Thrombin Stimulation of Vascular Adhesion Molecule-1 in Endothelial Cells Is Mediated by Protein Kinase C (PKC)-δ-NF-κB and PKC-ζ-GATA Signaling Pathways

Abstract We recently demonstrated that thrombin induces the expression of vascular adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) in endothelial cells by an NF-κB- and GATA-dependent mechanism. In the present study, we describe the signaling pathways that mediate this response. Thrombin stimulation of the VCAM-1 gene and promoter in human umbilical vein endothelial cells was inhibited by preincubation with the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitor, LY294002, the protein kinase C (PKC)-δ inhibitor, rottlerin, a PKC-ζ peptide inhibitor, or by overexpression of dominant negative (DN)-PKC-ζ. In electrophoretic mobility shift assays, thrombin-mediated induction of NF-κB p65 binding to two NF-κB motifs in the upstream promoter region of VCAM-1 was blocked by LY294002 and rottlerin, whereas the inducible binding of GATA-2 to a tandem GATA motif was inhibited by LY294002 and the PKC-ζ peptide inhibitor. In co-transfection assays, thrombin stimulation of a minimal promoter containing multimerized VCAM-1 NF-κB sites was inhibited by DN-PKC-δ but not DN-PKC-ζ. In contrast, thrombin-mediated transactivation of a minimal promoter containing tandem VCAM-1 GATA motifs was inhibited by DN-PKC-ζ but not DN-PKC-δ. Finally, thrombin failed to induce VCAM-1 expression in vascular smooth muscle cells. Taken together, these data suggest that the endothelial cell-specific effect of thrombin on VCAM-1 expression involves the coordinate activity of PKC-δ-NF-κB and PKC-ζ-GATA signaling pathways.