Objective and design: As acute inflammation is known to cause a reduction in hepatic P-Glycoprotein (PGP) expression and activity in rats, we tested the hypothesis that the pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL-)1beta and IL-6 also mediate reductions in PGP.
Methods: Hepatocytes were incubated with 0-50 ng/ml of cytokine for 24-72 h. PGP/mdr expression was examined by immunodetection and quantitative RT-PCR analysis and PGP efflux activity was assayed.
Results: PGP protein was significantly reduced in cells treated for 3 days with IL-1beta and 24 h with IL-6 (p < 0.05), maximal effects occurring at 5 ng/ml for each cytokine. PGP activity was reduced in both IL-1beta and IL-6 treated cells (p < 0.05). mdr1 mRNA was decreased in cells treated with IL-6, but not IL-1beta. spgp and mdr2 were not affected.
Conclusions: Our data indicate that IL-6 and IL-1beta have suppressive effects on the expression and activity of PGP in cultured hepatocytes, likely occurring through distinct mechanisms. These cytokines may have a potential role in PGP regulation during inflammatory responses.