Activation of PPARα Attenuates IFNγ and IL-1β-induced Cell Proliferation in Astrocytes: Involvement of IL-6 Independent Pathway

The present study demonstrates the effect of fibrates, agonists of PPARα on cytokines-induced proliferation in primary cultured astrocytes. Alone or combination treatment with cytokines, such as IL-1β (10 ng/ml), IFNγ (10 ng/ml), and TNF-α (10 ng/ml) cause a significant increase of cell proliferation in a time-dependent manner. Treatment of astrocytes with bezafibrate and fenofibrate (0, 5, and 10 μM) reduced the IFNγ and IL-1β-induced cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner. To address the involvement of IL-6 on the IFNγ and IL-1β-induced cell proliferation, released IL-6 level was measured. IFNγ and IL-1β cause an increase of released IL-6 protein level in a time-dependent manner. Furthermore, pretreatment with IL-6 antibody (0, 0.1, 1, 2.5, and 5 ng/ml) dose-dependently inhibited the IFNγ and IL-1β-induced cell proliferation. However, bezafibrate and fenofibrate did not affect increased mRNA and protein levels of IL-6 in IFNγ and IL-1β-stimulated astrocytes. Taken together, these results clearly suggest that activation of PPARα attenuates the IFNγ and IL-1β-induced cell proliferation through IL-6 independent pathway.