Dual activity of pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate on kappa B-dependent gene expression in U937 cells: I. Regulation by the phorbol ester TPA.

Pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC) has been widely used as an inhibitor of the nuclear factor-kappa B, (NF-kappa B) signalling pathway. Here, we show that kappa B-dependent reporter gene expression induced by low concentrations of 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) is potentiated by PDTC in the human pro-monocytic U937 cell line. The stimulatory effect of PDTC on kappa B-dependent gene expression was shown with a 4 x kappa B chloramphenicol acetyltransferase construct and required an intact kappa B element in the human immunodeficiency virus long terminal repeat (HIV-1 LTR). Unexpectedly, an HIV-1 LTR construct with a mutation of the activator protein 2 (AP-2) binding site located between the two kappa B elements was unresponsive to the stimulatory effect of PDTC with TPA. The stimulation or inhibition of kappa B-dependent gene expression was dependent on PDTC pre-treatment and the concentration of TPA. No stimulatory effect on HIV-1 LTR activity was observed with the metal chelator dipyridyl or the anti-oxidant N-acetyl-L-cysteine. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that PDTC treatment potentiated kappa B-dependent gene expression in a manner dependent on the concentration of TPA.