Interleukin-1-induced nuclear factor κB activation is inhibited by overexpression of phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase in a human endothelial cell line

Oxygen radicals are commonly accepted mediators in the tumour necrosis factor-mediated nuclear factor κB (NFκB) signalling cascade, but evidence for their role during interleukin-1 (IL-1) signalling is lacking. To test the involvement of hydroperoxides we investigated whether IL-1-induced NFκB activation could be influenced by glutathione peroxidases (GPx). These enzymes remove hydroperoxides with various specificities for the hydroperoxide substrate. By overexpressing phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase (PHGPx), which characteristically reacts with lipophilic hydroperoxides, the roles of H₂O₂ and lipidhydroperoxides were assessed. A human umbilical endothelial cell line, ECV 304, was stably transfected with the genes for both PHGPx and selenophosphate synthetase (selD), which provides selenophosphate for selenoprotein biosynthesis. When grown in selenium-deficient culture medium, the double-transfected clone (ECV^PHGPx+SelD+) expressed 5-fold higher (P < 0.005) PHGPx activity (measured by phosphatidylcholine hydroperoxide removal) than controls. The rate of H₂O₂ removal was also significantly (P < 0.01) higher in this clone. When grown with high levels of extracellular selenium (up to 100 nM selenite), PHGPx activity and H₂O₂ removal were enhanced substantially in control cells and transfected cells. Under these conditions, PHGPx activity was 1.7-fold (P < 0.005) higher in ECV^PHGPx+SelD+, but H₂O₂ removal was the same as in controls. IL-1-induced NFκB activation was inhibited by selenium supplementation in control cells. In ECV^PHGPx+SelD+ under conditions of selenium restriction, IL-1 induced NFκB activation only to a similar extent as under conditions of selenium supplementation in controls, and activation was abolished with 50 nM sodium selenite. These results show that overexpressed PHGPx is sufficient to inhibit NFκB activation, and suggests that NFκB activation by IL-1 is mediated by a preferential substrate of PHGPx, such as a fatty acid hydroperoxide, rather than by H₂O₂, the preferred substrate of the more abundant cytosolic GPx.