Mitogen-activated protein kinase proteins regulate LPS-stimulated release of pro-inflammatory cytokines and prostaglandins from human gestational tissues

Abstract

The role of pro-inflammatory cytokines and prostaglandins in human labour is well established. Many of the mRNAs stabilised by the MAPK pathway encode inflammatory mediators, suggesting that this kinase pathway plays a major role in the regulation of inflammation. The aim of this study was to determine if the MAPK pathway regulates the inflammatory response in human gestational tissues. Placenta and fetal membranes (n=5) obtained from pregnant women undergoing Caesarean section before the onset of labour were exposed to LPS, and co-incubated in the absence or presence of 12.5, 25 and 50 microM U0126 (ERK 1/2 inhibitor), SB202190 (p38 MAPK inhibitor) and SP600125 (JNK inhibitor). After 18 h i..