Abstract
Follicular dendritic cell-secreted protein (FDC-SP) is expressed in FDCs, human periodontal ligament (HPL) cells, and junctional epithelium. To evaluate the effects of interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) on FDC-SP gene expression in immortalized HPL cells, FDC-SP mRNA and protein levels in HPL cells following stimulation by IL-1β were measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting. Luciferase (LUC), gel mobility shift, and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) analyses were performed to study the interaction between transcription factors and promoter regions in the human FDC-SP gene. IL-1β (1 ng/mL) induced the expression of FDC-SP mRNA and protein levels at 3 h, and reached maximum levels at 12 h. IL-1β increased LUC activities of constructs (-116FDCSP - -948FDCSP) including the FDC-SP gene promoter. Transcriptional inductions by IL-1β were partially inhibited by 3-base-pair (3-bp) mutations in the Yin Yang 1 (YY1), GATA, CCAAT-enhancer-binding protein2 (C/EBP2), or C/EBP3 in the -345FDCSP. IL-1β-induced -345FDCSP activities were inhibited by protein kinase A, tyrosine-kinase, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MEK)1/2, and PI3-kinase inhibitors. The results of gel shift and ChIP assays revealed that YY1, GATA, and C/EBP-β interacted with the YY1, GATA, C/EBP2, and C/EBP3 elements that were increased by IL-1β. These studies demonstrate that IL-1β increases FDC-SP gene transcription in HPL cells by targeting YY1, GATA, C/EBP2, and C/EBP3 in the human FDC-SP gene promoter.