Interleukin 1 induces prostacyclin-dependent increases in cyclic AMP production and does not affect cyclic GMP production in human vascular smooth muscle cells.

Interleukin 1 (IL-1) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine which has direct vasorelaxant effects on vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC). In the present study, IL-1 markedly increased intracellular levels of the vasodilatory mediator, cAMP, in human saphenous and human aortic VSMC. IL-1-induced cAMP was associated with a marked increase in prostacyclin (PGI2) production, and was reversed by indomethacin and tranylcypromine, inhibitors of cyclooxygenase and PGI2 synthetase respectively. Furthermore, PGI2, but not PGE2, was a potent inducer of cAMP production in HSVSMC, implicating a role for PGI2 in mediating IL-1-induced cAMP production. In previous studies, IL-1 increased immunoreactive cGMP production in human saphenous VSMC through a pathway inhibitable by soluble guanylate cyclase inhibitors, methylene blue and LY83583, but not by nitric oxide (NO) synthase inhibitors, suggesting a role of NO-independent activation of soluble guanylate cyclase. However, in the present study, it was found that cAMP cross-reacted significantly in cGMP radioimmunoassays employing three out of four commercial antisera, that IL-1 did not affect cGMP production in human saphenous or human aortic VSMC as determined by an RIA having low cAMP cross-reactivity, and that both LY83583 and methylene blue inhibited IL-1-induced increases in cAMP. The results implicate prostacyclin-dependent cAMP production as a mediator of the vasodilatory effects of IL-1 in humans.