INTERLEUKIN-1-BETA-STIMULATED PROSTAGLANDIN SYNTHESIS BY HUMAN DECIDUAL CELLS IS INDEPENDENT OF PROTEIN-KINASE-C

Basal prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) synthesis by human decidual cells was stimulated by phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) which activates protein kinase C. Staurosporine, which is an inhibitor of protein kinase C in most systems, also increased basal PGE(2) synthesis. Further work is needed to explain this finding, as another inhibitor of protein kinase C, H7, inhibited PGE(2) production under similar culture conditions. Interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta)-stimulated PGE(2) synthesis was potentiated by coincubation with PMA or staurosporine, indicating that IL-1 beta and protein kinase C increase decidual PGE, synthesis through different mechanisms. Desensitization of the decidual cells for 24 h with PMA did not affect IL-1 beta-stimulated PGE(2) synthesis. The complex roles of protein kinase C in regulating decidual prostaglandin synthesis require further investigation, but it is clear that the effects of IL-1 beta are not mediated by protein kinase C.