scholarly journals Nfa34810 Facilitates Nocardia farcinica Invasion of Host Cells and Stimulates Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha