Interleukin-1 enhances the response of osteoblasts to platelet-derived growth factor through the alpha receptor-specific up-regulation.

Both platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) and interleukin-1 (IL-1) are produced by activated macrophages and are thought to contribute to bone remodeling, but their precise roles remain to be clarified. The interaction between PDGF and IL-1 was, therefore, studied in normal osteoblast-like cells (MC3T3-E1). The expression of alpha- and beta-PDGF receptors on MC3T3-E1 cells was detected by RNA blot analysis and confirmed by immunoblot analysis. PDGF-induced chemotactic as well as mitogenic activities were synergistically enhanced by either IL-1 alpha or IL-1 beta (40 units/ml) pretreatment in serum-free medium, although IL-1 alone did not show any detectable chemotactic activities. This biological enhancement by IL-1 was accompanied by a selective increase of alpha-PDGF receptor expression, following the augmentation of alpha receptor autophosphorylation and inositol phosphate hydrolysis induced by PDGF-AA. These findings suggest that PDGF and IL-1 are jointly involved in the bone-remodeling microenvironment as local coupling factors.