Bradykinin (BK) is a major kinin with well-documented pharmacological properties including vascular leakage and induction of a variety of cytokines. However, the intracellular signalling mechanisms by which BK induced proinflammatory cytokine production have not been fully elucidated. This study investigated the role of the extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase 1/2 (ERK 1/2) and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK) in the BK-induced interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8 production by human lung fibroblasts.Lung fibroblasts were stimulated with BK in the presence or in the absence of PD98059, a specific MAPK/ERK kinase-1 inhibitor, or SB203580, a specific p38 MAPK inhibitor, and IL-6 or IL-8 production and their gene expression was examined. BK-induced ERK 1/2 or p38 MAPK phosphorylation was also analysed by Western blot analysis.BK at nanomolar concentrations stimulated lung fibroblasts to produce IL-6 and IL-8 along with increased ERK 1/2 and p38 MAPK phosphorylation. BK-induced IL-6 and IL-8 synthesis was inhibited by a B2-type BK receptor antagonist. Furthermore, PD98059 or SB203580 significantly suppressed BK-induced IL-6 and IL-8 production and their gene expression.These results indicate that bradykinin-induced interleukin-6 and interleukin-8 production are at least partly mediated through the extracellular signal-related protein kinase 1/2 and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway-dependent activation in human lung fibroblasts, and suggest that bradykinin appears to be involved in the inflammatory reaction leading to acute lung injury through stimulating interleukin-6 and interleukin-8 production by lung fibroblasts. Eur Respir J 2000; 16: 452±458.
Radiation pneumonitis is a major complication of radiation therapy. However, the detailed cellular mechanisms have not been clearly defined. Based on the recognition that basement membrane disruption occurs in acute lung injury and that matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 can degrade type IV collagen, one of the major components of the basement membrane, we hypothesized that ionizing radiation would modulate MMP-2 production in human lung epithelial cells. To evaluate this, the modulation of MMP-2 with irradiation was investigated in normal human bronchial epithelial cells as well as in A549 cells. We measured the activity of MMP-2 in the conditioned medium with zymography and the MMP-2 mRNA level with RT-PCR. Both of these cells constitutively expressed 72-kDa gelatinolytic activity, corresponding to MMP-2, and exposure to radiation increased this activity. Consistent with the data of zymography, ionizing radiation increased the level of MMP-2 mRNA. This radiation-induced increase in MMP-2 expression was mediated via p53 because the p53 antisense oligonucleotide abolished the increase in MMP-2 activity as well as the accumulation of p53 after irradiation in A549 cells. These results indicate that MMP-2 expression by human lung epithelial cells is involved in radiation-induced lung injury.
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