Inhibition of G-Protein beta gamma Signaling Decreases Levels of Messenger RNAs Encoding Proinflammatory Cytokines in T Cell Receptor-Stimulated CD4+ T Helper Cells

Inhibition of G-protein ... (G...) signaling was found previously to enhance T cell receptor (TCR)-stimulated increases in interleukin 2 (IL-2) mRNA in CD4+ T helper cells, suggesting that G... might be a useful drug target for treating autoimmune diseases, as low dose IL-2 therapy can suppress autoimmune responses. Because IL-2 may counteract autoimmunity in part by shifting CD4+ T helper cells away from the Type 1 T helper cell (TH1) and TH17 subtypes towards the TH2 subtype, the purpose of this study was to determine if blocking G... signaling affected the balance of TH1, TH17, and TH2 cytokine mRNAs produced by CD4+ T helper cells. Gallein, a small molecule inhibitor of G..., and siRNA-mediated silencing of the G-protein ... subunit (G...) were used to test the effect of blocking G... on mRNA levels of cytokines in primary human TCR-stimulated CD4+ T helper cells. Gallein and G... siRNA decreased interferon-... (IFN-...) and IL-17A mRNA levels in TCR-stimulated CD4+ T cells grown under TH1-promoting conditions. Inhibiting G... also decreased mRNA levels of STAT4, which plays a positive role in TH1 differentiation and IL-17A production. Moreover, mRNA levels of the STAT4-regulated TH1-associated proteins, IL-18 receptor ... chain (IL-18R...), mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase 8 (MAP3K8), lymphocyte activation gene 3 (LAG-3), natural killer cell group 7 sequence (NKG7), and oncostatin M (OSM) were also decreased upon G... inhibition. Gallein also increased IL-4, IL-5, IL-9, and IL-13 mRNA levels in TCR-stimulated memory CD4+ T cells grown in TH2-promoting conditions. Inhibiting G... to produce these shifts in cytokine mRNA production might be beneficial for patients with autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), Crohn's disease (CD), psoriasis, multiple sclerosis (MS), and Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT), in which both IFN-... and IL-17A are elevated. (ProQuest: ... denotes formulae/symbols omitted.)