Pyrrolidine Dithiocarbamate Inhibits the Production of Interleukin-6, Interleukin-8, and Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor by Human Endothelial Cells in Response to Inflammatory Mediators: Modulation of NF-κB and AP-1 Transcription Factors Activity

Endothelial cells (EC) play a key role in the inflammatory response, both by the production of proinflammatory cytokines and by their interaction with leukocytes. Molecular genetic analysis has demonstrated that functional NF-κB sites are involved in the transcription of interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-8, and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) genes in response to inflammatory mediators. Thus, we have explored the effect of two inhibitors of the NF-κB activation, pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC) and N-acetylcysteine (NAC), on the production of these cytokines by EC. Both PDTC and NAC inhibited, in a dose-dependent manner, the synthesis of IL-6, IL-8, and GM-CSF induced by tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α or bacterial lipopolysaccharides (LPS) in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). PDTC appeared to prevent IL-6, IL-8, and GM-CSF gene transcription, as it blocked the induction of specific mRNA by TNF-α or LPS. The TNF-α-mediated transcriptional activation of a chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) plasmid containing three copies of the -72 κB binding site from the IL-6 promoter was abrogated by PDTC. According to transection experiments, electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSA) demonstrated that the antioxidant prevented the induction of NF-κB DNA-binding activity by TNF-α. Under the same conditions, PDTC by itself or in combination with TNF-α, enhanced the DNA-binding activity of AP-1, as well as c-fos and c-jun mRNA levels. Altogether, these results indicate that the antioxidant PDTC specifically inhibits the transcription of IL-6, IL-8, and GM-CSF genes through the inhibition of the NF-κB activation, while increasing the expression of AP-1. Our data make evident the antiinflammatory and immunoregulatory potential of the pharmacological inhibition of the NF-κB activation. In addition, PDTC and related molecules may be a useful tool to explore the expression of genes involved in the inflammatory response.