Background: After transplantation, islet damage occurs through oxidative stress and host immune rejection mediated in part by macrophage activation. We investigated the influence of the overexpression of catalase (CAT) and Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (Cu/Zn SOD) by rat insulinoma INS-1 beta cells exposed to oxidative stress on their viability and murine macrophage activation.
Methods: INS-1 cells were infected with adenoviral vectors containing CAT (AdCAT) or Cu/Zn SOD (AdSOD) genes. After 72 hours, noninfected and infected INS-1 cells were exposed to oxidative stress and their viability was assessed using a colorimetric assay. Murine peritoneal exudate macrophages (mPEM) incubated with the supernatant of infected and stressed INS-1 cells were tested for chemotaxis and cytokine release (TNF-alpha, IL-alpha and IFN-gamma).
Results: After infection, AdCAT and AdSOD gene transfer protected INS-1 cells from the toxicity of different oxidative reagents. The exposure of non-infected INS-1 cells to oxidative stress stimulated mPEM chemotaxis. INS-1 cells infection with AdCAT or AdSOD reduced significantly mPEM chemotaxis from 2.41 +/- 0.31 to 1.61 +/- 0.17 and from 2.53 +/- 0.24 to 1.27 +/- 0.14 respectively (n = 5; p < 0.05). Cytokine release by mPEM was stimulated after exposure to stressed noninfected INS-1 cell supernatant. CAT and Cu/Zn SOD overexpression by infected INS-1 cells decreased significantly the release of TNF-alpha from 268.18 +/- 30.18 to 81.40 +/- 23.58 pg/ml and from 446.96 +/- 75.47 to 20.37 +/- 2.38 pg/ml respectively (n = 6; p < 0.001). The overexpression of these enzymes also reduced significantly the release of IL-1beta and IFN-gamma.
Conclusions: CAT or Cu/Zn SOD gene transfer to INS-1 cells preserved them from oxidative damage and reduced the macrophage activation induced by these pancreatic cells. Therefore, protection of pancreatic beta cells against oxidative injury by antioxidant enzymes gene transfer is an effective approach to overcome the deleterious actions of macrophages in pancreatic islet transplantation.