Abstract
Transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) can activate mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) in many types of cells. The mechanism of this activation is not well elucidated. Here, we explore the role of TGF-β/Smads signaling compounds in TGF-β1-mediated activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) MAPK in human papillomavirus (HPV)-18 immortalized human bronchial epithelial cell line BEP2D and the role of TGF-β1-induced phosphorylation of ERK in proliferation and apoptosis of BEP2D. The cell models of siRNA-mediated silencing of TGF-β receptor type II (TβRII), Smad2, Smad3, Smad4, and Smad7 were employed in this study. Our results demonstrate that TGF-β1 activates ERK in a time-dependent manner with a maximum effect at 60 min; overexpression of Smad7 increased this TGF-β1-mediated phosphorylation of the ERK; and siRNA-mediated silencing of TβRII, Smad3, Smad4, and Smad7 abrogated this effect. Moreover, we observed that overexpression of Smad7 restored TGF-β1-mediated ERK phosphorylation in Smad4 knockdown cells but not in TβRII knockdown cells. In BEP2D cells, TGF-β1 treatment effectively inhibited cells' proliferation and induced their apoptosis. Pretreatment with U0126, an inhibitor of ERK1/2, significantly enhanced the TGF-β1-mediated antiproliferative and apoptosis induction effects in BEP2D cells. These data revealed that TβRII and Smad7 play the critical roles in TGF-β1-mediated activation of ERK; Smad3 and Smad4 can play an indirect role through up-regulating Smad7 expression; and TGF-β1-induced phosphorylation of ERK may participate in BEP2D cell proliferation and apoptosis regulation.
| Original language | American English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 113-128 |
| Number of pages | 16 |
| Journal | Cell Biology and Toxicology |
| Volume | 23 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Mar 2007 |
| Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Toxicology
- Cell Biology
- Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis
Keywords
- ERK1/2
- Human bronchial epithelial cells
- Smad4
- Smad7
- TGF-β1
- TβRII