title: Anti-psoriatic drug anthralin activates JNK via lipid peroxidation: mononuclear cells are more sensitive than keratinocytes.
abstract: Anthralin is a widely used, topical therapy for psoriasis. Anti-proliferative and anti-inflammatory properties of anthralin have been identified. Little is known, however, about differential sensitivities of targeted cell types and specific mechanisms of signaling pathway activation. We demonstrate that anthralin exerts potent effects on keratinocytes and mononuclear cells through strong induction of lipid peroxidation and JNK activation, a stress-induced signal transduction pathway. Lipid peroxidation was observed rapidly and half-maximal levels of lipid peroxidation were reached at a 10-fold lower concentration of anthralin for peripheral blood mononuclear cells vs normal keratinocytes. JNK activation was detected in peripheral blood mononuclear cells at a 40-fold lower anthralin dose compared with keratinocytes. For both cell types, selected inhibitors of lipid peroxidation prevented JNK activation. This study demonstrates that mononuclear leukocytes are markedly more sensitive than keratinocytes to anthralin-induced lipid peroxidation and JNK activation. We identify anthralin as a novel and potent inducer of JNK activation and demonstrate that this process is mediated, at least in part, by lipid peroxidation which is among the earliest and most proximate, membrane-related responses to anthralin yet described.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Rheumatology, Mayo Clinic/Foundation, Rochester, Minnesota, USA. D.Peus@lrz.uni-muenchen.de
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Peus
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Beyerle
authors.forename: H L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Rittner
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pott
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Meves
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Weyand
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Pittelkow
mesh_terms: D000287:Administration, Topical; D000875:Anthralin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004789:Enzyme Activation / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D048031:JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; D015603:Keratinocytes / Q000187:drug effects; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000187:drug effects; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation / Q000187:drug effects*; D048670:MAP Kinase Kinase 4; D008297:Male; D020929:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D011565:Psoriasis / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D048031:JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; D048670:MAP Kinase Kinase 4; D020929:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases; D000875:Anthralin