Glucocorticoids increase osteopontin expression in cardiac myocytes and microvascular endothelial cells. Role in regulation of inducible nitric oxide synthase.

In heart muscle, the cytokine-inducible isoform of nitric oxide synthase (NOS2) is expressed in both cardiac myocytes and microvascular endothelial cells (CMEC). mRNA levels for both NOS2 and for osteopontin, a multifunctional extracellular matrix phosphoprotein containing and RGD integrin binding domain, are increased in cardiac muscle following intraperitoneal injection of adult rats with lipopolysaccharide. In vitro, interleukin-1 beta and interferon-gamma increased osteopontin mRNA levels in CMEC as well as NOS2 expression in both CMEC and cardiac myocytes. However, osteopontin mRNA levels in heart muscle in vivo, and in cardiac myocytes and CMEC in vitro, also are increased 10-30-fold by the synthetic glucocorticoid dexamethasone, an agent that suppresses cytokine induction of NOS2 in both cell types. The hexapeptide GRGDSP, which interrupts binding of RGD-containing proteins to cell surface integrins, increased NOS2 mRNA, while a synthetic osteopontin peptide analogue decreased NOS2 mRNA and protein levels in both cytokine-pretreated cardiac myocytes and CMEC cultures. Also, transfection with a full-length antisense-osteopontin cDNA in cytokine-pretreated CMEC decreased endogenous osteopontin mRNA and increased NOS2 mRNA levels. These results suggest that osteopontin could regulate the location and extent of NOS2 induction in the heart. Increased expression of osteopontin also may be one mechanism by which glucocorticoids suppress NOS2 activity in cardiac myocytes and microvascular endothelial cells.