Yonsei Med J.  2008 Apr;49(2):230-236. 10.3349/ymj.2008.49.2.230.

The Effect of Chlamydia pneumoniae on the Expression of Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor-gamma in Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells

• Kim YH
• Choi SY
• Suh JH
• Kim TK
• Seung KB
• Wang YP
• Chang K

• KMID: 1084495
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3349/ymj.2008.49.2.230

Abstract

PURPOSE
This study was designed to investigate the change of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma) after the infection of the human coronary artery smooth muscle cells (HCSMCs) with Chlamydia pneumoniae (C. pneumoniae) and the effect of PPARgamma agonist on the expression of PPARgamma of C. pneumoniae-infected HCSMCs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To determine the effect of PPARgamma agonist on the proliferation of C. pneumoniae-infected HCSMCs, rosiglitazone at various concentrations was applied 1 hour before inoculation of HCSMCs. RESULTS: The expression of PPARgamma mRNA in HCSMCs increased from 3 hours after C. pneumoniae infection and reached that of noninfected HCSMCs at 24 hours (p < 0.05). The expression of PPARgamma protein in HCSMCs also increased from 3 hours after C. pneumoniae and persisted until 24 hours as compared with that of noninfected HCSMCs (p < 0.05). The pretreatment of HCSMCs with rosiglitazone followed by the infection with C. pneumoniae augmented the expression of PPARgamma mRNA and protein (p < 0.05) and decreased cell proliferation. CONCLUSION: Our results showed that the expression of PPARgamma increases in response to C. pneumoniae infection and rosiglitazone further augmented the expression of PPARgamma. It is suggested that rosiglitazone could ameliorate the chronic inflammation in the vessel wall induced by C. pneumoniae by augmenting PPARgamma expression.

Keyword

C. pneumoniae; peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma; rosiglitazone; atherosclerosis

MeSH Terms

Blotting, Western
Cell Line
Cell Proliferation/drug effects
Chlamydophila pneumoniae/growth & development/*physiology
Gene Expression Regulation/drug effects
Humans
Muscle, Smooth, Vascular/cytology/drug effects/metabolism
Myocytes, Smooth Muscle/drug effects/*metabolism/microbiology
PPAR gamma/genetics/*metabolism
RNA, Messenger/genetics/metabolism
Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
Thiazolidinediones/pharmacology

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Cell proliferation assay of HCSMCs infected with Chlamydia pneumoniae. Cell proliferation was assessed by XTT proliferation assay kit (JBI, Daegu, Korea). Changes in cell proliferation are expressed by a percentage of the mean value of control (uninfected HCSMCs). *p < 0.05.

• 

  Fig. 2 Dose-dependent effects of rosiglitazone on the proliferation of HCSMCs infected with Chlamydia pneumoniae during 24 hours. *p < 0.05.

• 

  Fig. 3 Real time RT-PCR of PPARγ in HCSMCs infected with Chlamydia pneumoniae. Relative value was arbitarily defined as corrected for GAPDH mRNA value. CP represents Chlamydia pneumoniae. *p < 0.05 vs CP(-).

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  Fig. 4 Western blot analysis of PPARγ in HCSMCs infected with Chlamycia pneumoniae. After 3, 6, and 24 hours, cells were subjected to 10% SDS-PAGE and blotted with anti-PPARγ monoclonal antibody. Expression levelsof PPARγ were quantified by densitometry. *p < 0.05 vs CP(-).

• 

  Fig. 5 Western blot analysis of PPARγ in HCSMCs infected with Chlamydia pneumoniae and/or treated with rosiglitazone (20 µM). After 24 hours, cells were subjected to 10% SDS-PAGE and blotted with anti-PPARγ monoclonal antibody. Expression levels of PPARγ were quantified by densitometry. *p < 0.05 vs CP(-).

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