IL-4 suppresses prostaglandins production in human follicular dendritic cells by repressing COX-2 through JAK1-STAT6 (147.1)

Abstract

Abstract In a recent report, we demonstrated that IL-4 inhibits prostaglandins (PGs) production in follicular dendritic cell (FDC)-like cells, HK. To understand the inhibitory mechanisms of IL-4, its effects on the biosynthesis of enzymes in charge of PG production were assessed in this study. Although IL-4 did not affect COX-1 expression, it specifically inhibited LPS-induced COX-2 biosynthesis at the mRNA and protein levels. Protein expression of mPGES-1, a downstream enzyme of COX-2, was also markedly diminished by IL-4 but not by IL-10, maximizing the inhibitory activity. Next, we attempted to identify the early signaling molecules that led to this inhibition of COX-2 expression. Although IL-4 induced tyrosine phosphorylation of JAK1 and TYK2, RNA interference experiments revealed that only JAK1 was responsible for the IL-4-stimulated STAT6 phosphorylation. Knocking down JAK1 and STAT6 ablated the inhibitory effect of IL-4 on COX-2 expression and significantly reduced production of PGE2 and prostacyclin. These results stress the essential roles of JAK1 and STAT6 in the early signaling pathway of IL-4 leading to suppression of COX-2 expression and repression of PG production by HK cells. Our results suggest that T cells via IL-4 play a regulatory role in PG generation in FDC. IL-4 therapeutics may be applied to immune disorders where normal and ectopic expression of germinal center reactions needs to be regulated.