Bafilomycin A1 inhibits IL-1-stimulated proteoglycan degradation by chondrocytes without affecting stromelysin synthesis.

Interleukin-1 alpha (IL-1) stimulated the release of degraded proteoglycan from primary cultures of chondrocyte monolayers in a time- and dose-dependent fashion. Bafilomycin A1, a specific inhibitor of the vacuolar H(+)-ATPase, efficiently blocked acidification of the chondrocyte vacuolar system. Under these conditions IL-1-stimulated proteoglycan degradation was inhibited by bafilomycin A1 with an IC50 of < 10 nM in both chondrocyte monolayers and articular cartilage explants. This concentration was at least 100-fold less than that required to partially inhibit total protein synthesis. In chondrocyte monolayers, bafilomycin A1 could be added several hours after IL-1 and complete inhibition was still observed. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha and retinoic acid also stimulated proteoglycan degradation in chondrocyte monolayers, and in both cases the response was inhibited by bafilomycin A1. These results suggest that maintenance of vacuolar acidity is required for cytokine stimulated proteoglycan degradation and that this requirement is at a point distal to receptor binding and early signal transduction events. IL-1 also stimulated the synthesis and secretion of prostromelysin by chondrocyte monolayers, however, under conditions in which IL-1 stimulated proteoglycan release was totally blocked by bafilomycin A1, there was no effect on IL-1-stimulated stromelysin secretion or stromelysin enzyme activity. These results, in which stromelysin synthesis and proteoglycan degradation were dissociated, suggest that an additional enzyme is responsible for proteoglycan degradation in this chondrocyte monolayer system.