Phenserine regulates translation of β-amyloid precursor protein mRNA by a putative interleukin-1 responsive element, a target for drug development

The reduction in levels of the potentially toxic amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) has emerged as one of the most important therapeutic goals in Alzheimer's disease. Key targets for this goal are factors that affect the expression and processing of the Aβ precursor protein (βAPP). Earlier reports from our laboratory have shown that a novel cholinesterase inhibitor, phenserine, reduces βAPP levels in vivo. Herein, we studied the mechanism of phenserine's actions to define the regulatory elements in βAPP processing. Phenserine treatment resulted in decreased secretion of soluble βAPP and Aβ into the conditioned media of human neuroblastoma cells without cellular toxicity. The regulation of βAPP protein expression by phenserine was posttranscriptional as it suppressed βAPP protein expression without altering βAPP mRNA levels. However, phenserine's action was neither mediated through classical receptor signaling pathways, involving extracellular signal-regulated kinase or phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase activation, nor was it associated with the anticholinesterase activity of the drug. Furthermore, phenserine reduced expression of a chloramphenicol acetyltransferase reporter fused to the 5′-mRNA leader sequence of βAPP without altering expression of a control chloramphenicol acetyltransferase reporter. These studies suggest that phenserine reduces Aβ levels by regulating βAPP translation via the recently described iron regulatory element in the 5′-untranslated region of βAPP mRNA, which has been shown previously to be up-regulated in the presence of interleukin-1. This study identifies an approach for the regulation of βAPP expression that can result in a substantial reduction in the level of Aβ.

Lipopolysaccharide and interleukin 1 augment the effects of hypoxia and inflammation in human pulmonary arterial tissue.

The combined effects of hypoxia and interleukin 1, lipopolysaccharide, or tumor necrosis factor alpha on the expression of genes encoding endothelial constitutive and inducible nitric oxide synthases, endothelin 1, interleukin 6, and interleukin 8 were investigated in human primary pulmonary endothelial cells and whole pulmonary artery organoid cultures. Hypoxia decreased the expression of constitutive endothelial nitric oxide synthase (NOS-3) mRNA and NOS-3 protein as compared with normoxic conditions. The inhibition of expression of NOS-3 corresponded with a reduced production of NO. A combination of hypoxia with bacterial lipopolysaccharide, interleukin 1 beta, or tumor necrosis factor alpha augmented both effects. In contrast, the combination of hypoxia and the inflammatory mediators superinduced the expression of endothelin 1, interleukin 6, and interleukin 8. Here, we have shown that inflammatory mediators aggravate the effect of hypoxia on the down-regulation of NOS-3 and increase the expression of proinflammatory cytokines in human pulmonary endothelial cells and whole pulmonary artery organoid cultures.

Adenovirus-mediated interleukin-12 gene therapy for metastatic colon carcinoma.

Recombinant adenoviral mediated delivery of suicide and cytokine genes has been investigated as a treatment for hepatic metastases of colon carcinoma in mice. Liver tumors were established by intrahepatic implantation of a poorly immunogenic colon carcinoma cell line (MCA-26), which is syngeneic in BALB/c mice. Intratumoral transfer of the herpes simplex virus type 1 thymidine kinase (HSV-tk) and the murine interleukin (mIL)-2 genes resulted in substantial hepatic tumor regression, induced an effective systemic antitumoral immunity in the host and prolonged the median survival time of the treated animals from 22 to 35 days. The antitumoral immunity declined gradually, which led to tumor recurrence over time. A recombinant adenovirus expressing the mIL-12 gene was constructed and tested in the MCA-26 tumor model. Intratumoral administration of this cytokine vector alone increased significantly survival time of the animals with 25% of the treated animals still living over 70 days. These data indicate that local expression of IL-12 may also be an attractive treatment strategy for metastatic colon carcinoma.

Effect of interleukin 12 on tumor induction by 3-methylcholanthrene.

