Glucocorticoid- and protein kinase A-dependent transcriptome regulation in airway smooth muscle

Glucocorticoids (GCs) and protein kinase A (PKA)-activating agents (beta-adrenergic receptor agonists) are mainstream asthma therapies based on their ability to prevent or reverse excessive airway smooth muscle (ASM) constriction. Their abilities to regulate another important feature of asthma--excessive ASM growth--are poorly understood. Recent studies have suggested that GCs render agents of inflammation such as IL-1 beta and TNF-alpha mitogenic to ASM, via suppression of (antimitogenic) induced cyclooxygenase-2-dependent PKA activity. To further explore the mechanistic basis of these observations, we assessed the effects of epidermal growth factor and IL-1 beta stimulation, and the modulatory effects of GC treatment and PKA inhibition, on the ASM transcriptome by microarray analysis. Results demonstrate that ASM stimulated with IL-1 beta, in a manner that is often cooperative with stimulation with epidermal growth factor, exhibit a profound capacity to function as immunomodulatory cells. Moreover, results implicate an important role for induced autocrine/paracrine factors (many whose regulation was minimally affected by GCs or PKA inhibition) as regulators of both airway inflammation and ASM growth. Induction of numerous chemokines, in conjunction with regulation of proteases and agents of extracellular matrix remodeling, is suggested as an important mechanism promoting upregulated G protein-coupled receptor signaling capable of stimulating ASM growth. Additional functional assays suggest that intracellular PKA plays a critical role in suppressing the promitogenic effects of induced autocrine factors in ASM. Finally, identification and comparison of GC- and PKA-sensitive genes in ASM provide insight into the complementary effects of beta-agonist/GC combination therapies, and suggest specific genes as important targets for guiding the development of new generations of GCs and adjunct asthma therapies.