IkappaBalpha degradation and nuclear factor-kappaB DNA binding are insufficient for interleukin-1beta and tumor necrosis factor-alpha-induced kappaB-dependent transcription. Requirement for an additional activation pathway.

Two closely related IkappaBalpha kinases as well as the upstream kinase, NIK, which integrates interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta)- and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha-dependent activation of the transcription factor NF-kappaB have recently been described. However, in this emerging pathway the role of previously identified components of cytokine-induced NF-kappaB activation, namely phosphatidylcholine-specific phospholipase C and protein kinase C, remains unclear. We now show that, in A549 human alveolar epithelial cells, the activation of a stably transfected NF-kappaB-dependent reporter gene by TNF-alpha and IL-1beta is completely blocked by the phosphatidylcholine-specific phospholipase C inhibitor D609 and the protein kinase C inhibitor RO31-8220. However, IL-1beta-induced IkappaBalpha degradation as well as NF-kappaB nuclear translocation and DNA binding, as determined by Western blot and electro-mobility shift assay, respectively, are not affected by these inhibitors. A similar effect, although less pronounced, is observed with the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase inhibitor SB 203580. On the basis of these data we propose the existence of a second signaling pathway induced by IL-1beta and TNF-alpha that is activated in parallel to the cascade leading to IkappaBalpha degradation and is specifically required for NF-kappaB-dependent transcriptional competency.