Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 regulates LPS-induced TLR4/MD-2 pathway activation and inflammation in alveolar macrophages.

Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and myeloid differentiation protein 2 (MD-2) are the main lipopolysaccharide (LPS) binding receptors that respond to inflammatory stimuli and mediate NF-kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathway in macrophages. We have previously shown that plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) deletion increased lung injury induced by intratracheal instillation of LPS through downregulation of TLR4 negative regulators. However, the mechanisms by which PAI-1 regulates lung inflammation are largely unknown. The aim of this study is to assess the relationship between PAI-1 and TLR4 signaling pathways in LPS-induced NR8383 cells inflammatory reaction. The results showed that the levels of PAI-1, TNF-α, and IL-1β protein were increased remarkably in NR8383 cell supernatants after LPS stimulation. PAI-1 gene knockdown reduced TNF-α and IL-1β levels in cell supernatants and inhibited the NF-κB p65 protein expression in NR8383 cells. The upregulated mRNA and protein expressions of TLR4, MD-2, and myeloid differentiation protein (MyD88) induced by LPS were attenuated after PAI-1 gene knockdown. Conversely, overexpression of PAI-1 in NR8383 cells not only resulted in additional mRNA and protein production of PAI-1, TLR4, MD-2, and MyD88, it also aggravated the inflammatory response induced by LPS. In conclusion, PAI-1 contributes to the regulation of LPS-induced inflammatory response in NR8383 cells, likely by affecting the TLR4-MD-2/NF-κB signaling transduction pathway.