Post-transcriptional regulation of interleukin-6 gene expression in human keratinocytes by ultraviolet B radiation.

Exposure to increasing doses (290-315 nm) of ultraviolet (UV) B radiation is thought to profoundly affect human health. Studies on the biologic and molecular effects of UVB radiation on human skin are therefore of particular interest. There is experimental and clinical evidence to assume that UVB radiation-induced local and systemic inflammatory reactions might be mediated at least in part by UVB-induced keratinocyte-derived interleukin (IL)-6. Previously, a UVB-induced increase of steady-state levels of IL-6 mRNA was found to be a prerequisite for keratinocyte IL-6 production after UVB irradiation. The present study was aimed at addressing the question of whether in vitro UVB irradiation would increase IL-6 mRNA expression in long-term cultured, normal human keratinocytes via transcriptional or post-transcriptional mechanisms. UVB exposure (0-100 J/m2) of keratinocytes increased low baseline expression levels of IL-6 mRNA in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Using nuclear run-on assays, transcription rates of the IL-6 gene in nuclei isolated from UVB-irradiated cells were found to be essentially identical to those seen in unirradiated cells, indicating that UVB light did not lead to increased transcription of the IL-6 gene. To determine a possible post-transcriptional mechanism in UVB-induced IL-6 mRNA expression, the effects of UVB irradiation on IL-6 mRNA stability were examined. To this end irradiated and unirradiated keratinocytes were treated with actinomycin D and subjected to Northern blot analysis to calculate IL-6 mRNA half-life. As compared with unirradiated cells, IL-6 mRNA stability was increased significantly (three- to four-fold) in UVB-irradiated cells, suggesting that UVB radiation upregulates IL-6 mRNA levels in human keratinocytes by increasing the stability of IL-6 transcripts. This is the first report indicating that UVB radiation at a physiologically relevant dose may affect gene expression in human cells at a post-transcriptional level.