All issues > Volume 47(12); 2004

Original Article

Korean J Pediatr. 2004;47(12):1325-1333. Published online December 15, 2004.

The Effects of Intravenous Immunoglobulin(IVIG) and Methylprednisolone on the mRNAs Expressions of VEGF, VCAM-1 and IL-1β of Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells(HUVEC) Stimulated by IL-1β

Soh Yeon SY Kim¹, Sun Jeong SJ Lim¹, Ji Whan JW Han¹, Kyung Yil KY Lee¹, Joon Sung JS Lee¹

¹Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea

Correspondence Joon Sung JS Lee ,Email: jslee@catholic.ac.kr

Abstract

Purpose
: Kawasaki disease(KD) manifests a systemic vasculitis of unknown etiology in young children. Vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF), vascular cell adhesion molecule-1(VCAM-1) and interleukin-1 beta(IL-1β) may play important roles in the pathogenesis of KD. Intravenous immunoglobulin(IVIG) and methylprednisolone(MP) are therapeutically effective for KD, however, the precise mechanisms of the two drugs are still unknown. We investigated the therapeutic efficacy of IVIG and/or MP for KD in vitro.
Methods
: Human umbilical vein endothelial cells(HUVEC) obtained from umbilical cords of healthy newborns were cultured. After HUVEC were treated with IL-1β, the effect of IVIG and/or MP on the in vitro activation of HUVEC were assessed by cell proliferation and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction-detected expression of mRNA coding for VEGF, VCAM-1, and IL-1β.
Results
: IVIG and MP down-regulated the expression of VEGF mRNA induced by IL-1β(P<0.05, respectively) significantly. The combination of both showed a synergistic effect on the expressions with a dose dependent manner of MP compared to the IVIG or MP alone respectively(P<0.05). IVIG and MP down-regulated the expression of VCAM-1 mRNA induced by IL-1β(P<0.05, respectively). The combination of both showed a synergistic effect on the expressions with a dose dependent manner of MP(P<0.05). IVIG and MP down-regulated the expression of IL-1β mRNA induced by IL- 1β(P<0.001, P<0.05, respectively). The combination of both showed a synergistic effect on the expressions with a dose dependent manner of MP(P<0.001).
Conclusion
: These results suggested that IVIG and MP are therapeutically effective for KD in vitro as well as in vivo.

Keywords :Kawasaki disease, Human umbilical vein endothelial cells, Intravenous immunoglobulin, methylprednisolone, Vascular endothelial growth factor, Vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, Interleukin-1β