Interleukin (IL)-12 has strong antitumor activity in transplantable tumor systems in the mouse. The present study was designed to determine whether tumor induction by 3-methylcholanthrene (3-MC), a carcinogenic hydrocarbon, can be inhibited by IL-12. BALB/cBy mice were injected subcutaneously with 25 micrograms or 100 micrograms of 3-MC and treated with 100 ng, 10 ng, or 1 ng of IL-12 for 5 days a week for 18 weeks, with a schedule of 3 weeks on and 1 week off. In mice injected with 25 micrograms of 3-MC, treatment with 100 ng of IL-12 delayed tumor appearance and reduced tumor incidence. Tumor appearance was also delayed in mice injected with 100 micrograms of 3-MC and treated with 100 ng of IL-12, but the final tumor incidence was the same as in non-IL-12-treated mice. In contrast to the characteristically round, hard, well-circumscribed, and protruding tumor induced by 3-MC, a percentage of tumors induced in IL-12-treated mice had atypical characteristics: flat, soft, and invasive. Atypical tumors had a longer latent period and were more frequently seen in mice injected with 100 micrograms of 3-MC and treated with 100 ng of IL-12. Interferon gamma, IL-10, and tumor necrosis factor could be induced throughout the treatment period by IL-12, indicating that repeated injections of IL-12 do not induce a state of tachyphylaxis. High production of interferon gamma by CD8 T cells and a TH2-->TH1 or TH0 shift in the cytokine secretion profile of CD4 T cells were also seen in the IL-12-treated mice. IL-12 provides a powerful new way to explore the defensive role of the immune system in tumorigenesis.

Activation of an interleukin 1 converting enzyme-dependent apoptosis pathway by granzyme B.

Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) can induce apoptosis through a granzyme B-based killing mechanism. Here we show that in cells undergoing apoptosis by granzyme B, both p45 pro-interleukin 1 beta converting enzyme (ICE) and pro-CPP32 are processed. Using ICE deficient (ICE -/-) mice, embryonic fibroblasts exhibit high levels of resistance to apoptosis by granzyme B or granzyme 3, while B lymphoblasts are granzyme B-resistant, thus identifying an ICE-dependent apoptotic pathway that is activated by CTL granzymes. In contrast, an alternative ICE-independent pathway must also be activated as ICE -/- thymocytes remain susceptible to apoptosis by both granzymes. In ICE -/- B cells or HeLa cells transfected with mutant inactive ICE or Ich-1S that exhibit resistance to granzyme B, CPP32 is processed to p17 and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase is cleaved indicating that this protease although activated was not associated with an apoptotic nuclear phenotype. Using the peptide inhibitor Ac-DEVD-CHO, apoptosis as well as p45 ICE hydrolysis are suppressed in HeLa cells, suggesting that a CPP32-like protease is upstream of ICE. In contrast, p34cdc2 kinase, which is required for granzyme B-induced apoptosis, remains inactive in ICE -/- B cells indicating it is downstream of ICE. We conclude that granzyme B activates an ICE-dependent cell death pathway in some cell types and requires a CPP32-like Ac-DEVD-CHO inhibitable protease acting upstream to initiate apoptosis.

Functions of interleukin 1 receptor antagonist in gene knockout and overproducing mice.

Interleukin 1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) is a cytokine whose only known action is competitive inhibition of the binding of interleukin 1 (IL-1) to its receptor. To investigate the physiological roles of endogenously produced IL-1ra, we generated mice that either lack IL-1ra or overproduce it under control of the endogenous promoter. Mice lacking IL-1ra have decreased body mass compared with wild-type controls. They are more susceptible than controls to lethal endotoxemia but are less susceptible to infection with Listeria monocytogenes. Conversely, IL-1ra overproducers are protected from the lethal effects of endotoxin but are more susceptible to listeriosis. Serum levels of IL-1 following an endotoxin challenge are decreased in IL-1ra nulls and increased in IL-1ra overproducers in comparison to controls. These data demonstrate critical roles for endogenously produced IL-1ra in growth, responses to infection and inflammation, and regulation of cytokine expression.

Thrombopoietic potential and serial repopulating ability of murine hematopoietic stem cells constitutively expressing interleukin 11.

