Periodontal disease is an inflammatory disease caused by infection with oral bacteria that results in tooth exfoliation. Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are a major component of the outer membrane of Gram-negative microorganisms and are involved in the inflammatory response. c-fos and c-jun are involved in pathological conditions such as inflammatory disorders. Inflammatory signaling cascades leading to c-fos activation in human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs) are not well characterized. Thus, we have investigated the kinase pathways involved in c-fos and c-jun activation induced by LPS in human gingival fibroblasts. LPS promoted a dose- and time-dependent increase in c-fos transcription. Phosphoinositide-phospholipase C inhibitor (U-73122), protein kinase A inhibitor (H89), MEK1 inhibitor (PD 98,059), p38 inhibitor (SB203580), and tyrosine kinase inhibitors (genistein and herbimycin) attenuated the LPS effect, while the PI-3 K inhibitor (Wortmannin) had no effect on LPS-induced c-fos transcription. Protein kinase C inhibitors (Ro 31-8220, calphostin C, staurosporine, and chelerythrine chloride) also inhibited LPS-induced c-fos transcription. However, long-term treatment (24 -h) with the PKC activator tetradecanoyl phorbol-13-acetate (PMA) had no significant effect on LPS-induced transcription in HGFs. We also found an increase in c-jun expression in HGF stimulated with LPS. In addition, experiments using pharmacological inhibitors of individual mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) and of protein kinase C (PKC) revealed that p38, ERK 1/2, and PKC are involved in LPS-induced c-jun expression. Our results indicate that LPS-induced c-fos and c-jun expressions are mediated by two different signaling pathways: one through phosphoinositide-phospholipase C via an upstream protein tyrosine kinase, which activates PKC isoforms that are insensitive to phorbol stress, and the second through activation of protein kinase A (PKA). Both kinases regulate the phosphorylation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase ERK 1/2 and p38.
