Interleukin‐1‐Mediated phospholipid breakdown and arachidonic acid release in human synovial cells

Abstract

Interleukin-1 (IL-1), an important mediator contributing to joint destruction in rheumatoid arthritis, is known to stimulate the release of arachidonic acid (AA) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) from adherent synoviocytes. To study the intracellular pathways involved in these functions, we stimulated cultures of human synovial cells with recombinant IL-1 beta. AA liberation was measured after labeling synovial cells with 3H-AA, and PGE2 levels were determined by high performance liquid chromatography or radioimmunoassay. Identification of 3H-AA-labeled phospholipids was performed by thin layer chromatography. Cell-associated phospholipase A2 (PLA2) enzymatic activity was determined by an assay with cell-free systems and exogenous substrates. Stimulation of synovial cells with recombinant IL-1 beta induced a decrease in phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylinositol (PI), and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), and a marked increase in cell-associated PLA2 activity as compared with controls. In the presence of either quinacrine, an inhibitor of PLA2 pathway activation, or neomycin, which binds to PI mono- and biphosphate thus blocking their degradation by phospholipases, AA and PGE2 secretion were reduced in a dose-dependent manner. Kinetic studies revealed that quinacrine had little blocking activity on the IL-1-mediated AA release after 1 hour of stimulation but completely abolished it after 5 or 8 hours. In contrast, neomycin exerted a partial but significant inhibitory effect from the first hour of stimulation onward. Addition of quinacrine was also demonstrated to abolish the IL-1-induced hydrolysis of PC and PE but not PI, indicating that PC and PE are the preferred substrates for PLA2 enzymatic activity in human synovial cells. Our findings strongly suggest that AA and PGE2 production by IL-1-triggered synoviocytes are largely dependent upon PLA2-mediated hydrolysis of PC and PE and to a lesser extent upon the earlier degradation of PI.