Based on transplantation studies with bone marrow cultured under various conditions, a role of interleukin 11 (IL-11) in the self-renewal and/or the differentiation commitment of hematopoietic stem cells has been indicated. To better evaluate the in vivo effects of IL-11 on stem/progenitor cell biology, lethally irradiated mice were serially transplanted with bone marrow cells transduced with a defective retrovirus, termed MSCV-mIL-11, carrying the murine IL-11 (mIL-11) cDNA and the bacterial neomycin phosphotransferase (neo) gene. High serum levels (i.e., > 1 ng/ml) of mIL-11 in all (20/20) primary and 86% (12/14) of secondary long-term reconstituted mice, as well as 86% (12/14) of tertiary recipients examined at 6 weeks posttransplant, demonstrated persistence of vector expression subsequent to transduction of bone marrow precursors functionally definable as totipotent hematopoietic stem cells. In agreement with results obtained with human IL-11 in other myeloablation models, ectopic mIL-11 expression accelerated recovery of platelets, neutrophils, and, to some extent, total leukocytes while preferentially increasing peripheral platelet counts in fully reconstituted mice. When analyzed 5 months posttransplant, tertiary MSCV-mIL-11 recipients had a significantly greater percentage of G418-resistant colony-forming cells in their bone marrow compared with control MSCV animals. Collectively, these data show that persistent stimulation of platelet production by IL-11 is not detrimental to stem cell repopulating ability; rather, they suggest that IL-11 expression in vivo may have resulted in enhanced maintenance of the most primitive hematopoietic stem cell compartment. The prolonged expression achieved by the MSCV retroviral vector, despite the presence of a selectable marker, contrasts with the frequent transcriptional extinction observed with other retroviral vectors carrying two genes. These findings have potentially important implications for clinical bone marrow transplantation and gene therapy of the hematopoietic system.

Interleukin 7 independent development of human B cells.

Mammalian hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) commitment and differentiation into lymphoid lineage cells proceed through a series of developmentally restricted progenitor compartments. A complete understanding of this process, and how it differs from HSC commitment and differentiation into cells of the myeloid/erythroid lineages, requires the development of model systems that support HSC commitment to the lymphoid lineages. We now describe a human bone marrow stromal cell culture that preferentially supports commitment and differentiation of human HSC to CD19+ B-lineage cells. Fluorescence activated cell sorterpurified CD34++/lineage-cells were isolated from fetal bone marrow and cultured on human fetal bone marrow stromal cells in serum-free conditions containing no exogenous cytokines. Over a period of 3 weeks, CD34++/lineage- cells underwent commitment, differentiation, and expansion into the B lineage. Progressive changes included: loss of CD34, acquisition of and graded increases in the level of cell surface CD19, and appearance of immature B cells expressing mu/kappa or mu/lambda cell surface Ig receptors. The tempo and phenotype of B-cell development was not influenced by the addition of IL-7 (10 ng/ml), or by the addition of goat anti-IL-7 neutralizing antibody. These results indicate a profound difference between mouse and human in the requirement for IL-7 in normal B-cell development, and provide an experimental system to identify and characterize human bone marrow stromal cell-derived molecules crucial for human B lymphopoiesis.

Evidence that DNA damage triggers interleukin 10 cytokine production in UV-irradiated murine keratinocytes.

UV irradiation interferes with the induction of T cell-mediated immune responses, in part by causing cells in the skin to produce immunoregulatory cytokines. Recent evidence implicates UV-induced DNA damage as a trigger for the cascade of events leading to systemic immune suppression in vivo. However, to date, there has been no direct evidence linking DNA damage and cytokine production in UV-irradiated cells. Here we provide such evidence by showing that treatment of UV-irradiated murine keratinocytes in vitro with liposomal T4 endonuclease V, which accelerates the repair of cyclobutylpyrimidine dimers in these cells, inhibits their production of immunosuppressive cytokines, including interleukin 10. Application of these liposomes to murine skin in vivo also reduced the induction of interleukin 10 by UV irradiation, whereas liposomes containing heat-inactivated T4 endonuclease V were ineffective. These results support our hypothesis that unrepaired DNA damage in the skin activates the production of cytokines that down-regulate immune responses initiated at distant sites.

Rational interleukin 2 therapy for HIV positive individuals: daily low doses enhance immune function without toxicity.

