Jm. Kim et al., Nuclear factor-kappa B plays a major role in the regulation of chemokine expression of HeLa cells in response to Toxoplasma gondii infection, PARASIT RES, 87(9), 2001, pp. 758-763
Toxoplasma gondii infection results in an infiltration of immune cells. The
mechanisms responsible for triggering inflammatory cell infiltration in T.
gondii infection are not fully understood. We report that T. gondii-infect
ed HeLa cells induced nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappaB) activation and inc
reased the expression of interleukin-8 (IL-8) and monocyte chemotactic prot
ein-1 (MCP-1) mRNA. An inhibitor of NF-kappaB activation, calpain-1 inhibit
or, blocked the chemokine secretion induced by live T. gondii. Activation o
f the IL-8 and NF-kappaB transcriptional reporters was suppressed in cells
co-transfected with I kappaB kinase beta and the I kappaB alpha super-repre
ssor plasmids. Moreover, the addition of IL-1 alpha increased NF-kappaB act
ivation and IL-8 mRNA expression in T. gondii-infected HeLa cells. These re
sults suggest that NF-kappaB is a central regulator of the chemokine respon
se in T. gondii-infected human epithelial cells and that chemokine IL-8 and
MCP-1 secretion might be involved in the pathogenesis of T. gondii, via th
e recruitment of neutrophils, monocytes, and lymphocytes.