Abstract. Vascular endothelial cells play an important role in leukocyte trafficking during the inflammatory process. Proinflammatory cytokines activate the expression of cell adhesion molecules in endothelial cells. Janus kinase (JAK) and signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) are important intracellular cytokine signaling molecules that are involved in immune responses. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of JAK3 inhibition on the expression of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α-induced cell adhesion molecules in vascular endothelial cells and to evaluate the therapeutic potential of JAK3 for myocardial vascular permeability in endotoxemic mice. A JAK3 inhibitor, JANEX-1, decreased the TNF-α-induced expression of intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1, VCAM (vascular cell adhesion molecule)-1 and fractalkine in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). The downregulation of the expression of these cell adhesion molecules by JANEX-1 was mediated via suppression of STAT3 phosphorylation and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) activation. In endotoxemic mice, pretreatment with JANEX-1 prevented not only an increase in the cardiac ICAM-1 expression by LPS in the arteriolar and capillary endothelial cells, but also myocardial vascular leakage. These results suggest that inhibition of the JAK/STAT pathway by JANEX-1 ameliorates the expression of TNF-α-induced cell adhesion molecules in HUVECs and improves myocardial vascular permeability.
IntroductionSepsis is a systemic inflammatory response to severe infection and is characterized by multi-organ dysfunction and hemodynamic compromise (1). A pathophysiological feature of sepsis is the production of proinflammatory mediators, such as cellular adhesion molecules, cytokines, and chemokines by vascular endothelial and inflammatory cells (2). Among these cells, the vascular endothelial cells play important roles both in forming a structural barrier between circulating blood and the underlying tissue and in generating vasoactive mediators, such as nitric oxide, prostacyclin, endothelin, and platelet-activating factor in response to physiological or pathological conditions (3). Infiltration of leukocytes from the circulatory system to the inflammatory site requires the expression of adhesion molecules and multiple signaling cascades in endothelial cells (3,4). Therefore, therapeutic strategies focused on the regulation of the interaction between circulating leukocytes and endothelial cells might be a plausible approach to treat sepsis-induced organ dysfunction.The first step in the initiation of inflammatory cascades is the binding of a cytokine to its corresponding receptor, leading to a change in gene expression. Among these signaling pathways, the Janus kinase (JAK)/signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) pathway participates in the signaling of many cytokines and is involved in stress-responsive gene expression, immune response, myocardial ischemic preconditioning and the remodeling of post-myocardial infarction (5-8). ...