坪井 直毅

Objective - Metformin may benefit the macrovascular complications of diabetes independently of its conventional hypoglycemic effects. Accumulating evidence suggests that inflammatory processes participate in type 2 diabetes and its atherothrombotic manifestations. Therefore, this study examined the potential action of metformin as an inhibitor of pro-inflammatory responses in human vascular smooth muscle cells ( SMCs), macrophages ( M phi s), and endothelial cells ( ECs). Methods and Results - Metformin dose-dependently inhibited IL-1 beta-induced release of the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and IL-8 in ECs, SMCs, and M phi s. Investigation of potential signaling pathways demonstrated that metformin diminished IL-1 beta-induced activation and nuclear translocation of nuclear factor-kappa B ( NF-kappa B) in SMCs. Furthermore, metformin suppressed IL-1 beta-induced activation of the pro-inflammatory phosphokinases Akt, p38, and Erk, but did not affect PI3 kinase ( PI3K) activity. To address the significance of the anti-inflammatory effects of a therapeutically relevant plasma concentration of metformin ( 20 mu mol/L), we conducted experiments in ECs treated with high glucose. Pretreatment with metformin also decreased phosphorylation of Akt and protein kinase C ( PKC) in ECs under these conditions. Conclusions - These data suggest that metformin can exert a direct vascular anti- inflammatory effect by inhibiting NF-kappa B through blockade of the PI3K-Akt pathway. The novel anti- inflammatory actions of metformin may explain in part the apparent clinical reduction by metformin of cardiovascular events not fully attributable to its hypoglycemic action.

A serine/threonine protein kinase, Cot/Tpl2, is indispensable for extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activation and production of TNF-alpha and PGE(2) in LPS-stimulated macrophages. We show here that Cot/Tpl2 is also activated by other Toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands. Bacterial DNA rich in the dinucleotide CG (CpG-DNA), unlike LPS or synthetic lipopeptide, activated ERK in a Cot/Tpl2-independent manner. Peritoneal macrophages and bone marrow-derived DCs from Cot/Tpl2(-/-) mice produced significantly more IL-12 in response to CpG-DNA than those from WT mice. Enhanced IL-12 production in Cot/Tpl2(-/-) macrophages is, at least partly, regulated at the transcriptional level, and the elevated IL-12 mRNA level in Cot/Tpl2(-/-) macrophages is accompanied by decreased amounts of IL-12 repressors, such as c-musculoaponeurotic fibrosarcoma. (c-Maf) and GATA sequence in the IL-12 promoter-binding protein (GA-12-binding protein; GAP-12) in the nucleus. Consistently, Cot/Tpl2(-/-) mice showed Th1-skewed antigen-specific immune responses upon OVA immunization and Leishmania major infection in vivo. These results indicate that Cot/Tpl2 is an important negative regulator of Th1-type adaptive immunity, that it achieves this regulation by inhibiting IL-12 production from accessory cells, and that it might be a potential target molecule in CpG-DNA-guided vaccination.

Acute peritonitis, in which peritoneal mesothelial cells are directly exposed to bacterial components, is a major cause of peritoneal dysfunction in continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis patients. We have previously shown that Toll-like receptors (TLR) are expressed in kidney cells, and LPS induces TLR4-dependent chemokine production in tubular epithelial cells. The present work was designed to investigate the involvement of TLR, especially TLR4, in the lipid A-mediated chemokine production by murine peritoneal mesothelial cells (MPMC). A primary cell culture of MPMC from C3H/HeN mice (wild-type mice; LPS sensitive) and from C3H/HeJ mice (containing a point mutation of TLR4; LPS hyposensitive) was established. The expression profile of the TLR family and their accessory molecules, CD14 and MD-2, which are requisite for the LPS signaling pathway, was examined by RT-PCR, Northern blot test, and immunohistochemical staining. Synthetic lipid A-mediated chemokine production by MPMC was studied. The involvement of MAP kinase family (ERK, JNK, and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase) and nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB in these processes was also studied. MPMC constitutively express TLR4, CD14, and MD-2. A prominent induction of monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) and macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-2 by MPMC was detected after lipid A stimulation and was strictly dependent on TLR4. Furthermore, TLR4-dependent chemokine production followed by leukocyte influx into the peritoneal cavity was also confirmed in vivo after stimulation with LPS. mRNA expression of MCP-1 was abolished by NF-kappaB inhibition, but were not affected by the inhibition of ERK, JNK, or p38. As compared with MCP-1, MIP-2 mRNA expression was inhibited by a high dose of curcumin but not by NF-kappaB decoy oligodeoxynucleotide and individual inhibitions of MAP kinase, suggesting that the additional signaling pathway with NF-kappaB might be involved in mRNA expression of MIP-2. These show that TLR4 is directly involved in the production of MCP-1 and MIP-2 by MPMC in a NF-kappaB-dependent manner, but the process does not require any MAP kinase activation. The results provide a candidate molecular target in prevention of it.

