Inhibition of tumor necrosis factor α-mediated NFκB activation and leukocyte adhesion, with enhanced endothelial apoptosis, by G protein-linked receptor (TP) ligands

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alpha is a critical mediator of inflammation; however, TNFalpha is rarely released alone and the "cross-talk" between different classes of inflammatory mediators is largely unexplored. Thromboxane A(2) (TXA(2)) is released during I/R injury and exerts its effects via a G protein-linked receptor (TP). In this study, we found that TXA(2) mimetics stimulate leukocyte adhesion molecule (LAM) expression on endothelium via TPbeta. The potential interaction between TXA(2) and TNFalpha in altering endothelial survival and LAM expression was examined. IBOP, a TXA(2) mimetic, attenuated TNFalpha-induced LAM expression in vitro, in a concentration-dependent manner, by preventing TNFalpha-enhanced gene expression, and also reduced TNFalpha-induced leukocyte adhesion to endothelium both in vitro and in vivo. IBOP abrogated TNFalpha-induced NFkappaB activation in endothelial cells, as determined by reduced IkappaB phosphorylation and NFkappaB nuclear translocation, by inhibiting the assembly of signaling intermediates with the intracellular domain of TNT receptors 1 and 2 in response to TNFalpha. This inhibition resulted from the Galpha(q)-mediated enhancement of STAT1 activation and was reversed by anti-STAT1 antisense oligonucleotides. TNFalpha-mediated TNFR1-FADD association and caspase 8 activation were not inhibited by IBOP co-stimulation, however, resulting in a 2.6-fold increase in endothelial cell apoptosis. By stimulating the vessel wall and inducing endothelial cell apoptosis, TXA2, in combination with TNFalpha, may hamper the angiogenic response during inflammation or ischemia, thus reducing revascularization and tissue viability.