15-Deoxy-Δ12,14-prostaglandin J2 induces PPARγ- and p53-independent apoptosis in rabbit synovial cells

•15D-PGJ2 induced caspases-dependent synovial apoptosis, accompanying with p53 insolubilization.•15D-PGJ2 rendered p53 inactive through its covalent binding to p53.•15D-PGJ2-induced synovial apoptosis was not mediated by PPARγ.•NAC inhibited 15d-PGJ2-induced apoptosis and p53 insolubilization.•Pro-inflammatory cytokines did not affect 15d-PGJ2-induced synovial apoptosis. A ligand of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ), 15-deoxy-Δ12,14-prostaglandin J2 (15d-PGJ2) induces apoptosis in various cells. However, the mechanism appears to be complex and cell-type specific. We investigated the mechanism of 15d-PGJ2-induced apoptosis of rabbit synovial cells. Exposure to 15d-PGJ2 resulted in DNA fragmentation accompanied by caspase-3 and -9 activations in the cells, suggesting occurrence of mitochondria-mediated apoptosis. Although the exposure also induced remarkable increase in p53 protein, its transcriptional activity was rather reduced, suggesting non-necessity of p53 in 15d-PGJ2-induced apoptosis. Covalent binding of 15d-PGJ2 to cellular proteins including p53 resulted in their insolubilization. N-acetylcysteine inhibited not only the 15d-PGJ2-induced apoptotic events but also the protein insolubilizations via its interaction with 15d-PGJ2. The studies using a PPARγ-agonist and -antagonist showed noninvolvement of PPARγ in 15d-PGJ2-induced apoptosis. The pre-exposure to pro-inflammatory cytokines did not affect the cytotoxicity of 15d-PGJ2 in synovial cells. Taken together, these results show that 15d-PGJ2 induces a mitochondria-mediated apoptotic pathway in p53- and PPARγ-independent manners.