Cysteine, histidine and glycine exhibit anti‐inflammatory effects in human coronary arterial endothelial cells

• Published in: Clinical and experimental immunology 2012-02, Vol.167 (2), p.269-274
• Main Authors: Hasegawa, S., Ichiyama, T., Sonaka, I., Ohsaki, A., Okada, S., Wakiguchi, H., Kudo, K., Kittaka, S., Hara, M., Furukawa, S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: amino acid; Amino acids; Analytical, structural and metabolic biochemistry; Anti-Inflammatory Agents - pharmacology; Arteriosclerosis; Arteritis - prevention & control; Biological and medical sciences; Cell adhesion molecules; Cells, Cultured - drug effects; Cells, Cultured - metabolism; coronary arterial endothelial cell; Coronary Vessels - cytology; Cysteine; Cysteine - pharmacology; Cytokines; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; Drug therapy; E-selectin; E-Selectin - biosynthesis; E-Selectin - genetics; Endothelial cells; Endothelial Cells - drug effects; Endothelial Cells - metabolism; Endothelium, Vascular - cytology; E‐selectin (CD62E); Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gene Expression Regulation - drug effects; Glycine; Glycine - pharmacology; Histidine; Histidine - pharmacology; Humans; I-kappa B Proteins - metabolism; IL‐6; Immune system; Inflammatory diseases; Interleukin 6; Interleukin-6 - biosynthesis; Interleukin-6 - genetics; NF- Kappa B protein; NF-kappa B - metabolism; NF-KappaB Inhibitor alpha; NF‐κB; Translational Studies; Tumor necrosis factor- alpha; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha - pharmacology; Vasculitis
• ISSN: 0009-9104; 1365-2249
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2249.2011.04519.x

Summary The activation of nuclear factor‐kappa B (NF‐κB) in vascular endothelial cells may be involved in vascular pathogeneses such as vasculitis or atherosclerosis. Recently, it has been reported that some amino acids exhibit anti‐inflammatory effects. We investigated the inhibitory effects of a panel of amino acids on cytokine production or expression of adhesion molecules that are involved in inflammatory diseases in various cell types. The activation of NF‐κB was determined in human coronary arterial endothelial cells (HCAECs) because NF‐κB modulates the production of many cytokines and the expression of adhesion molecules. We examined the inhibitory effects of the amino acids cysteine, histidine and glycine on the induction of NF‐κB activation, expression of CD62E (E‐selectin) and the production of interleukin (IL)‐6 in HCAECs stimulated with tumour necrosis factor (TNF)‐α. Cysteine, histidine and glycine significantly reduced NF‐κB activation and inhibitor κBα (IκBα) degradation in HCAECs stimulated with TNF‐α. Additionally, all the amino acids inhibited the expression of E‐selectin and the production of IL‐6 in HCAECs, and the effects of cysteine were the most significant. Our results show that glycine, histidine and cysteine can inhibit NF‐κB activation, IκBα degradation, CD62E expression and IL‐6 production in HCAECs, suggesting that these amino acids may exhibit anti‐inflammatory effects during endothelial inflammation.