Pro-inflammatory cytokine induction of 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 in A549 cells requires phosphorylation of C/EBPβ at Thr235

Suppression of lipopolysaccharide-induced COX-2 expression via p38MAPK, JNK, and C/EBPβ phosphorylation inhibition by furomagydarin A, a benzofuran glycoside from Magydaris pastinacea

The phytochemical investigation of the methanol extract of the seeds of Magydaris pastinacea afforded two undescribed benzofuran glycosides, furomagydarins A-B (1, 2), together with three known coumarins. The structures of the new isolates were elucidated after extensive 1D and 2D NMR experiments as well as HR MS. Compound 1 was able to inhibit the COX-2 expression in RAW264.7 macrophages exposed to lipopolysaccharide, a pro-inflammatory stimulus. RT-qPCR and luciferase reporter assays suggested that compound 1 reduces COX-2 expression at the transcriptional level. Further studies highlighted the capability of compound 1 to suppress the LPS-induced p38MAPK, JNK, and C/EBPβ phosphorylation, leading to COX-2 down-regulation in RAW264.7 macrophages.

The ultra-acute steroid response to traumatic injury: a cohort study

OBJECTIVE

Trauma-induced steroid changes have been studied post-hospital admission, resulting in a lack of understanding of the speed and extent of the immediate endocrine response to injury. The Golden Hour study was designed to capture the ultra-acute response to traumatic injury.

DESIGN

We conducted an observational cohort study including adult male trauma patients <60 years, with blood samples drawn ≤1 h of major trauma by pre-hospital emergency responders.

METHODS

We recruited 31 adult male trauma patients (mean age 28 [range 19-59] years) with a mean injury severity score (ISS) of 16 (IQR 10-21). The median time to first sample was 35 (range 14-56) min, with follow-up samples collected 4-12 and 48-72 h post-injury. Serum steroids in patients and age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HCs) (n = 34) were analysed by tandem mass spectrometry.

RESULTS

Within 1 h of injury, we observed an increase in glucocorticoid and adrenal androgen biosynthesis. Cortisol and 11-hydroxyandrostendione increased rapidly, whilst cortisone and 11-ketoandrostenedione decreased, reflective of increased cortisol and 11-oxygenated androgen precursor biosynthesis by 11β-hydroxylase and increased cortisol activation by 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1. Active classic gonadal androgens testosterone and 5α-dihydrotestosterone decreased, whilst the active 11-oxygenated androgen 11-ketotestosterone maintained pre-injury levels.

CONCLUSIONS

Changes in steroid biosynthesis and metabolism occur within minutes of traumatic injury. Studies that address whether ultra-early changes in steroid metabolism are associated with patient outcomes are now required.

Glucocorticoid Production in Lymphoid Organs: Acute Effects of Lipopolysaccharide in Neonatal and Adult Mice

Glucocorticoids (GCs) are critical modulators of the immune system. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis regulates circulating GC levels and is stimulated by endotoxins. Lymphoid organs also produce GCs; however, it is not known how lymphoid GC levels are regulated in response to endotoxins. We assessed whether an acute challenge of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) increases lymphoid levels of progesterone and GCs, and expression of steroidogenic enzymes and key HPA axis components (eg, corticotropin-releasing hormone [CRH], adrenocorticotropic hormone [ACTH]). We administered LPS (50 µg/kg intraperitoneally) or vehicle control to male and female C57BL/6J neonatal (postnatal day [PND] 5) and adult (PND90) mice and collected blood, bone marrow, thymus, and spleen 4 hours later. We measured progesterone, 11-deoxycorticosterone, corticosterone, and 11-dehydrocorticosterone via liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. We measured gene expression of key steroidogenic enzymes (Cyp11b1, Hsd11b1, and Hsd11b2) and HPA axis components (Crh, Crhr1, Pomc, and Mc2r) via quantitative polymerase chain reaction. At PND5, LPS induced greater increases in steroid levels in lymphoid organs than in blood. In contrast, at PND90, LPS induced greater increases in steroid levels in blood than in lymphoid organs. Steroidogenic enzyme transcripts were present in all lymphoid organs, and LPS altered steroidogenic enzyme expression predominantly in the spleen. Lastly, we detected transcripts of key HPA axis components in all lymphoid organs, and there was an effect of LPS in the spleen. Taken together, these data suggest that LPS regulates GC production by lymphoid organs, similar to its effects on the adrenal glands, and the effects of LPS might be mediated by local expression of CRH and ACTH.

