IL-1β knockdown inhibits cigarette smoke extract-induced inflammation and apoptosis in vascular smooth muscle cells

• Published in: PloS one 2023-02, Vol.18 (2), p.e0277719-e0277719
• Main Authors: Jiang, Hongfeng, Guo, Zhangqiang, Zeng, Kun, Tang, Haiyan, Tan, Hanxuan, Min, Rui, Huang, Caihua
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Antibodies; Aorta; Apoptosis; Atherosclerosis; BAX protein; Bcl-2 protein; bcl-2-Associated X Protein - metabolism; Biology and Life Sciences; Biotechnology; Cardiovascular diseases; Cigarette smoke; Cigarette Smoking; Cigarettes; Cytokines; Flow cytometry; Gene expression; IL-1β; Inflammation; Inflammation - metabolism; Insulin; Insulin-like growth factors; Interleukin 6; Interleukin 8; Interleukin-1beta - genetics; Interleukin-1beta - metabolism; Interleukin-6 - metabolism; Interleukin-8 - metabolism; Life sciences; Medicine and Health Sciences; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular - metabolism; Muscles; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle - metabolism; Nicotiana - genetics; Plasmids; Polymerase chain reaction; Pregnancy; Pregnancy-Associated Plasma Protein-A - metabolism; Protein A; Proteins; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 - metabolism; Rats; RNA, Messenger - metabolism; Smoke; Smoking; Smooth muscle; Social Sciences; Statistical analysis; Thorax; Tumor necrosis factor-TNF; Tumor necrosis factor-α
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0277719

This study was aimed to investigate the role of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) in cigarette smoke extract (CSE)-induced apoptosis in vascular smooth muscle cells and the underlying mechanism in a rat derived cell line. Rat thoracic aortic smooth muscle cells (A7r5) were divided into six groups including control, CSE (model), CSE+ overexpression empty vector (OvExp-EV), CSE+IL-1β knockdown (KD), and CSE+ IL-1β knockdown empty vector (KD-EV). The mRNA expression levels of IL-1β and pregnancy-associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A) were detected by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). The apoptosis of A7r5 cells was detected by flow cytometry. The expression levels of inflammatory mediators (TNFα, IL-6 and IL-8) and apoptotic proteins (Bax and Bcl-2) were determined by western blot. CSE induced significant apoptosis in vascular smooth muscle cells (P < 0.01) and elevated the mRNA levels of IL-1β and PAPP-A (P < 0.01). CSE administration increased protein expression of Bax, TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-8, with significantly reduced Bcl-2 expression (P < 0.01). IL-1β knockdown significantly decreased cell apoptosis via regulating the expression of these proteins (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). IL-1β is involved in CSE-induced PAPP-A expression and apoptosis in vascular smooth muscle cells, which might be considered as a target for preventing of cardiovascular diseases caused by cigarette smoking.