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Erythromycin inhibits neutrophilic inflammation and mucosal disease by upregulating DEL-1
Tomoki Maekawa, Hikaru Tamura, Hisanori Domon, Takumi Hiyoshi, Toshihito Isono, Daisuke Yonezawa, Naoki Hayashi, Naoki Takahashi, Koichi Tabeta, Takeyasu Maeda, Masataka Oda, Athanasios Ziogas, Vasileia Ismini Alexaki, Triantafyllos Chavakis, Yutaka Terao, George Hajishengallis
Tomoki Maekawa, Hikaru Tamura, Hisanori Domon, Takumi Hiyoshi, Toshihito Isono, Daisuke Yonezawa, Naoki Hayashi, Naoki Takahashi, Koichi Tabeta, Takeyasu Maeda, Masataka Oda, Athanasios Ziogas, Vasileia Ismini Alexaki, Triantafyllos Chavakis, Yutaka Terao, George Hajishengallis
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Research Article Immunology Inflammation

Erythromycin inhibits neutrophilic inflammation and mucosal disease by upregulating DEL-1

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Abstract

Macrolide antibiotics exert antiinflammatory effects; however, little is known regarding their immunomodulatory mechanisms. In this study, using 2 distinct mouse models of mucosal inflammatory disease (LPS-induced acute lung injury and ligature-induced periodontitis), we demonstrated that the antiinflammatory action of erythromycin (ERM) is mediated through upregulation of the secreted homeostatic protein developmental endothelial locus-1 (DEL-1). Consistent with the anti–neutrophil recruitment action of endothelial cell–derived DEL-1, ERM inhibited neutrophil infiltration in the lungs and the periodontium in a DEL-1–dependent manner. Whereas ERM (but not other antibiotics, such as josamycin and penicillin) protected against lethal pulmonary inflammation and inflammatory periodontal bone loss, these protective effects of ERM were abolished in Del1-deficient mice. By interacting with the growth hormone secretagogue receptor and activating JAK2 in human lung microvascular endothelial cells, ERM induced DEL-1 transcription that was mediated by MAPK p38 and was CCAAT/enhancer binding protein–β dependent. Moreover, ERM reversed IL-17–induced inhibition of DEL-1 transcription, in a manner that was dependent not only on JAK2 but also on PI3K/AKT signaling. Because DEL-1 levels are severely reduced in inflammatory conditions and with aging, the ability of ERM to upregulate DEL-1 may lead to a novel approach for the treatment of inflammatory and aging-related diseases.

Authors

Tomoki Maekawa, Hikaru Tamura, Hisanori Domon, Takumi Hiyoshi, Toshihito Isono, Daisuke Yonezawa, Naoki Hayashi, Naoki Takahashi, Koichi Tabeta, Takeyasu Maeda, Masataka Oda, Athanasios Ziogas, Vasileia Ismini Alexaki, Triantafyllos Chavakis, Yutaka Terao, George Hajishengallis

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Figure 5

ERM reverses IL-17–mediated suppression of DEL-1 by regulating the C/EBPβ transcription factor.

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ERM reverses IL-17–mediated suppression of DEL-1 by regulating the C/EBP...
(A) HMVECs were stimulated as indicated for 4 hours in the absence or presence of IL-17 (5 ng/mL). Prior to IL-17 stimulation, the cells were pretreated for 30 minutes with ERM (10 μg/mL), JSM (10 μg/mL), or PC (10 μg/mL). DEL1 mRNA expression was determined by qPCR, and data were normalized against GAPDH mRNA and expressed as fold induction relative to ethanol treatment (vehicle control), which was assigned an average value of 1 (n = 6 sets of cultures/group). (B and C) HMVECs were transiently transfected with hEDIL3-promoter-Luc reporter plasmid, pretreated for 30 minutes with or without ERM (10 μg/mL), JSM (10 μg/mL), or PC (10 μg/mL), followed by 8-hour stimulation with or without IL-17 (5 ng/mL), and analyzed for luciferase activity. A Renilla luciferase construct was cotransfected as an internal control for normalization. Data are presented as fold change relative to ethanol control treatment, which was set as 1 (n = 6 sets of cultures/group). (D) ChIP analysis of C/EBPβ occupancy at the DEL1 promoter in HMVECs treated for 4 hours with ethanol control, ERM (10 μg/m), JSM (10 μg/m), or PC (10 μg/m) (n = 4 sets of cultures/group). (E) Same experimental setup as in panel D, with included stimulation with IL-17 (5 ng/mL) for 4 hours following 30 minutes’ pretreatment with ERM and controls (n = 4 sets of cultures/group). Nonimmunoprecipitated cell extracts were used as input samples. In the experiments whose results are shown in A, C, and E, sequential treatments were performed without intermediate washing steps. Data are expressed as percentage of input. Data are presented as the mean ± SD. **P < 0.001, ***P < 0.0001 by 1-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s multiple comparisons test.

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