Regulatory mechanism of activator protein-1 on the expression of MUC5AC induced by cigarette smoke extract

Abstract

To investigate the mechanism of activator protein-1 (AP-1) on cigarette smoke-induced airway mucous hypersecretion and to explore the possible signal transduction pathway that activates AP-1. The airway epithelial cell line (BEAS-2B) was cultured in vivo and treated with cigarette smoke extract (CSE). The DNA binding activity of AP-1 was blocked by the transfection of c-Jun dominant negative mutant TAM67 into the cells. SP600125 and PD98059 were used to block the activation of c-Jun terminal kinase (JNK) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) respectively. MUC5AC protein was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, MUC5AC mRNA level was analyzed by RT-PCR, while the protein contents of p-JNK, p-ERK and p-P38 were detected by Western blot, and the DNA binding activity of AP-1 was determined by electrophoretic mobility shift assay. The MUC5AC protein production and mRNA expression in the CSE group were significantly higher than those in the control group, and the DNA binding activity of AP-1 was also higher than that in the control group (P<0.01). The protein contents of p-ERK and p-JNK in the CSE group were higher than those in the control group (P<0.01), but the p-P38 level was not significantly different from that in the control group (P>0.05). After the transfection of TAM67 into the cells, the expression levels of MUC5AC protein and mRNA and the binding activity of AP-1 decreased significantly (P<0.01). The DNA binding activity of AP-1 and the expression levels of MUC5AC protein and mRNA were lower in the SP600125 group and in the PD98059 group than those in the CSE group (P<0.05). After being activated by JNK and ERK which are phosphorylated by cigarette smoke, AP-1 binds to its DNA binding elements on the promoter of MUC5AC gene and up-regulates the MUC5AC expression at the transcriptional level.