Submitted on June 24, 2002
Accepted on December 18, 2002
INTERFERON-
INDUCES C/EBP
EXPRESSION AND ACTIVITY THROUGH MEK/ERK AND p38 IN T84 COLON EPITHELIAL CELLS
Pertteli Salmenpera1, Sammy Hamalainen1, Mika Hukkanen2, and Esko Kankuri1*
1 Institute of Biomedicine, Pharmacology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
2 Institute of Biomedicine, Anatomy, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: esko.kankuri{at}helsinki.fi.
We investigated the role of IFN-
and MAPKs on the expression and activity of the transcription factor CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein-beta (C/EBP
) in the T84 colon epithelial cell line. IFN- induced the expression and activity of C/EBP, and subsequently increased the secretion of IL-6 from these cells. Treatment with the p38 inhibitor SB203580, the MEK1 and MEK2 inhibitor U0126, or the translational inhibitor cycloheximide inhibited the induction of C/EBP and IL-6 by IFN-, while the MEK1 inhibitor PD98059 or the tyrosine kinase inhibitor genistein had no effect. These results suggest a role for MEK2 and p38 in IFN- mediated signal transduction, and induction of C/EBP expression and activity associated with IL-6 secretion in colon epithelial cells.