11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases: A growing multi-tasking family

This review briefly addresses the history of the discovery and elucidation of the three cloned 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11βHSD) enzymes in the human, 11βHSD1, 11βHSD2 and 11βHSD3, an NADP⁺-dependent dehydrogenase also called the 11βHSD1-like dehydrogenase (11βHSD1L), as well as evidence for yet identified 11βHSDs. Attention is devoted to more recently described aspects of this multi-functional family. The importance of 11βHSD substrates other than glucocorticoids including bile acids, 7-keto sterols, neurosteroids, and xenobiotics is discussed, along with examples of pathology when functions of these multi-tasking enzymes are disrupted. 11βHSDs modulate the intracellular concentration of glucocorticoids, thereby regulating the activation of the glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid receptors, and 7β-27-hydroxycholesterol, an agonist of the retinoid-related orphan receptor gamma (RORγ). Key functions of this nuclear transcription factor include regulation of immune cell differentiation, cytokine production and inflammation at the cell level. 11βHSD1 expression and/or glucocorticoid reductase activity are inappropriately increased with age and in obesity and metabolic syndrome (MetS). Potential causes for disappointing results of the clinical trials of selective inhibitors of 11βHSD1 in the treatment of these disorders are discussed, as well as the potential for more targeted use of inhibitors of 11βHSD1 and 11βHSD2.

Decreased 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 1 in lungs of steroid receptor coactivator (Src)-1/-2 double-deficient fetal mice is caused by impaired glucocorticoid and cytokine signaling

Our previous research revealed that steroid receptor coactivators (Src)-1 and -2 serve a critical cooperative role in production of parturition signals, surfactant protein A and platelet-activating factor, by the developing mouse fetal lung (MFL). To identify the global landscape of genes in MFL affected by Src-1/-2 double-deficiency, we conducted RNA-seq analysis of lungs from 18.5 days post-coitum (dpc) Src-1^-/- /-2^-/- (dKO) vs. WT fetuses. One of the genes most highly downregulated (~4.8 fold) in Src-1/-2 dKO fetal lungs encodes 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β-HSD1), which catalyzes conversion of inactive 11-dehydrocorticosterone to the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) ligand, corticosterone. Glucocorticoids were reported to upregulate 11β-HSD1 expression in various cell types via induction of C/EBP transcription factors. We observed that C/ebpα and C/ebpβ mRNA and protein were markedly reduced in Src-1/-2 double-deficient (Src-1/-2^d/d ) fetal lungs, compared to WT. Moreover, glucocorticoid induction of 11β-hsd1, C/ebpα and C/ebpβ in cultured MFL epithelial cells was prevented by the SRC family inhibitor, SI-2. Cytokines also contribute to the induction of 11β-HSD1. Expression of IL-1β and TNFα, which dramatically increased toward term in lungs of WT fetuses, was markedly reduced in Src-1/-2^d/d fetal lungs. Our collective findings suggest that impaired lung development and surfactant synthesis in Src-1/-2^d/d fetuses are likely caused, in part, by decreased GR and cytokine induction of C/EBP and NF-κB transcription factors. This results in reduced 11β-HSD1 expression and glucocorticoid signaling within the fetal lung, causing a break in the glucocorticoid-induced positive feedforward loop.

Mapping the Steroid Response to Major Trauma From Injury to Recovery: A Prospective Cohort Study

CONTEXT

Survival rates after severe injury are improving, but complication rates and outcomes are variable.

OBJECTIVE

This cohort study addressed the lack of longitudinal data on the steroid response to major trauma and during recovery.

DESIGN

We undertook a prospective, observational cohort study from time of injury to 6 months postinjury at a major UK trauma centre and a military rehabilitation unit, studying patients within 24 hours of major trauma (estimated New Injury Severity Score (NISS) > 15).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

We measured adrenal and gonadal steroids in serum and 24-hour urine by mass spectrometry, assessed muscle loss by ultrasound and nitrogen excretion, and recorded clinical outcomes (ventilator days, length of hospital stay, opioid use, incidence of organ dysfunction, and sepsis); results were analyzed by generalized mixed-effect linear models.

FINDINGS

We screened 996 multiple injured adults, approached 106, and recruited 95 eligible patients; 87 survived. We analyzed all male survivors <50 years not treated with steroids (N = 60; median age 27 [interquartile range 24-31] years; median NISS 34 [29-44]). Urinary nitrogen excretion and muscle loss peaked after 1 and 6 weeks, respectively. Serum testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone, and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate decreased immediately after trauma and took 2, 4, and more than 6 months, respectively, to recover; opioid treatment delayed dehydroepiandrosterone recovery in a dose-dependent fashion. Androgens and precursors correlated with SOFA score and probability of sepsis.

CONCLUSION

The catabolic response to severe injury was accompanied by acute and sustained androgen suppression. Whether androgen supplementation improves health outcomes after major trauma requires further investigation.

