Regulation of prostaglandin endoperoxide synthase gene expression in cultured rat mesangial cells: induction by serum via a protein kinase-C-dependent mechanism.

Recent evidence suggests that the steady state level of prostaglandin (PG) endoperoxide synthase (PES) might regulate long term increases in PG synthesis, but the mechanism(s) regulating PES gene expression remains unclear. The present experiments investigated the regulation of PES expression in quiescent mesangial cells treated with serum. Serum induced time-dependent increases in PES steady state mRNA, protein level, and enzyme activity. Both the kinetics and cycloheximide sensitivity of PES mRNA induction suggest that PES was induced as a member of the delayed-early gene set. Beta-adrenergic-mediated cAMP accumulation was similar in Go and cycling cells, suggesting that the increase in PES expression did not reflect global up-regulation of signaling cascades in serum-treated cells. Three lines of evidence suggest that protein kinase-C (PKC) mediates serum-stimulated PES gene expression: 1) 12-tetradecanoyl phorbol 13-acetate mimicked the serum response; 2) PES gene expression by serum was attenuated in cells depleted of PKC; and 3) a PKC inhibitor, sangivamycin, blocked serum-stimulated PES gene induction. In addition, the ability of dexamethasone to block serum-induced PES enzyme activity without affecting the increase in PES mRNA points to posttranscriptional mechanisms of regulation. In summary, we conclude that in glomerular mesangial cells the PES gene is inducible, not constitutive, and that expression of this gene in Go cells is induced by serum and results in chronic elevations of PGE2. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that differential regulation of PES gene expression might play a role in diverse cellular responses, such as mitogenesis and inflammation.