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Updated: May 24, 2026

Isolation, Characterization and Functional Examination of the Gingival Immune Cell Network
Published on: February 16, 2016
Different signaling mechanisms regulating IL-6 expression by LPS between gingival fibroblasts and mononuclear cells:
Junfei Jin1, Kamala P Sundararaj, Devadoss J Samuvel
1Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Medical Genetics, Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425, United States.
Abstract:
To reduce connective tissue IL-6 level stimulated by LPS, it is essential to control IL-6 expression in both mononuclear cells and fibroblasts. However, it is unclear whether the regulatory mechanisms for both cells are similar or not. In this study, we found that signaling pathways mediating LPS-stimulated IL-6 in mononuclear U937 cells and fibroblasts were different. Furthermore, our studies showed that while LPS activated AP-1 and NFκB in U937 cells, it only activated NFκB in fibroblasts. Analysis of nuclear AP-1 subunits showed that LPS stimulated c-Fos, Fra-1 and Jun D activities in U937 cells, but not fibroblasts. The lack of ERK involvement in LPS-stimulated IL-6 in fibroblasts was further supported by the observations that simvastatin, which is known to target ERK-AP-1, failed to inhibit LPS-stimulated IL-6 by fibroblasts. Finally, we showed that targeting NFκB pathway was highly effective in inhibition of LPS-stimulated IL-6 in coculture of U937 cells and fibroblasts.
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