Modulation of lipopolysaccharide-induced NF-IL6 activation by protein kinase C-alpha in a mouse macrophage cell line

We have previously shown that overexpression of a dominant-negative (DN) mutant of protein kinase C-alpha (PKC-alpha) in RAW 264.7 macrophages inhibited lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced IL-1alpha, inducible nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase-2 expression. This inhibition was not related to defective NF-kappaB nuclear translocation, suggesting that PKC-alpha might be involved in the modulation of other LPS-inducible transcription factors. In the present study, we have investigated the impact of PKC-alpha on the activation of AP-1 and NF-IL6 in LPS-treated RAW 264.7 macrophages. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays and luciferase reporter constructs revealed that LPS-induced AP-1 transcriptional activity was normal in DN PKC-alpha-overexpressing RAW 264.7 cells. In contrast, LPS-induced DNA-binding and transcriptional activities of NF-IL6 were inhibited in DN PKC-alpha-overexpressing RAW 264.7 cells and correlated with an impairment of NF-IL6 nuclear translocation. Conversely, overexpression of either wild-type PKC-alpha or a constitutively active PKC-alpha mutant significantly enhanced LPS-stimulated NF-IL6-dependent promoter activity. Finally, LPS-induced expression of two genes regulated by NF-IL6, namely IL-1beta and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, was impaired in DN PKC-alpha-overexpressing RAW 264.7 cells. Taken together, these results suggest that regulation of NF-IL6 activity constitutes one of the mechanisms by which PKC-alpha modulates LPS-induced gene expression in the mouse macrophage cell line RAW 264.7.