Factor VIIa induces tissue factor-dependent up-regulation of interleukin-8 in a human keratinocyte line

Tissue factor (TF), a transmembrane receptor for the serine protease coagulation factor VII(a) (FVIIa), is the main initiator of the coagulation cascade. Through incompletely elucidated mechanisms, TF serves additional functions in tumor-associated angiogenesis and metastasis. We have studied interleukin-8 (IL-8) as a possible link between TF-FVIIa complex formation and subsequent processes. Recombinant human FVIIa induced the up-regulation of both IL-8 mRNA and protein in a FVIIa dose- and time-dependent fashion. A neutralizing antibody to TF reduced this induction by 93 +/- 5%. Active site-inhibited FVIIa had no stimulatory effect and completely blocked that of FVIIa. This confirms that the increased IL-8 production was dependent on the formation of TF-FVIIa complexes and the proteolytic activity of FVIIa. The IL-8 promoter contains DNA binding sites for nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) and activator protein-1 (AP-1). In response to FVIIa, the DNA binding activity of both NF-kappaB and AP-1 was enhanced in an electrophoretic mobility shift assay. In addition, the IL-8 promoter was transcriptionally activated both in a luciferase reporter system and a nuclear run-off assay. Moreover, IL-8 mRNA stability was significantly enhanced by FVIIa-induced activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinases ERK1/2 and p38. Taken together, TF-FVIIa signaling induced increased transcription as well as mRNA stabilization leading to the significant up-regulation of IL-8 protein synthesis.