Neddylation is a ubiquitination-like pathway. It has been reported that neddylation inhibition with the pharmacological agent MLN4924 potently uppresses lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced proinflammatory cytokine production, including tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-6, by preventing the degradation of phosphorylated inhibitor of κB (p-IκB) in macrophages. However, whether neddylation serves a similar role in neutrophils remains unknown. In the present study MLN4924 treatment led to the accumulation of P-IκBα in neutrophils as well as the decreased production of TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β in response to LPS, in a dose-dependent manner. The viability of neutrophils was only marginally affected in the same conditions, without statistical significance. Furthermore, the nuclear factor (NF)-κB inhibitor JSH-23 mimicked the effects of MLN4924 in neutrophils, and the inhibitory effects of MLN4924 on LPS-induced proinflammatory cytokine production diminished in the presence of JSH-23. Thus, the results of the present study suggest that neddylation inhibition suppresses neutrophil function by suppressing the NF-κB signaling pathway.
Keywords: MLN4924; neddylation; neutrophils; nuclear factor κB; proinflammatory cytokine.