When administered in high doses to HIV positive (HIV+) individuals, interleukin 2 (IL-2) causes extreme toxicity and markedly increases plasma HIV levels. Integration of the information from the structure-activity relationships of the IL-2 receptor interaction, the cellular distribution of the different classes of IL-2 receptors, and the pharmacokinetics of IL-2 provides for the rationale that low IL-2 doses should circumvent toxicity. Therefore, to identify a nontoxic, but effective and safe IL-2 treatment regimen that does not stimulate viral replication, doses of IL-2 from 62,500 to 250,000 IU/m2/day were administered subcutaneously for 6 months to 16 HIV+ individuals with 200-500 CD4+ T cells/mm3. IL-2 was already detectable in the plasma of most HIV+ individuals even before therapy. Peak plasma IL-2 levels were near saturating for high affinity IL-2 receptors in 10 individuals who received the maximum nontoxic dose, which ranged from 187,500 to 250,000 IU/m2/day. During the 6 months of treatment at this dose range, plasma levels of proinflammatory cytokines remained undetectable, and plasma HIV RNA levels did not change significantly. However, delayed type hypersensitivity responses to common recall antigens were markedly augmented, and there were IL-2 dose-dependent increases in circulating Natural Killer cells, eosinophils, monocytes, and CD4+ T cells. Expanded clinical trials of low dose IL-2 are now warranted, especially in combination with effective antivirals to test for the prevention of immunodeficiency and the emergence of drug-resistant mutants and for the eradication of residual virions.

A dynamic assembly of diverse transcription factors integrates activation and cell-type information for interleukin 2 gene regulation.

The interleukin 2 (IL-2) gene is subject to two types of regulation: its expression is T-lymphocyte-specific and it is acutely dependent on specific activation signals. The IL-2 transcriptional apparatus integrates multiple types of biochemical information in determining whether or not the gene will be expressed, using multiple diverse transcription factors that are each optimally activated or inhibited by different signaling pathways. When activation of one or two of these factors is blocked IL-2 expression is completely inhibited. The inability of the other, unaffected factors to work is explained by the striking finding that none of the factors interacts stably with its target site in the IL-2 enhancer unless all the factors are present. Coordinate occupancy of all the sites in the minimal enhancer is apparently maintained by continuous assembly and disassembly cycles that respond to the instantaneous levels of each factor in the nuclear compartment. In addition, the minimal enhancer undergoes specific increases in DNase I accessibility, consistent with dramatic changes in chromatin structure upon activation. Still to be resolved is what interaction(s) conveys T-lineage specificity. In the absence of activating signals, the minimal IL-2 enhancer region in mature T cells is apparently unoccupied, exactly as in non-T lineage cells. However, in a conserved but poorly studied upstream region, we have now mapped several novel sites of DNase I hypersensitivity in vivo that constitutively distinguish IL-2 producer type T cells from cell types that cannot express IL-2. Thus a distinct domain of the IL-2 regulatory sequence may contain sites for competence- or lineage-marking protein contacts.

Interleukin 2 production, not the pattern of early T-cell antigen receptor-dependent tyrosine phosphorylation, controls anergy induction by both agonists and partial agonists.

Full activation of T cells requires signaling through the T-cell antigen receptor (TCR) and additional surface molecules interacting with ligands on the antigen-presenting cell. TCR recognition of agonist ligands in the absence of accessory signals frequently results in the induction of a state of unresponsiveness termed anergy. However, even in the presence of costimulation, anergy can be induced by TCR partial agonists. The unique pattern of early receptor-induced tyrosine phosphorylation events induced by partial agonists has led to the hypothesis that altered TCR signaling is directly responsible for the development of anergy. Here we show that anergy induction is neither correlated with nor irreversibly determined by the pattern of early TCR-induced phosphorylation. Rather, it appears to result from the absence of downstream events related to interleukin 2 receptor occupancy and/or cell division. This implies that the anergic state can be manipulated independently of the precise pattern of early biochemical changes following TCR occupancy, a finding with implications for understanding the induction of self-tolerance and the use of partial agonist ligands in the treatment of autoimmune diseases.

Heightened expression of tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin 1 alpha, and glial fibrillary acidic protein in experimental Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in mice.

