Contraction-induced interleukin-6 gene transcription in skeletal muscle is regulated by c-Jun terminal kinase/activator protein-1

Abstract

Exercise increases the expression of the prototypical myokine IL-6, but the precise mechanism by which this occurs has yet to be identified. To mimic exercise conditions, C2C12 myotubes were mechanically stimulated via electrical pulse stimulation (EPS). We compared the responses of EPS with the pharmacological Ca2+ carrier calcimycin (A23187) because contraction induces marked increases in cytosolic Ca2+ levels or the classical IκB kinase/NFκB inflammatory response elicited by H 2O2. We demonstrate that, unlike H2O 2-stimulated increases in IL-6 mRNA, neither calcimycin- nor EPS-induced IL-6 mRNA expression is under the transcriptional control of NFκB. Rather, we show that EPS increased the..