Protein Kinase C Pathway Is Involved in Transcriptional Regulation of C-Reactive Protein Synthesis in Human Hepatocytes

Objective— C-Reactive protein (CRP) is the prototype acute phase protein and a cardiovascular risk factor. Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and IL-6 stimulate CRP synthesis in hepatocytes. We searched for additional pathways regulating CRP expression. Methods and Results— Primary human hepatocytes (PHHs) were treated with IL-1β, IL-6, and protein kinase C (PKC) activator phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate (PDBu). CRP was analyzed by quantitative RT-PCR and ELISA. PDBu significantly induced CRP transcription by 21.0±9.24-fold and protein release by 2.9±0.5-fold. Transcriptional regulation was studied in detail in hepatoma G2 (HepG2) cells stably transfected with the 1-kb CRP promoter (HepG2–ABEK14 cells). In these cells, PDBu significantly induced CRP transcription by 5.39±0.66-fold. Competetive inhibition with bisindolylmaleimide derivative LY333531 abolished PDBu-mediated promoter activation. Competetive inhibition with IκB kinase inhibitor I229 also inhibited PDBu effects. Importantly, IL-8 significantly induced CRP release in PHHs by 58.675±19.1-fold, which was blockable by LY333531. Conclusions— This study describes a novel PKC-dependent transcriptional regulation of CRP gene expression, which, in analogy to the classical IL-1β and IL-6 pathways, is operational in hepatocytes only. It also identifies IL-8 as a potential physiological PKC activator. HepG2–ABEK14 cells may be useful for high throughput screening to identify inhibitors of CRP synthesis for the prevention of cardiovascular disease.