title: Antiapoptotic effect of interferon-alpha on hepatic stellate cells (HSC): a novel pathway of IFN-alpha signal transduction via Janus kinase 2 (JAK2) and caspase-8.
abstract: The hepatic stellate cell (HSC), the pericyte of the liver sinusoids belongs to the mesenchymal cells of the liver. Damaging noxae induce a transformation from the quiescent (vitamin A-storing cell) to the activated (connective tissue-producing cell) state. The balance between proapoptotic and surviving factors decides about the fate of the activated HSC. Interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) has been shown to elicit antiproliferative and/or antifibrogenic effects in various cell types of mesenchymal origin. We therefore investigated the effect of IFN-alpha on primary cultured rat HSC in their quiescent (day 2) and activated state (day 7). IFN-alpha significantly inhibited spontaneous apoptosis in activated HSC in vitro and simultaneously inhibited cell cycle progression by inducing a G1 arrest. The effect of IFN-a is not accompanied by a modulation of CD95, CD95L, p53, p21(WAF1), p27, bcl-2, bcl-xL, bax, NFkappaB, or IkappaB gene expression. Surprisingly, the IFN-alpha effect could be abolished completely by blocking JAK2 activity or JAK2 translation. The downregulating effect of IFN-alpha on the activity of caspase-8 and caspase-3 could also be neutralized using tyrphostin AG490 or JAK-2 antisense. Taken together IFN-alpha inhibits apoptosis of activated HSC by activation of JAK2 which inhibits the caspase-8 apoptosis pathway.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Gastroenterology and Endocrinology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Bernhard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Saile
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Eisenbach
authors.forename: Hammoudeh
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: El-Armouche
authors.forename: Katrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Neubauer
authors.forename: Giuliano
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ramadori
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016375:Antisense Elements (Genetics) / Q000494:pharmacology; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D053181:Caspase 8; D053453:Caspase 9; D020169:Caspases / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D053614:Janus Kinase 2; D007728:Kupffer Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology*; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D016375:Antisense Elements (Genetics); D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; C507927:Jak2 protein, rat; D053614:Janus Kinase 2; C505528:Casp8 protein, rat; C506435:Casp9 protein, rat; D053181:Caspase 8; D053453:Caspase 9; D020169:Caspases