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Adiponectin, an adipokine, accumulated in lung system via T-cadherin after allergens/ozone challenge. However, the roles of adiponectin on lung pathologies were controversial. Here we reported that adiponectin stimulated expression of inflammatory proteins, cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in human alveolar type II A549 cells. AdipoR1/2 involved in adiponectin-activated NADPH oxidase and mitochondria, which further promoted intracellular ROS accumulation. Protein kinase C (PKC) may involve an adiponectin-activated NADPH oxidase. Similarly, p300 phosphorylation and histone H4 acetylation occurred in adiponectin-challenged A549 cells. Moreover, adiponectin-upregulated cPLA2 and COX-2 expression was significantly abrogated by ROS scavenger ( N-acetylcysteine) or the inhibitors of NADPH oxidase (apocynin), mitochondrial complex I (rotenone), PKC (Ro31-8220, Gö-6976, and rottlerin), and p300 (garcinol). Briefly, we reported that adiponectin stimulated cPLA2 and COX-2 expression via AdipoR1/2-dependent activation of PKC/NADPH oxidase/mitochondria resulting in ROS accumulation, p300 phosphorylation, and histone H4 acetylation. These results suggested that adiponectin promoted lung inflammation, resulting in exacerbation of pulmonary diseases via upregulating cPLA2 and COX-2 expression together with intracellular ROS production. Understanding the adiponectin signaling pathways on regulating cPLA2 and COX-2 may help develop therapeutic strategies on pulmonary diseases.

Cholecystokinin (CCK) is a gastrointestinal hormone that induces exocytotic amylase release in pancreatic acinar cells. The activation of protein kinase C (PKC) is involved in the CCK-induced pancreatic amylase release. Myristoylated alanine-rich C kinase substrate (MARCKS) is a ubiquitously expressed substrate of PKC. MARCKS has been implicated in membrane trafficking in several cell types. The phosphorylation of MARCKS by PKC results in the translocation of MARCKS from the membrane to the cytosol. Here, we studied the involvement of MARCKS in the CCK-induced amylase release in rat pancreatic acini. Employing Western blotting, we detected MARCKS protein in the rat pancreatic acini. CCK induced MARCKS phosphorylation. A PKC-δ inhibitor, rottlerin, inhibited the CCK-induced MARCKS phosphorylation and amylase release. In the translocation assay, we also observed CCK-induced PKC-δ activation. An immunohistochemistry study showed that CCK induced MARCKS translocation from the membrane to the cytosol. When acini were lysed by a detergent, Triton X-100, CCK partially induced displacement of the MARCKS from the GM1a-rich detergent-resistant membrane fractions (DRMs) in which Syntaxin2 is distributed. A MARCKS-related peptide inhibited the CCK-induced amylase release. These findings suggest that MARCKS phosphorylation by PKC-δ and then MARCKS translocation from the GM1a-rich DRMs to the cytosol are involved in the CCK-induced amylase release in pancreatic acinar cells.

Urolithiasis remains a very common disease in Western countries. Seventy to eighty percent of kidney stones are composed of calcium oxalate, and minor changes in urinary oxalate affect stone risk. Intestinal oxalate secretion mediated by anion exchanger SLC26A6 plays a major constitutive role in limiting net absorption of ingested oxalate, thereby preventing hyperoxaluria and calcium oxalate urolithiasis. Using the relatively selective PKC-δ inhibitor rottlerin, we had previously found that PKC-δ activation inhibits Slc26a6 activity in mouse duodenal tissue. To identify a model system to study physiologic agonists upstream of PKC-δ, we characterized the human intestinal cell line T84. Knockdown studies demonstrated that endogenous SLC26A6 mediates most of the oxalate transport by T84 cells. Cholinergic stimulation with carbachol modulates intestinal ion transport through signaling pathways including PKC activation. We therefore examined whether carbachol affects oxalate transport in T84 cells. We found that carbachol significantly inhibited oxalate transport by T84 cells, an effect blocked by rottlerin. Carbachol also led to significant translocation of PKC-δ from the cytosol to the membrane of T84 cells. Using pharmacological inhibitors, we observed that carbachol inhibits oxalate transport through the M3muscarinic receptor and phospholipase C. Utilizing the Src inhibitor PP2 and phosphorylation studies, we found that the observed regulation downstream of PKC-δ is partially mediated by c-Src. Biotinylation studies revealed that carbachol inhibits oxalate transport by reducing SLC26A6 surface expression. We conclude that carbachol negatively regulates oxalate transport by reducing SLC26A6 surface expression in T84 cells through signaling pathways including the M3muscarinic receptor, phospholipase C, PKC-δ, and c-Src.

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a state of oxidative stress accompanied by PKC activation in many tissues. The primary site of O2•−production by the normal rat kidney is the medullary thick ascending limb (mTAL). We hypothesized that T1D increases O2•−production by the mTAL through a PKC-dependent mechanism involving increased expression and translocation of one or more PKC isoforms. mTAL suspensions were prepared from rats with streptozotocin-induced T1D (STZ mTALs) and from normal or sham rats (normal/sham mTALs). O2•−production by STZ mTALs was fivefold higher than normal/sham mTALs ( P < 0.05). PMA (30 min) mimicked the effect of T1D on O2•−production. Exposure to calphostin C or chelerythrine (PKC inhibitors), Gö6976 (PKCα/β inhibitor), or rottlerin (PKCδ inhibitor) decreased O2•−production to 2•−production that is eradicated by inhibition of PKCα or PKCδ (but not PKCβ). We conclude that increased PKCα expression and activity are primarily responsible for PKC-dependent O2•−production by the mTAL during T1D.

In this study, we explore the roles of the delta isoform of PKC (PKCδ) in the regulation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) activity in pulmonary arterial endothelial cells isolated from fetal lambs (FPAECs). Pharmacological inhibition of PKCδ with either rottlerin or with the peptide, δV1-1, acutely attenuated NO production, and this was associated with a decrease in phosphorylation of eNOS at Ser1177 (S1177). The chronic effects of PKCδ inhibition using either rottlerin or the overexpression of a dominant negative PKCδ mutant included the downregulation of eNOS gene expression that was manifested by a decrease in both eNOS promoter activity and protein expression after 24 h of treatment. We also found that PKCδ inhibition blunted Akt activation as observed by a reduction in phosphorylated Akt at position Ser473. Thus, we conclude that PKCδ is actively involved in the activation of Akt. To determine the effect of Akt on eNOS signaling, we overexpressed a dominant negative mutant of Akt and determined its effect of NO generation, eNOS expression, and phosphorylation of eNOS at S1177. Our results demonstrated that Akt inhibition was associated with decreased NO production that correlated with reduced phosphorylation of eNOS at S1177, and decreased eNOS promoter activity. We next evaluated the effect of endogenously produced NO on eNOS expression by incubating FPAECs with the eNOS inhibitor 2-ethyl-2-thiopseudourea (ETU). ETU significantly inhibited NO production, eNOS promoter activity, and eNOS protein levels. Together, our data indicate involvement of PKCδ-mediated Akt activation and NO generation in maintaining eNOS expression.

In the present study, we assessed the effects of chemical inhibitors shown to be selective for protein kinase C (PKC) isoforms on lung barrier function both in vitro and in vivo. Rottlerin, a purported inhibitor of PKCδ, but not other chemical inhibitors, dose dependently promoted barrier dysfunction in lung endothelial cells in vitro. This barrier dysfunction correlated with structural changes in focal adhesions and stress fibers, which were consistent with functional changes in cell stiffness. To determine whether the effects noted in vitro correlated with changes in intact lungs, we tested the effects of rottlerin in the formation of pulmonary edema in rats using both ex vivo and in vivo models. Isolated, perfused lungs demonstrated a significant increase in filtration coefficients on exposure to rottlerin, compared with vehicle-treated lungs, an effect that correlated with increased extravasation of Evan's blue dye (EBD)-conjugated albumin. Additionally, compared with vehicle, the ratio of the wet lung weights to dry lung weights was significantly greater on exposure of animals to rottlerin; rottlerin also produced a dose-dependent increase in EBD extravasation into the lungs. These effects on lung edema occurred without any increase in right ventricular pressures. Microscopic assessment of edema in the ex vivo lungs demonstrated perivascular cuffing, with no evidence of septal capillary leak, in rottlerin-exposed lungs. Taken together, rottlerin increases barrier dysfunction in pulmonary endothelial cell monolayers and causes pulmonary edema in rats; results suggestive of an important role for PKCδ in maintaining lung endothelial barrier function.

Protein kinase C (PKC) is involved in the process of ischemic preconditioning (IPC), although the precise mechanism is still a subject of debate. Using specific PKC inhibitors, we investigated which PKC isoforms were involved in IPC of the human atrial myocardium sections and to determine their temporal relationship to the opening of mitochondrial potassium-sensitive ATP (mitoKATP) channels. Right atrial muscles obtained from patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery were equilibrated and then randomized to receive any of the following protocols: aerobic control, 90-min simulated ischemia/120-min reoxygenation, IPC using 5-min simulated ischemia/5-min reoxygenation followed by 90-min simulated ischemia/120-min reoxygenation and finally, PKC inhibitors were added 10 min before and 10 min during IPC followed by 90-min simulated ischemia/120-min reoxygenation. The PKC isoforms inhibitors investigated were V1–2 peptide, GO-6976, rottlerin, and LY-333531 for PKC-ε, -α, -δ and -β, respectively. To investigate the relation of PKC isoforms to mitoKATPchannels, PKC inhibitors found to be involved in IPC were added 10 min before and 10 min during preconditioning by diazoxide followed by 90-min simulated ischemia/120-min reoxygenation in a second experiment. Creatine kinase leakage and methylthiazoletetrazolium cell viability were measured. Phosphorylation of PKC isoforms after activation of the sample by either diazoxide or IPC was detected by using Western blot analysis and then analyzed by using Scion image software. PKC-α and -ε inhibitors blocked IPC, whereas PKC-δ and -β inhibitors did not. The protection elicited by diazoxide, believed to be via mitoKATPchannels opening, was blocked by the inhibition of PKC-α but not -ε isoforms. In addition, diazoxide caused increased phosphorylation of PKC-α to the same extent as IPC but did not affect the phosphorylation of PKC-ε, a process believed to be critical in PKC activation. The results demonstrate that PKC-α and -ε are involved in IPC of the human myocardium with PKC-ε being upstream and PKC-α being downstream of mitoKATPchannels.

Novel protein kinase C (PKC) isoforms PKCdelta and PKCepsilon have recently been implicated in signaling by hypertonic stress. We investigated the role of the putative PKCdelta inhibitor rottlerin on tonicity-dependent gene regulation. In the renal medullary mIMCD3 cell line, rottlerin blocked tonicity-dependent transcription of a tonicity enhancer (TonE)-driven luciferase reporter gene, as well as tonicity-dependent transcription of the physiological tonicity effector gene aldose reductase, but not urea-dependent transcription. Consistent with these data, rottlerin inhibited tonicity-dependent expression of TonE binding protein (TonEBP) at the mRNA and protein levels. Another inhibitor of both novel and conventional PKC isoforms, GF-109203X, suppressed TonEBP-dependent transcription but failed to influence tonicity-inducible TonEBP expression. Global PKC downregulation with protracted phorbol ester treatment, however, failed to influence tonicity-dependent signaling, arguing against a PKCdelta-dependent mechanism of rottlerin action in this model. In addition, hypertonic stress failed to induce phosphorylation of PKCdelta. Furthermore, in a PC-12 cell model with a comparable degree of tonicity-dependent transcription, constitutive overexpression of dominant negative-acting PKCdelta or PKCepsilon effectively decreased tonicity signaling to extracellular signal-regulated kinase activation, as expected, but failed to influence TonE-dependent transcription. TonE-dependent transcription, however, remained rottlerin sensitive in this PC-12 cell model. In the aggregate, these data indicate that rottlerin dramatically inhibits tonicity-dependent TonEBP expression and TonE-dependent transcription but, despite its reputed mode of action, does so through a PKCdelta-independent pathway.

The effects of Gö-6976, a Ca2+-dependent protein kinase C (PKC) isozyme inhibitor, and rottlerin, a PKC-δ isozyme/calmodulin (CaM)-dependent kinase III inhibitor, on responses to vasopressor agents were investigated in the feline pulmonary vascular bed. Injections of angiotensin II, norepinephrine (NE), serotonin, BAY K 8644, and U-46619 into the lobar arterial constant blood flow perfusion circuit caused increases in pressure. Gö-6976 reduced responses to angiotensin II; however, it did not alter responses to serotonin, NE, or U-46619, whereas Gö-6976 enhanced BAY K 8644 responses. Rottlerin reduced responses to angiotensin II and NE, did not alter responses to serotonin or U-46619, and enhanced responses to BAY K 8644. Immunohistochemistry of feline pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells demonstrated localization of PKC-α and -δ isozymes in response to phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate and angiotensin II. Localization of PKC-α and -δ isozymes decreased with administration of Gö-6976 and rottlerin, respectively. These data suggest that activation of Ca2+-dependent PKC isozymes and Ca2+-independent PKC-δ isozyme/CaM-dependent kinase III mediate angiotensin II responses. These data further suggest that Ca2+-independent PKC-δ isozyme/CaM-dependent kinase III mediate responses to NE. A rottlerin- or Gö-6976-sensitive mechanism is not involved in mediating responses to serotonin and U-46619, but these PKC isozyme inhibitors enhanced BAY K 8644 responses in the feline pulmonary vascular bed.

Rottlerin is a polyphenolic compound derived from Mallotus philipinensis . In the present study, we show that rottlerin decreased tumor size and stimulated apoptosis in an orthotopic model of pancreatic cancer with no effect on normal tissues in vivo. Rottlerin also induced apoptosis in pancreatic cancer (PaCa) cell lines by interacting with mitochondria and stimulating cytochrome c release. Immunoprecipitation results indicated that rottlerin disrupts complexes of prosurvival Bcl-xL with Bim and Puma. Furthermore, siRNA knockdown showed that Bim and Puma are necessary for rottlerin to stimulate apoptosis. We also showed that rottlerin and Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL inhibitor BH3I-2′ stimulate apoptosis through a common mechanism. They both directly interact with mitochondria, causing increased cytochrome c release and mitochondrial depolarization, and both decrease sequestration of BH3-only proteins by Bcl-xL. However, the effects of rottlerin and BH3I-2′ on the complex formation between Bcl-xL and BH3-only proteins are different. BH3I-2′ disrupts complexes of Bcl-xL with Bad but not with Bim or Puma, whereas rottlerin had no effect on the Bcl-xL interaction with Bad. Also BH3I-2′, but not rottlerin, required Bad to stimulate apoptosis. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that rottlerin has a potent proapoptotic and antitumor activity in pancreatic cancer, which is mediated by disrupting the interaction between prosurvival Bcl-2 proteins and proapoptotic BH3-only proteins. Thus rottlerin represents a promising novel agent for pancreatic cancer treatment.