Thymic stromal lymphopoietin is expressed and produced by caspase-1/NF-κB pathway in mast cells

Thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) plays a pivotal role in allergic diseases such as atopic dermatitis, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Although there are many reports regarding function and regulatory mechanism of TSLP in dendritic cells and/or T cells, the regulatory mechanism of TSLP in mast cells has not been fully elucidated. Here, we describe how TSLP is expressed and produced by inflammatory stimulus in mast cells. TSLP mRNA was expressed by phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) plus A23187 stimulation in HMC-1 cells and reached its peak 5h after PMA plus A23187 stimulation. The expression of TSLP mRNA was inhibited by nuclear factor (NF)-κB inhibitor. In addition, NF-κB luciferase activity was inhibited by caspase-1 inhibitor, indicating that caspase-1 is an upstream of NF-κB in mast cells. Furthermore, caspase-1 inhibitor decreased the expression of TSLP mRNA induced by PMA plus A23187. Finally, TSLP production was inhibited by both caspase-1 inhibitor and NF-κB inhibitor. These results provide proof of principle that TSLP can be expressed and produced through caspase-1 and NF-κB in mast cells and open new perspectives to pharmacologically manipulate the expression and production of TSLP by molecules acting on the caspase-1 and NF-κB pathway.