Activation of ROS/NF-κB and Ca²⁺/CaM kinase II are necessary for VCAM-1 induction in IL-1β-treated human tracheal smooth muscle cells

Histone acetylation regulated by histone acetyltransferases (HATs) and histone deacetylases (HDACs) plays a critical role in the expression of inflammatory genes, such as vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1). Oxidative processes have been shown to induce VCAM-1 expression. Here, we investigated the mechanisms underlying IL-1β-induced VCAM-1 expression in human tracheal smooth muscle cells (HTSMCs). Our results showed that IL-1β enhanced HTSMCs-monocyte adhesion through up-regulation of VCAM-1, which was inhibited by pretreatment with selective inhibitors of PKCα (Gö6976), c-Src (PP1), NADPH oxidase [diphenylene iodonium (DPI) and apocynin (APO)], intracellular calcium chelator (BAPTA/AM), PI-PLC (U73122), CaM (calmidazolium chloride), CaM kinase II (KN62), p300 (garcinol), NF-κB (Bay11-7082), HDAC (trichostatin A), and ROS scavenger [N-acetyl-l-cysteine (NAC)] or transfection with siRNAs of MyD88, PKCα, Src, p47^phox, p300, and HDAC4. Moreover, IL-1β stimulated NF-κB and CaMKII phosphorylation through MyD88-dependent PI-PLC/PKCα/c-Src/ROS and PI-PLC/Ca²⁺/CaM pathways, respectively. Activation of NF-κB and CaMKII may eventually lead to the acetylation of histone residues and phosphorylation of histone deacetylases. These findings suggested that IL-1β induced VCAM-1 expression via these multiple signaling pathways in HTSMCs. Blockade of these pathways may reduce monocyte adhesion via VCAM-1 suppression and attenuation of the inflammatory responses in airway diseases.