Nuclear factor ?B up-regulation of CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein ? mediates hepatocyte resistance to tumor necrosis factor ? toxicity.

ABSTRACT: The sensitization of hepatocytes to cell death from tumor necrosis factor ? (TNF?) underlies many forms of hepatic injury, including that from toxins. Critical for hepatocyte resistance to TNF? toxicity is activation of nuclear factor ?B (NF-?B) signaling, which prevents TNF?-induced death by the up-regulation of protective proteins. To further define the mechanisms of hepatocyte sensitization to TNF? killing, immunoblot analysis comparing livers from mice treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) alone or LPS together with the hepatotoxin galactosamine (GalN) was performed to identify TNF?-induced protective proteins blocked by GalN. Levels of CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein ? (C/EBP?) were increased after LPS treatment but not GalN/LPS treatment. In a nontransformed rat hepatocyte cell line, TNF?-induced increases in C/EBP? protein levels were dependent on NF-?B-mediated inhibition of proteasomal degradation. Pharmacological inhibition of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) did not affect C/EBP? degradation, indicating that the process was JNK-independent. C/EBP? functioned to prevent cell death as adenoviral C/EBP? overexpression blocked TNF?-induced apoptosis in cells sensitized to TNF? toxicity by NF-?B inhibition. C/EBP? inhibited TNF?-induced caspase 8 activation and downstream mitochondrial cytochrome c release and caspase 3 and caspase 7 activation. Studies in primary hepatocytes from c/ebp?(-/-) mice confirmed that loss of C/EBP? increased death from TNF?. c/ebp?(-/-) mice were also sensitized to liver injury from a nontoxic dose of LPS or TNF?. The absence of jnk2 failed to reverse the GalN-induced block in C/EBP? induction by LPS, again demonstrating that C/EBP? degradation was JNK-independent.C/EBP? is up-regulated by TNF? and mediates hepatocyte resistance to TNF? toxicity by inhibiting caspase-dependent apoptosis. In the absence of NF-?B signaling, proteasomal degradation of C/EBP? is increased by a JNK-independent mechanism and promotes death from TNF?.

SUBMITTER: Wang Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2991433 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature