Chronic treatment with interleukin-1β attenuates contractions by decreasing the activities of CPI-17 and MYPT-1 in intestinal smooth muscle

Interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) is a proinflammatory cytokine that plays a central role in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). In order to elucidate the mechanism of motility disorders frequently observed in IBD, we investigated the long term effects of IL-1beta on rat ileal smooth muscle contractility by using an organ culture system. When ileal smooth muscle strips were cultured with IL-1beta (10 ng/ml), contractions elicited by high K+ and carbachol were inhibited in a time-dependent manner. IL-1beta more strongly inhibited the carbachol-induced contractions than high K+ with decreasing myosin light chain phosphorylation. In the alpha-toxin-permeabilized ileal muscle, carbachol with GTP or guanosine 5'-3-O-(thio) triphosphate increased the Ca2+ sensitivity of contractile elements, and this G protein-coupled Ca2+ sensitization was significantly reduced in the IL-1beta-treated ileum. Among the functional proteins involved in the smooth muscle Ca2+ sensitization, CPI-17 expression was significantly reduced after the culture with IL-1beta, whereas the expressions of RhoA, ROCK-I, ROCK-II, MYPT-1, myosin light chain kinase, and myosin phosphatase (PP1) were unchanged. The phosphorylation level of CPI-17 by carbachol was low in accordance with the decrease in CPI-17 expression due to IL-1beta treatment. In contrast, constitutively phosphorylated MYPT-1 was also decreased in the IL-1beta-treated muscles. These results suggest that long term treatment with IL-1beta decreases either CPI-17 expression or MYPT-1 phosphorylation, which may result in an increase in myosin phosphatase activity to reduce force generation. Based on these findings, we consider IL-1beta to be an important mediator of gastrointestinal motility disorders in IBD, and CPI-17 and MYPT-1 are key molecules in the decreased smooth muscle contractility due to IL-1beta.