title: Synergistic cooperation between phorbol ester and IFN-gamma for induction of nitric oxide synthesis in murine peritoneal macrophages.
abstract: The role of protein kinase C (PKC) in the induction of nitric oxide (NO) synthesis in murine peritoneal macrophages was examined. Phorbol ester, a PKC activator, had no effect on NO synthesis by itself, whereas IFN-gamma alone had modest activity. When phorbol ester was used in combination with IFN-gamma, there was a marked cooperative induction of NO synthesis in a dose-dependent manner. This increase in NO synthesis was reflected as increased amount of inducible NO synthase (iNOS) mRNA, as determined by Northern blotting. The optimal effect of phorbol ester was shown at 6 h after treatment with IFN-gamma. Phorbol ester also induced the release of NO to the incubation medium by bacillus Calmette-Guerin-infected peritoneal macrophages. Prolonged incubation of cells with phorbol ester, which down-regulates PKC activity, abolished the synergistic cooperative effect on NO production with IFN-gamma. In addition, such PKC inhibitors as staurosporin or polymyxin B reduced NO production induced by IFN-gamma plus phorbol ester. When the cells were treated with both actinomycin D and phorbol ester after IFN-gamma stimulation, more NO was produced and more iNOS mRNA was expressed than in the cells treated with actinomycin D alone. On the basis of these observations, we conclude that PKC might not be directly involved in the expression of NO synthase, but, instead, might be involved in the stabilization of the iNOS mRNA already expressed by the treatment of IFN-gamma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Wonkwang University School of Medicine, Iri, Korea.
authors.forename: C D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Jun
authors.forename: B M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.lastname: Hoon-Ryu
authors.forename: J Y
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Um
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Kwak
authors.forename: B S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: S G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Paik
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: H T
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Chung
mesh_terms: D000470:Alkaloids / Q000494:pharmacology; D000594:Amino Acid Oxidoreductases / Q000235:genetics; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000737:chemistry; D003609:Dactinomycin / Q000494:pharmacology; D004357:Drug Synergism; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000187:drug effects; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D017737:Macrophages, Peritoneal / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009164:Mycobacterium Infections / Q000276:immunology; D009163:Mycobacterium bovis; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase; D011112:Polymyxin B / Q000494:pharmacology; D011493:Protein Kinase C / Q000502:physiology; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D019311:Staurosporine; D013755:Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate / Q000008:administration & dosage*
chemical_list: D000470:Alkaloids; D017931:DNA Primers; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D003609:Dactinomycin; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D007371:Interferon-gamma; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase; D000594:Amino Acid Oxidoreductases; D011493:Protein Kinase C; D019311:Staurosporine; D011112:Polymyxin B; D013755:Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate