Acta Pharmacologica Sinica 2008 January; 29 (1): 50-56; doi: 10.1111/j.1745-7254.2008.00718.x

Aim: To investigate the effects of recombinant adenovirus encoding viral interleukin-10 (vIL-10), a potent anti-inflammatory cytokine, on adhesion molecule expressions and the adhesion rates of leukocytes to endothelial cells in cerebrovascular endothelial cells injured by hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R).

Methods: A recombinant adenovirus expressing vIL-10 (Ad/vIL-10 (or the green fluorescent protein (Ad/GFP) gene was constructed. A cerebrovascular endothelial cell line bEnd.3 was pretreated with a different multiplicity of infection (MOI) of Ad/vIL-10 or Ad/GFP and then exposed to hypoxia for 9 h followed by reoxygenation for 12 h. The culture supernatants were tested for the expression of vIL-10 and endogenous murine IL-10 (mIL-10) by ELISA. The effects of Ad/vIL-10 on monocyte-endothelial cell adhesion were represented as the adhesion rate. Subsequently, the expressions of intercellular adhesion molecule 1(ICAM-1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1) in the endothelial cells after treatment with Ad/vIL-10 and H/R were analyzed by Western blotting and real-time PCR.

Results: vIL-10 was expressed in cultured bEnd.3 after Ad/vIL-10 transfection and was significantly increased by H/R. Ad/vIL-10 or Ad/GFP did not affect the mIL-10 level. H/R increased the mIL-10 expression, but insignificantly. Monocyte-endothelial cell adhesion induced by H/R was significantly inhibited by pretreatment with Ad/vIL-10 (MOI: 80). ICAM-1, and VCAM-1 in bEnd.3 and were significantly increased after H/R, while pretreatment with Ad/vIL-10 (MOI: 80) significantly inhibited their expressions. Ad/GFP did not markedly affect monocyte-endothelial adhesion and the expressions of ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 induced by H/R.

Conclusion: Ad/vIL-10 significantly inhibits the upregulation of endothelial adhesion molecule expressions and the increase of adhesion of monocytes_endothelial cells induced by H/R, indicating that vIL-10 gene transfer is of far-reaching significance in the therapy of cerebrovascular inflammatory diseases, and anti-adhesion treatment may reduce H/R injury.

Keywords: adhesion molecules; hypoxia/reoxygenation; viral interleukin-10