The ultrastructural pathology of myelinated axons in mice infected experimentally with the Fujisaki strain of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) virus is characterized by myelin sheath vacuolation that closely resembles that induced in murine spinal cord organotypic cultures by tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), a cytokine produced by astrocytes and macrophages. To clarify the role of TNF-alpha in experimental CJD, we investigated the expression of TNF-alpha in brain tissues from CJD virus-infected mice at weekly intervals after inoculation by reverse transcription-coupled PCR, Northern and Western blot analyses, and immunocytochemical staining. Neuropathological findings by electron microscopy, as well as expression of interleukin 1 alpha and glial fibrillary acidic protein, were concurrently monitored. As determined by reverse transcription-coupled PCR, the expression of TNF-alpha, interleukin 1 alpha, and glial fibrillary acidic protein was increased by approximately 200-fold in the brains of CJD virus-inoculated mice during the course of disease. By contrast, beta-actin expression remained unchanged. Progressively increased expression of TNF-alpha in CJD virus-infected brain tissues was verified by Northern and Western blot analyses, and astrocytes in areas with striking myelin sheath vacuolation were intensely stained with an antibody against murine TNF-alpha. The collective findings of TNF-alpha overexpression during the course of clinical disease suggest that TNF-alpha may mediate the myelin sheath vacuolation observed in experimental CJD.

Local production of the p40 subunit of interleukin 12 suppresses T-helper 1-mediated immune responses and prevents allogeneic myoblast rejection.

The p40 subunit of interleukin 12 (IL-12p40) has been known to act as an IL-12 antagonist in vitro. We here describe the immunosuppressive effect of IL-12p40 in vivo. A murine myoblast cell line, C2C12, was transduced with retro-virus vectors carrying the lacZ gene as a marker and the IL-12p40 gene. IL-12p40 secreted from the transfectant inhibited the IL-12-induced interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) production by splenocytes in vitro. Survival of C2C12 transplanted into allogeneic recipients was substantially prolonged when transduced with IL-12p40. Cytokine (IL-2 and IFN-gamma) production and cytotoxic T lymphocyte induction against allogeneic C2C12 were impaired in the recipients transplanted with the IL-12p40 transfectant. Delayed-type hypersensitivity response against C2C12 was also diminished in the IL-12p40 recipients. Furthermore, serum antibodies against beta-galactosidase of the T-helper 1-dependent isotypes (IgG2 and IgG3) were decreased in the IL-12p40 recipients. These results indicate that locally produced IL-12p40 exerts a potent immunosuppressive effect on T-helper 1-mediated immune responses that lead to allograft rejection. Therefore, IL-12p40 gene transduction would be useful for preventing the rejection of allografts and genetically modified own cells that are transduced with potentially antigenic molecules in gene therapy.

Activation of Jak/STAT proteins involved in signal transduction pathway mediated by receptor for interleukin 2 in malignant T lymphocytes derived from cutaneous anaplastic large T-cell lymphoma and Sezary syndrome.

Signaling through the interleukin 2 receptor (IL-2R) involves phosphorylation of several proteins including Jak3, STAT5, and, in preactivated cells, STAT3. In the present study, we examined the functional status of the IL-2R-associated Jak/STAT pathway in malignant T lymphocytes from advanced skin-based lymphomas: anaplastic large T-cell lymphoma (ALCL) and Sezary syndrome (SzS). Proliferation of three ALCL cell lines (PB-1, 2A, and 2B) was partially inhibited by rapamycin, a blocker of some of the signals mediated by IL-2R, but not by cyclosporin A, FK-506, and prednisone, which suppress signals mediated by the T-cell receptor. All the cell lines expressed on their surface the high-affinity IL-2R (alpha, beta, and gamma c chains). They showed basal, constitutive phosphorylation, and coassociation of Jak3, STAT5, and STAT3. Weak basal phosphorylation of IL-2R gamma c was also detected. In regard to SzS, peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 10 of 14 patients showed basal phosphorylation of Jak3, accompanied by phosphorylation of STAT5 in 9 patients, and STAT3 in 4 patients. However, in vitro overnight culture of SzS cells without exogenous cytokines resulted in markedly decreased Jak3 and STAT5 phosphorylation, which could be reversed by stimulation with IL-2. This indicates that the basal phosphorylation of Jak3 and STAT5 in freshly isolated SzS cells is induced rather than constitutive. The basal activation of the Jak/STAT pathway involved in IL-2R signal transduction in ALCL and SzS cells reported here suggests that this pathway may play a role in the pathogenesis of cutaneous T-cell lymphomas, although the mechanism (induced versus constitutive) may vary between different lymphoma types.