Regulation of Tumor Necrosis Factor-α and Interleukin-1β Induced Adhesion Molecule Expression in Human Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells by cAMP

Abstract

Abstract This study investigates the hypothesis that the elevation of intracellular cAMP may affect cytokine-induced expression of adhesion molecules on human vascular smooth muscle cells. In cultured human smooth muscle cells from coronary arteries and saphenous veins, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) induced the expression of intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM-1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM-1), whereas interferon-γ (INF-γ) selectively stimulated the expression of ICAM-1. Adenylyl cyclase was stimulated either by the stable prostacyclin mimetic cicaprost or by forskolin. Adhesion molecules were detected by a cell surface enzyme immunoassay and the respective mRNA by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (rt-PCR). Cicaprost as well as forskolin significantly inhibited TNF-α- and IL-1β-induced cell surface expression of ICAM-1 and VCAM-1. Semiquantitative rt-PCR measurements showed a marked decrease of TNF-α- and IL-1β-induced mRNA levels of both adhesion molecules after preincubation with cicaprost. The stability of TNF-α-induced ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 expression at mRNA and protein level was not altered by cicaprost. The IFN-γ-induced increase of cell surface expression of ICAM-1 and the respective mRNA levels, however, were not significantly altered by elevation of intracellular cAMP. Basal and stimulated cAMP levels, measured by radioimmunoassay, did not differ in TNF-α- and IFNγ-treated cells. The present results demonstrate that the expression of adhesion molecules on human smooth muscle cells induced by cytokines is differentially modulated by activation of adenylyl cyclase.