Am. J. Respir. Cell Mol. Biol., Volume 20, Number 4, April, 1999 643-650

Inhibition of VCAM-1 Expression in Human Bronchial Epithelial Cells by Glucocorticoids

Jun Atsuta, Jim Plitt, Bruce S. Bochner, and Robert P. Schleimer

Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins Asthma and Allergy Center, Baltimore, Maryland

We have demonstrated previously that cytokines induce surface expression of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) on BEAS-2B bronchial epithelial cells in vitro. The present studies demonstrate glucocorticoid inhibition of cytokine-induced VCAM-1 expression as detected using flow cytometry and Northern blot analysis. Several commonly used inhaled glucocorticoids were tested for their ability to inhibit VCAM-1 and ICAM-1 expression. All glucocorticoids tested inhibited VCAM-1 expression in a dose-dependent manner. No inhibition of ICAM-1 expression was observed. The most potent of the glucocorticoids tested for inhibition of VCAM-1 expression were mometasone furoate and fluticasone propionate (FP), which had IC₅₀ values (i.e., concentrations at which each glucocorticoid produced 50% inhibition) of under 10 pM. Budesonide, triamcinolone acetonide, and beclomethasone dipropionate (BDP) had intermediate potency, and hydrocortisone and the BDP metabolite beclomethasone-17-monopropionate were the least potent of the steroids tested. Kinetic analysis of the ability of FP to inhibit VCAM-1 expression revealed that preincubation with FP for 3 h completely inhibited VCAM-1 expression induced by tumor necrosis factor- (TNF-). FP inhibited VCAM-1 expression by 50% even when added as late as 6 h after stimulation with TNF-. Using Northern blot analysis, we confirmed inhibition of VCAM-1 and ICAM-1 messenger RNA (mRNA) expression by FP. Pretreatment with FP (10¹¹ M to about 10⁷ M, 24 h) inhibited TNF--induced VCAM-1 mRNA expression in BEAS-2B in a dose-dependent manner, but did not inhibit expression of ICAM-1 mRNA. Studies with actinomycin D indicate that FP treatment accelerated the degradation of TNF--induced VCAM-1 mRNA. FP (10⁷ M) also inhibited VCAM-1 mRNA expression induced by TNF- in primary human bronchial epithelial cells as assessed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. These results suggest that suppression of epithelial VCAM-1 expression by glucocorticoids may contribute to their anti-inflammatory effects.

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