Glucose and TNF enhance expression of and , and histone H3 acetylation and K4/K36 methylation, in juvenile macrophage cells.

Hyperglycemia activates innate leukocytes such as monocytes and induces pro-inflammatory cytokine expression, resulting in increased monocyte adhesion to aortic endothelial cells. In this study, we investigated whether high glucose and/or tumor necrosis factor (TNF) would enhance pro-inflammatory cytokine expression of () and () by altering histone modifications in U937, a juvenile macrophage cell line. The mRNA levels of and in U937 cells were significantly affected by glucose concentration and TNF treatment. Mono-methylated histone H3K4 signals around and were lower in cells treated with high glucose compared with low glucose. Conversely, tri-methylated histone H3K4 and H3K36 signals were higher in cells treated with high glucose compared with low glucose. TNF treatment of U937 cells cultured in high glucose enhanced histone H3K36 tri-methylation, particularly around the gene regions of and . Histone acetylation was induced by treatment with TNF in high-glucose medium. The induction of acetylation and tri-methylation of K4 and K36 of histone H3 around and by treatment with high glucose and/or TNF was positively associated with the induction of these genes in juvenile macrophage U937 cells.