Identification of novel monosodium urate crystal regulated mRNAs by transcript profiling of dissected murine air pouch membranes.

INTRODUCTION: The murine air pouch is a bursa-like space that resembles the human synovial membrane. Injection of monosodium urate (MSU) crystals into the pouch elicits an acute inflammatory response similar to human gout. We conducted the present study to identify mRNAs that were highly regulated by MSU crystals in the pouch membrane. METHODS: Air pouch membranes were meticulously dissected away from the overlying skin. Gene expression differences between MSU crystal stimulated and control membranes were determined by oligonucleotide microarray analysis 9 hours after injection of MSU crystals or buffer only. Differential regulation of selected targets was validated by relative quantitative PCR in time course experiments with dissected air pouch membranes and murine peritoneal macrophages. RESULTS: Eleven of the 12 most highly upregulated mRNAs were related to innate immunity and inflammation. They included mRNAs encoding histidine decarboxylase (the enzyme that synthesizes histamine), IL-6, the cell surface receptors PUMA-g and TREM-1, and the polypeptides Irg1 and PROK-2. IL-6 mRNA rose 108-fold 1 hour after crystal injection, coinciding with a surge in mRNAs encoding IL-1beta, tumour necrosis factor-alpha and the immediate early transcription factor Egr-1. The other mRNAs rose up to 200-fold within the subsequent 3 to 8 hours. MSU crystals induced these mRNAs in a dose-dependent manner in cultured macrophages, with similar kinetics but lower fold changes. Among the downregulated mRNAs, quantitative PCR confirmed significant decreases in mRNAs encoding TREM-2 (an inhibitor of macrophage activation) and granzyme D (a constituent of natural killer and cytotoxic T cells) within 50 hours after crystal injection. CONCLUSION: This analysis identified several genes that were previously not implicated in MSU crystal inflammation. The marked rise of the upregulated mRNAs after the early surge in cytokine and Egr-1 mRNAs suggests that they may be part of a 'second wave' of factors that amplify or perpetuate inflammation. Transcript profiling of the isolated air pouch membrane promises to be a powerful tool for identifying genes that act at different stages of inflammation.

Reduction of urate crystal-induced inflammation by root extracts from traditional oriental medicinal plants: elevation of prostaglandin D2 levels.

Dried roots of the plants Acanthopanax senticosus, Angelica sinensis and Scutellaria baicalensis are used in traditional oriental medicine and reportedly possess anti-inflammatory properties. Using the murine air pouch model of inflammation, we investigated the efficacy and mode of action of an extract from these three plants in crystal-induced inflammation. Air pouches were raised on the backs of 8-week-old BALB/c mice. Mice were fed 100 mg/kg body weight of root extracts (A. senticosus:A. sinensis:S. baicalensis mixed in a ratio of 5:4:1 by weight) or vehicle only on days 3-6. Inflammation was elicited on day 6 by injecting 2 mg of monosodium urate (MSU) crystals into the pouch. Neutrophil density and IL-6 and TNF-alpha mRNA levels were determined in the pouch membrane, and the leukocyte count and IL-6, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and prostaglandin D2 (PGD2) levels were determined in the pouch exudate. Treatment with the root extracts led to a reduction in all inflammatory parameters: the leukocyte count in the pouch exudate decreased by 82%; the neutrophil density in the pouch membrane decreased by 68%; IL-6 and TNF-alpha mRNA levels in the pouch membrane decreased by 100%; the IL-6 concentration in the pouch fluid decreased by 50%; and the PGE2 concentration in the pouch fluid decreased by 69%. Remarkably, the concentration of the potentially anti-inflammatory PGD2 rose 5.2-fold in the pouch exudate (p < 0.005), which led to a normalization of the PGD2:PGE2 ratio. A 3.7-fold rise in hematopoietic PGD synthase (h-PGDS) mRNA paralleled this rise in PGD2 (p = 0.01). Thus, the root extracts diminished MSU crystal-induced inflammation by reducing neutrophil recruitment and expression of pro-inflammatory factors and increasing the level of the potentially anti-inflammatory PGD2. These results support a need for further studies of the efficacy of these extracts in the treatment of inflammatory arthropathies and suggest elevation of PGD2 levels as a novel mechanism for an anti-inflammatory agent.