MAPK- and PKC/CREB-dependent induction of interleukin-11 by the environmental contaminant formaldehyde in human bronchial epithelial cells.
Résumé
Formaldehyde (FA) is a volatile organic compound (VOC), considered as a major indoor air pollutant and suspected to favor the development of inflammatory lung diseases. The present study was aimed at identifying cytokines/chemokines targeted by FA in human lung cells. This VOC was demonstrated to up-regulate interleukin-11 (IL-11) mRNA and secretion levels in a dose-dependent manner in cultured lung epithelial BEAS-2B cells. It concomitantly induced mRNA expression of transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1, a fibrogenic marker regulated by IL-11. FA was also found to trigger an early phosphorylation of p38 and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)1/2 mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) in BEAS-2B cells, whose inhibition by ERK and p38 MAPK chemical inhibitors (U0126 and SB203580, respectively) counteracted FA-mediated induction of IL-11. In addition, FA increased phosphorylation of cAMP response element binding protein (CREB) and the use of small-interfering RNA targeting CREB demonstrated that this transcription factor was required for the up-regulation of IL-11 by FA. Implication of protein kinase C (PKC) in FA-induced IL-11 expression was moreover demonstrated by using RO-31-8220, a PKC inhibitor. We finally showed using SB203580 and RO-31-8220 that phosphorylation of CREB and CREB-promoter activity induced by FA are under the control of both p38 MAPK and PKC. Taken together, the results showed that FA uses different pathways to induce IL-11 expression in lung BEAS-2B cells. IL-11, well-known to contribute to lung inflammatory diseases, appears thus as a molecular target of FA, which could be involved in putative deleterious inflammatory and fibrogenic pulmonary effects of this VOC.