Cobalt Chloride Attenuates Oxidative Stress and Inflammation through NF-kappaB Inhibition in Human Renal Proximal Tubular Epithelial Cells

We evaluated the effect of cobalt chloride (CoCl2) on TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma-induced-inflammation and reactive oxygen species (ROS) in renal tubular epithelial cells (HK-2 cells). We treated HK-2 cells with CoCl2 before the administration of TNF-alpha/IFN-gamma. To regulate hemeoxygenase-1 (HO-1) expression, the cells were treated CoCl2 or HO-1 siRNA. CoCl2 reduced the generation of ROS induced by TNF-alpha/IFN-gamma. TNF-alpha/IFN-gamma-treated-cells showed an increase in the nuclear translocation of phosphorylated NF-kappaBp65 protein, the DNA-binding activity of NF-kappaBp50 and NF-kappaB transcriptional activity and a decrease in IkappaBalpha protein expression. These changes were restored by CoCl2. We noted an intense increase in monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and regulated on activation normal T cell expressed and secreted (RANTES) production in TNF-alpha/IFN-gamma-treated cells. We demonstrated that this effect was mediated through NF-kappaB signaling because an NF-kappaB inhibitor significantly reduced MCP-1 and RANTES production. CoCl2 effectively reduced MCP-1 and RANTES production. The expression of HO-1 was increased by CoCl2 and decreased by HO-1 siRNA. However, knockdown of HO-1 by RNA interference did not affect MCP-1 or RANTES production. We suggest that CoCl2 has a protective effect on TNF-alpha/IFN-gamma-induced inflammation through the inhibition of NF-kappaB and ROS in HK-2 cells. However, CoCl2 appears to act in an HO-1-independent manner.

miR-9 and let-7g enhance the sensitivity to ionizing radiation by suppression of NFkappaB1

The activation of nuclear factor-kappa B1 (NFkappaB1) in cancer cells may confer resistance to ionizing radiation (IR). To enhance the therapeutic efficiency of IR in lung cancer, we screened for microRNAs (miRNAs) that suppress NFkappaB1 and observed their effects on radiosensitivity in a human lung cancer cell line. From time series data of miRNA expression in gamma-irradiated H1299 human lung cancer cells, we found that the expression of miR-9 was inversely correlated with that of NFkappaB1. Overexpression of miR-9 down-regulated the level of NFkappaB1 in H1299 cells, and the surviving fraction of gamma-irradiated cells was decreased. Interestingly, let-7g also suppressed the expression of NFkappaB1, although there was no canonical target site for let-7g in the NFkappaB1 3' untranslated region. From these results, we conclude that the expression of miR-9 and let-7g could enhance the efficiency of radiotherapy for lung cancer treatment through the inhibition of NFkappaB1.