Regulation of Cyclooxygenase-2 and Endogenous Cytokine Expression by Bacterial Lipopolysaccharide That Acts in Synergy with c-Kit Ligand and Fcε Receptor I Crosslinking in Cultured Mast Cells

Emerging evidence has suggested the pivotal role of mast cells in a host defense against bacterial infection. In this paper, we report that bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is a potent enhancer of the cytokine- and IgE-dependent delayed responses of IL-3-dependent mouse bone marrow-derived cultured mast cells (BMMC). LPS, although showing minimal effects, significantly augmented the c-kitligand (KL)- or IgE-dependent expression of cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 and the attendant delayed PGD2generation, with IL-10 and IL-4 acting as potentiating and inhibitory cytokines, respectively. The COX-2-inducing activity of LPS was mimicked by exogenous IL-1β. Assessment of endogenous cytokine induction revealed that IL-1β expression was stimulated by either LPS or exogenous IL-1β. IL-6 expression occurred in parallel with COX-2 expression. IL-10 expression, which lagged behind COX-2 expression, depended on exogenous IL-10, but not on LPS and IL-1β. Thus, LPS and IL-1β exhibited similar biological activities in terms of COX-2 and endogenous cytokine expression. However, adding an antibody against the type I IL-1 receptor to BMMC, which abrogated the effects of IL-1β, failed to neutralize the effects of LPS. These results suggest that LPS activates BMMC through the signal transduction pathway shared with exogenous IL-1β, rather than exerting its action indirectly via the production of endogenous IL-1β.