Bisoprolol reverses epinephrine-mediated inhibition of cell emigration through increases in the expression of β-arrestin 2 and CCR7 and PI3K phosphorylation, in dendritic cells loaded with cholesterol

The effect of bisoprolol on dendritic cell (DC) migration was investigated, including the analysis of protein expression, cytokine secretion and activation of the PI3K-pathway. The chemotactic cell numbers in cholesterol-loaded DCs treated with epinephrine were significantly decreased by 26.66 ± 6.29% (6 h), 35.67 ± 2.91% (12 h) and 29.33 ± 1.09% (24 h). This effect was significantly reversed by 46.00 ± 10.65% (6 h), 64.25 ± 6.77% (12 h) and 55.74 ± 5.51% (24 h) when bisoprolol and epinephrine were both present. In cholesterol-loaded DCs, treatment with epinephrine significantly increased AR-β1 protein expression by 56.99 ± 4.87%, but inhibited β-arrestin 2 and CCR7 protein expression by 30.51 ± 4.22% and 25.31 ± 0.04%, respectively. These effects were reversed by bisoprolol by 36.87 ± 4.40%, 41.47 ± 3.95% and 30.14 ± 0.54%, respectively. TNF-α and MMP9 levels were decreased by 68.33 ± 4.00% and 39.57 ± 9.21% in cholesterol-loaded DCs treated with epinephrine. In contrast, when bisoprolol and epinephrine were administered together, the secretion of these proteins was significantly increased by 233.81 ± 37.06 % and 76.66 ± 14.21%, respectively. Treatment with epinephrine decreased PI3K-phosphorylation by 31.88 ± 2.79%, 40.24 ± 5.69% and 30.93 ± 4.66% at 15, 30 and 60 min, respectively, whereas the effect of epinephrine on the expression of phosphorylated PI3K was reversed by 49.49 ± 12.12%, 70.93 ± 16.14% and 47.62 ± 6.00%, respectively, when cells were treated with both bisoprolol and epinephrine. Wortmannin inhibited the effects of bisoprolol on PI3K-phosphorylation (38.63 ± 6.12%), the expression of CCR7 (23.4 ± 2.72%), the secretion of TNF-α (69.46 ± 4.48%) and MMP9 (43.15 ± 4.63%), and the number of chemotactic cells (36.84 ± 5.22%). This is the first study to establish a signaling pathway, epinephrine-AR-β1-β-arrestin2-PI3K-MMP9/CCR7, which plays a critical role in the migration of DCs.