Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor captopril prevents activation-induced apoptosis by interfering with T cell activation signals.
Captopril is an orally active inhibitor of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) which is widely used as an anti-hypertensive agent. In addition to its ability to reduce blood pressure, captopril has a number of other biological activities. Recently the drug was shown to inhibit Fas-induced apoptosis in human activated peripheral T cells and human lung epithelial cells. In this study, we investigated whether captopril blocks activation-induced apoptosis in murine T cell hybridomas, and found that captopril inhibited IL-2 synthesis and apoptotic cell death upon activation with anti-CD3 antibody. In addition, captopril inhibited an inducible caspase-3-like activity during activation-induced apoptosis. On the other hand, captopril did not interfere with Fas signalling, since anti-Fas antibody-induced apoptosis in Fas+ Jurkat cells was unaffected by the drug. Furthermore, we examined whether captopril blocks activation-induced apoptosis by interfering with expression of Fas, Fas ligand (FasL), or both on T cell hybridomas. FasL expression on activated T cells was significantly inhibited by captopril, whereas up-expression of Fas was partially inhibited, as assessed by cell surface staining. Taking all data together, we conclude that captopril prevents activation-induced apoptosis in T cell hybridomas by interfering with T cell activation signals. Captopril has been reported to induce systemic lupus erythematosus syndrome, and our findings may be useful for elucidating the mechanism of captopril-induced autoimmunity.
Odaka
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Department of Bacterial and Blood Products, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan. odaka@nih.go.jp
Mizuochi
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T
D000806:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology; D015551:Autoimmunity / Q000187:drug effects; D002216:Captopril / Q000494:pharmacology*; D053148:Caspase 3; D061945:Caspase Inhibitors; D053222:Fas Ligand Protein; D006801:Humans; D006825:Hybridomas / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D019169:Jurkat Cells; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000187:drug effects; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology*; D019014:fas Receptor / Q000378:metabolism
D000806:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors; D061945:Caspase Inhibitors; C505661:FASLG protein, human; D053222:Fas Ligand Protein; C505658:Fasl protein, mouse; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D019014:fas Receptor; D002216:Captopril; C505407:CASP3 protein, human; C505409:Casp3 protein, mouse; D053148:Caspase 3