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Inhibition of neutrophil elastase-induced interleukin-8 gene expression by urinary trypsin inhibitor in human
1First Department of Internal Medicine, Yamagata University School of Medicine, Japan.
Background:
Urinary trypsin inhibitor (UTI), a potential inhibitor for proteinases including neutrophil elastase (NE), trypsin, plasmin, cathepsin B and H has been used for the treatment of lung diseases with the absence of side effects in Japan.
Methods:
In this study, we investigated the inhibitory effects of UTI on both purified NE and NE activities present in bronchoalveolar fluids from patients with chronic bronchitis. We also investigated the inhibitory capacity of UTI with regard to NE-induced interleukin-8 gene expression in human bronchial epithelial cells by Northern analyses.
Results:
UTI inhibited NE activities in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from patients with chronic bronchitis and of the purified enzyme. In addition, UTI inhibited NE-induced interleukin-8 gene expression and protein secretion in a human bronchial epithelial cell line.
Conclusions:
Our results suggest that UTI is applicable to patients with a variety inflammatory lung diseases in which NE plays a pivotal role.