Expression of S100A8 is induced by interleukin‑1α in TR146 epithelial cells through a mechanism involving CCAAT/enhancer binding protein β

Calprotectin in mucosal epidermal keratinocytes has an important role in fighting microbial infections. S100A8 belongs to the S100 protein family and is a subunit of calprotectin (heterodimer complex of S100A8/A9). Interleukin‑1α (IL‑1α) is one of the cytokines produced by oral keratinocytes. The primary aims of the present study were to investigate the effect of IL‑1α on the expression of S100A8 and its underlying molecular mechanism in oral epithelial cells. Determining the molecular mechanism of the induced expression of S100A8 by IL‑1α aims to improve current understanding of the roles of calprotectin during the infection of mucosal epithelial cells. The expression analysis indicated that IL‑1α significantly induced the expression of S100A8 in human TR146 epithelial cells at the mRNA and protein levels, respectively. The reporter assay demonstrated that the upregulatory effect of S100A8 induced by IL‑1α was dependent on the S100A8 promoter specific region (‑165/‑111). The results of electrophoresis mobility shift assay and chromatin immunoprecipitation assay also demonstrated that the CCAAT/enhancer binding protein β (C/EBPβ) binding site (‑113/‑109) in the S100A8 promoter region was involved into the upregulatory effect on the expression of S100A8 induced by IL‑1α. Taken together, these results suggested that the activation of the expression of S100A8 induced by IL‑1α in TR146 epithelial cells involves a mechanism by which the binding activity of C/EBPβ to the specific site (‑113/‑109) of the S100A8 promoter is increased.

Effects of Cellular 11β-hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase 1 on LPS-induced Inflammatory Responses in Synovial Cell Line, SW982

11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 1 (11β-HSD1) catalyzes the conversion of inactive cortisone into active cortisol, which has pleiotropic roles in various biological conditions, such as immunological and metabolic homeostasis. Cortisol is mainly produced in the adrenal gland, but can be locally regenerated in the liver, fat, and muscle. Its diverse actions are primarily mediated by binding to the glucocorticoid receptor. SW982, a human synovial cell line, expresses 11β-HSD type 1, but not type 2, that catalyzes the conversion of cortisone to cortisol. In this study, therefore, we investigated the control of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory responses by prereceptor regulation-mediated maintenance of cortisol levels. Preliminarily, cell seeding density and incubation period were optimized for analyzing the catalytic activity of SW982. Additionally, cellular 11β-HSD1 still remained active irrespective of monolayer or spheroid culture conditions. Inflammatory stimulants, such as interleukin (IL)-1β, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)α, and LPS, did not affect the catalytic activity of 11β-HSD1, although a high dose of LPS significantly decreased its activity. Additionally, autocrine effects of cortisol on inflammatory responses were investigated in LPS-stimulated SW982 cells. LPS upregulated pro-inflammatory cytokines, including IL-6 and IL-1β, in SW982 cells, while cortisol production, catalyzed by cellular 11β-HSD1, downregulated LPS-stimulated cytokines. Furthermore, suppression of NFκB activation-mediated pro-inflammatory responses by cortisol was revealed. In conclusion, the activity of cellular 11β-HSD1 was closely correlated with suppression of LPS-induced inflammation. Therefore, these results partly support the notion that prereceptor regulation of locally regenerated cortisol could be taken into consideration for treatment of inflammation-associated diseases, including arthritis.

11β-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase Type 1 Is Expressed in Neutrophils and Restrains an Inflammatory Response in Male Mice

Endogenous glucocorticoid action within cells is enhanced by prereceptor metabolism by 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β-HSD1), which converts intrinsically inert cortisone and 11-dehydrocorticosterone into active cortisol and corticosterone, respectively. 11β-HSD1 is highly expressed in immune cells elicited to the mouse peritoneum during thioglycollate-induced peritonitis and is down-regulated as the inflammation resolves. During inflammation, 11β-HSD1-deficient mice show enhanced recruitment of inflammatory cells and delayed acquisition of macrophage phagocytic capacity. However, the key cells in which 11β-HSD1 exerts these effects remain unknown. Here we have identified neutrophils (CD11b(+),Ly6G(+),7/4(+) cells) as the thioglycollate-recruited cells that most highly express 11β-HSD1 and show dynamic regulation of 11β-HSD1 in these cells during an inflammatory response. Flow cytometry showed high expression of 11β-HSD1 in peritoneal neutrophils early during inflammation, declining at later states. In contrast, expression in blood neutrophils continued to increase during inflammation. Ablation of monocytes/macrophages by treatment of CD11b-diphtheria-toxin receptor transgenic mice with diphtheria toxin prior to thioglycollate injection had no significant effect on 11β-HSD1 activity in peritoneal cells, consistent with neutrophils being the predominant 11β-HSD1 expressing cell type at this time. Similar to genetic deficiency in 11β-HSD1, acute inhibition of 11β-HSD1 activity during thioglycollate-induced peritonitis augmented inflammatory cell recruitment to the peritoneum. These data suggest that neutrophil 11β-HSD1 increases during inflammation to contribute to the restraining effect of glucocorticoids upon neutrophil-mediated inflammation. In human neutrophils, lipopolysaccharide activation increased 11β-HSD1 expression, suggesting the antiinflammatory effects of 11β-HSD1 in neutrophils may be conserved in humans.