We have previously reported that differences in early production of interleukin 12 (IL-12) by dendritic cells (DC) underlies the difference between the susceptibilities to Listeria monocytogenes of C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice. To elucidate mechanisms for the different abilities of DC to produce cytokine in C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice, we examined Toll-like receptor (TLR) expression by DC and their responses in vitro to known microbial ligands for TLRs. We found that DC isolated from the spleens of naive C57BL/6 mice preferentially expressed TLR9 mRNA, whereas DC from naive BALB/c mice strongly expressed TLR2, -4, -5, and -6 mRNAs. C57BL/6 DC produced a higher level of IL-12p40 in response to the ligands for TLR4 (lipopolysaccharide), TLR2 (lipoprotein), and TLR9 (CpG), whereas BALB/c DC responded to these ligands by producing a larger amount of monocyte chemoattractant protein 1. C57BL/6 DC expressed higher levels of CD40 and Stat4 than BALB/c DC did, suggesting that naive C57BL/6 mice contained more-mature subsets of DC than naive BALB/c mice. Differences in reactivities of DC to microbial molecules through TLRs may be associated with susceptibility and resistance to Listeria infection in BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice.

Pyelonephritis, in which renal tubular epithelial cells are directly exposed to bacterial component, is a major predisposing cause of renal insufficiency. Although previous studies have suggested C-C chemokines are involved in the pathogenesis, the exact source and mechanisms of the chemokine secretion remain ambiguous. In this study, we evaluated the involvement of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) in C-C chemokine production by mouse primary renal tubular epithelial cells (MTECs). MTECs constitutively expressed mRNA for TLR1, 2,3,4, and 6, but not for TLR5 or 9. MTECs also expressed MD-2, CD14, myeloid differentiation factor 88, and Toll receptor-IL-1R domain-containing adapter protein/myeloid differentiation factor 88-adapter-like. Synthetic lipid A and lipoprotein induced monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1) and RANTES production in MTECs, which strictly depend on TLR4 and TLR2, respectively. In contrast, MTECs were refractory to CpG-oligodeoxynucleotide in chemokine production, consistently with the absence of TLR9. LPS-mediated MCP-1 and RANTES production in MTECs was abolished by NF-kappaB inhibition, but unaffected by extracellular signal-regulated kinase inhibition. In LPS-stimulated MTECs, inhibition of c-Jun N-terminal kinase and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase significantly decreased RANTES, but did not affect MCP-1 mRNA induction. Thus, MTECs have a distinct expression pattern of TLR and secrete C-C chemokines in response to direct stimulation with a set of bacterial components.

Osteoclast differentiation factor (ODF), a recently identified cytokine of the TNF family, is expressed as a membrane-associated protein in osteoblasts and stromal cells. ODF stimulates the differentiation of osteoclast precursors into osteoclasts in the presence of M-CSF. Here we investigated the effects of LPS on the gene expression of ODF in mouse osteoblasts and an osteoblast cell like and found that LPS increased the ODF mRNA ie cel. A specific inhibitor of extracellular signal-regulated kinase or protein kinase C inhibited this up-regulation, indicating that extracellular signal-regulated kinase and protein kinase C activation was involved. A protein synthesis inhibitor, cycloheximide, rather enhanced the LPS-mediated increase of ODF mRNA, and both a neutralizing Ab of TNF-alpha and a specific inhibitor of PGE synthesis failed to block the ODF mRNA increase by native LPS, Thus, LPS directly induced ODF mRNA, Mouse osteoblasts and an osteoblast cell line constitutively expressed Toll like receptor (TLR)2 and 4, which are known, as putative LPS receptors, ODF mRNA increases in response to synthetic lipid A were defective in primary osteoblasts from C3H/HeJ mice that contain a nonfunctional mutation in the TLR4 gene, suggesting that TLR4 plays an essential role in the process, Altogether, our results indicate that ODF gene expression is directly increased in osteoblasts by LPS treatment via TLR, and this pathway may play an important role in the pathogenesis of LPS-mediated bone disorders, such as periodontitis.