflammation resulted in the development of tocilizumab, a fully humanized monoclonal antibody that neutralizes the biological activity of the IL-6-receptor (IL-6R). Significant clinical benefit was demonstrated as well as reduced serum IL-6 levels with suppression of X-ray progression of disease in several clinical trials in which juvenile or adult RA patients were treated with tocilizumab monotherapy or tocilizumab plus methotrexate. However, levels of serum and/or SF IL-6 cytokine protein superfamily members, adiponectin, oncostatin M, pre-B-cell colony enhancing factor/visfatin and leukemia inhibitory factor are also elevated in RA. Additional studies will be required to determine if anti-IL-6 trans-signaling inhibition strategies with tocilizumab or recombinant soluble IL-6R reduce the level of these cytokines.

Evaluation of plasma urokinase-type plasminogen activator and urokinase-type plasminogen-activator receptor in patients with acute and chronic hepatitis B

INTRODUCTION

Urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) and urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) are known to be important factors in the pathogenesis of tumors and certain non-viral inflammatory diseases. However, their role in infectious virus diseases such as hepatitis B has been less well studied. This study aimed to test the hypothesis that the abnormalities of fibrinolysis and degradation of extracellular matrix mediated by uPA and uPAR are directly related to the inflammatory damage to liver cells caused by the hepatitis B virus. We therefore analyzed their role and clinicopathological significance in patients with acute or chronic hepatitis B.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Eighty patients with acute or chronic hepatitis B, together with 30 healthy controls, were enrolled. uPA and uPAR in plasma were detected by commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits.

RESULTS

The levels of uPA and uPAR in patients with acute or chronic hepatitis B significantly exceeded those in healthy controls (p<0.05). Patients with severe chronic hepatitis B had significantly higher levels of uPA and uPAR than those with moderate and mild chronic disease (p<0.05) and those with acute hepatitis B (p<0.05). Moreover, the plasma uPA and uPAR markedly increased in the acute stage (p<0.05) and dramatically decreased in the remission stage (p<0.05), but in all stages levels exceeded those in healthy subjects (p<0.05). In addition, the concentration of plasma uPAR was positively correlated with prothrombin (PT) (r=0.605, p<0.01) and total bilirubin (TBIL) (r=0.649, p<0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

It is suggested that the plasma levels of uPA and uPAR are closely related to the degree and period of inflammation in patients with acute or chronic hepatitis B, and that uPA and uPAR might be important indicators for disease progression.