title: Interleukin-3 and interleukin-6 stimulate cortisol secretion from adult human adrenocortical cells.
abstract: Accumulating data indicate that interleukins can activate the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. We evaluated the effect of human recombinant interleukin-3 (IL-3) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) on cortisol secretion from adult human adrenocortical cells in primary culture. IL-3 and IL-6 (100 microg/L) equipotently stimulated basal cortisol secretion approximately 5-fold. The stimulatory effect was significant after 12 h (p<0.01) and maximum cortisol levels were induced after 48 h. In contrast to ACTH, which significantly induced cAMP levels in parallel to its steroidogenic effect, IL-3 or IL-6 had no significant effect on cAMP. Furthermore, we showed that specific inhibition of the cyclooxygenase pathway by indomethacin completely blocked the steroidogenic effect of IL-6 while the effect of IL-3 was not affected. In contrast, coincubation with nordihydroguaiaretic acid--a specific inhibitor of the lipoxygenase system--abolished IL-3 stimulated steroidogenesis but had no effect on IL-6 stimulated cortisol secretion. These findings indicate that IL-3 and IL-6 directly stimulate the steroidogenesis at the adrenal level through activation of different, cAMP-independent pathways. While the stimulatory effect of IL-6 on cortisol secretion from adult human adrenocortical cells seems to be mediated through the cyclooxygenase pathway, the effect of IL-3 on adrenocortical cortisol secretion is dependent on the lipoxygenase pathway.
authors.affiliation: Medical Department II, Klinikum Grosshadern, University of Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Michl
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Auernhammer
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Engelhardt
mesh_terms: D000302:Adrenal Cortex / Q000378:metabolism*; D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone / Q000494:pharmacology; D000328:Adult; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D000242:Cyclic AMP / Q000378:metabolism; D016861:Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000378:metabolism*; D007213:Indomethacin / Q000494:pharmacology; D007377:Interleukin-3 / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007700:Kinetics; D016859:Lipoxygenase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D009637:Masoprocol / Q000494:pharmacology; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D016861:Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors; D007377:Interleukin-3; D015850:Interleukin-6; D016859:Lipoxygenase Inhibitors; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D009637:Masoprocol; D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone; D000242:Cyclic AMP; D006854:Hydrocortisone; D007213:Indomethacin