Changes in gluconeogenesis and intracellular lipid accumulation characterize uremic human hepatocytes ex vivo

It is well known that reduced glomerular filtration rate (GFR) leads to an increased risk of dyslipidemia, insulin resistance, and cardiovascular mortality. The liver is a central organ for metabolism, but its function in the uremic setting is still poorly characterized. We used human primary hepatocytes isolated from livers of nine donors with normal renal function to investigate perturbations in key metabolic pathways following exposure to uremic (n = 8) or healthy (n = 8) sera, and to serum-free control medium. Both uremic and healthy elicited consistent responses from hepatocytes from multiple donors and compared with serum-free control. However, at physiological insulin concentrations, uremic cells accumulated 56% more intracellular lipids. Also, when comparing uremic with healthy medium after culture, it contained more very-low-density lipoprotein-triglyceride and glucose. These changes were accompanied by decreased phosphorylation of AktS473 mRNA levels of key regulators of gluconeogenesis in uremic sera-treated hepatocytes such as phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase 1 and glucose 6-phosphate were elevated. We also found increased expression of 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase mRNA in uremic cells, along with high phosphorylation of downstream p53 and phospholipase C-γ1Y783 Thus our ex vivo data suggest that the uremic hepatocytes rapidly develop a glycogenic and lipogenic condition accompanied by perturbations in a large number of signaling networks.

Inducible Major Vault Protein Plays a Pivotal Role in Double-Stranded RNA- or Virus-Induced Proinflammatory Response

Pathogen invasion triggers robust antiviral cytokine production via different transcription factor signaling pathways. We have previously demonstrated that major vault protein (MVP) induces type I IFN production during viral infection; however, little is known about the role of MVP in proinflammatory responses. In this study, we found in vitro that expression of MVP, IL-6, and IL-8 was inducible upon dsRNA stimulation or viral infection. Moreover, MVP was essential for the induction of IL-6 and IL-8, as impaired expression of IL-6 and IL-8 in MVP-deficient human PBMCs, human lung epithelial cells (A549), and THP-1 monocytes, as well as in murine splenocytes, peritoneal macrophages, and PBMCs from MVP-knockout (MVP(-/-)) mice, was observed. Upon investigation of the underlying mechanisms, we demonstrated that MVP acted in synergy with AP-1 (c-Fos) and CCAAT/enhancer binding protein (C/EBP)β-liver-enriched transcriptional activating protein to activate the IL6 and IL8 promoters. Introduction of mutations into the AP-1 and C/EBPβ binding sites on the IL6 and IL8 promoters resulted in the loss of synergistic activation with MVP. Furthermore, we found that MVP interacted with both c-Fos and C/EBPβ. The interactions promoted nuclear translocation and recruitment of these transcription factors to IL6 and IL8 promoter regions. In the MVP(-/-) mouse model, significantly decreased expression of early antiviral cytokines resulted in higher viral titer in the lung, higher mortality, and heavier lung damage after infection with lethal influenza A virus. Taken together, our findings help to delineate a novel role of MVP in host proinflammatory response.

Mechanisms involved in the anti-inflammatory action of a polysulfated fraction from Gracilaria cornea in rats

The anti-inflammatory mechanisms of the sulfated polysaccharidic fraction obtained from red marine alga Gracilaria cornea (Gc-FI) were investigated using a paw edema model induced in rats by different inflammatory agents (carrageenan, dextran, serotonin, bradykinin, compound 48/80 or L-arginine). Gc-FI at the doses of 3, 9 or 27 mg/kg, subcutaneously--s.c., significantly inhibited rat paw edema induced by carrageenan and dextran, as confirmed by myeloperoxidase and Evans' blue assessments, respectively. Gc-FI (9 mg/kg, s.c.) inhibited rat paw edema induced by histamine, compound 48/80 and L-arginine. Additionally, Gc-FI (9 mg/kg, s.c.) inhibited Cg-induced edema in animals with intact mast cells but did not inhibit that with degranulated mast cells by compound 48/80, revealing a protective role on mast cell membranes. Gc-FI down-regulated the IL-1β, TNF-α and COX-2 mRNA and protein levels compared with those of the carrageenan group, based on qRT-PCR and immunohistochemistry analyses. After inhibition with ZnPP IX, a specific heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) inhibitor, the anti-inflammatory effect of Gc-FI was not observed in Cg-induced paw edema, suggesting that the anti-inflammatory effect of Gc-FI is, in part, dependent on the integrity of the HO-1 pathway. Gc-FI can target a combination of multiple points involved in inflammatory phenomena.