bett. Inhibition of IFN-␥-induced STAT1 activation by 15-deoxy-⌬ 12,14 -prostaglandin J2. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 284: E883-E891, 2003. First published January 7, 2003 10.1152/ajpendo.00515.2002The inhibitory actions of 15-deoxy-⌬ 12,14 -prostaglandin J2 (PGJ2) on inflammatory gene expression have been attributed to the ability of this prostaglandin to inhibit the activation of NF-B. In this study, we have identified an additional signaling pathway sensitive to inhibition by PGJ 2. We show that PGJ2 inhibits interferon (IFN)-␥-stimulated phosphorylation and DNAbinding activity of STAT1. The inhibitory actions on STAT1 phosphorylation are first apparent after a 1-to 2-h incubation and are maximal after a 6-h incubation with PGJ 2, and they correlate with the expression of heat shock protein (HSP)70 in islets. In previous studies, we have correlated the inhibitory actions of PGJ2 on inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression and NF-B activation in response to IL-1 with the increased expression of HSP70. Using overexpression and antisense depletion, we provide evidence that HSP70 does not mediate the inhibitory actions of PGJ2 on IL-1-induced NF-B or IFN-␥-induced STAT1 activation or cytokine-stimulated iNOS expression by -cells. Last, we show that the inhibitory actions of a short 6-h pulse with PGJ2 on IL-1 plus IFN-␥-stimulated iNOS expression and NO production by -cells are persistent for extended periods (Յ48 h). These findings suggest that PGJ2 inhibits multiple cytokine-signaling pathways (IL-1 and IFN-␥), that the inhibitory actions are persistent for extended periods, and that increased HSP70 expression correlates with, but does not appear to mediate, the inhibitory actions of PGJ2 on IL-1 and IFN-␥ signaling in -cells.interferon-␥; signal transducer and activator of transcription-1; peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-␥ AUTOIMMUNE DIABETES IS CHARACTERIZED by islet inflammation followed by the selective destruction of insulinsecreting -cells found in pancreatic islets of Langerhans (14). Cytokines released from inflammatory macrophages and T cells are believed to participate in -cell damage during diabetes development (3, 35). Treatment of rat islets with IL-1 results in a timeand concentration-dependent inhibition of glucosestimulated insulin secretion that is followed by islet degeneration (8,22,29). The inhibitory and destructive actions of IL-1 on -cell function correlate with the time-dependent expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and production of nitric oxide and can be prevented by inhibitors of iNOS (10,12,36). Alone, interferon (IFN)-␥ does not appear to modulate -cell function; however, IFN-␥ has been shown to both prime and potentiate the stimulatory actions of IL-1 on iNOS expression by rat islets (19,21). In addition, a combination of IL-1 and IFN-␥ is required to stimulate iNOS expression by mouse and human -cells (6, 41). Nitric oxide, produced following iNOS expression, impairs -cell function by inhibiting mitochondrial oxidative metabolism, a...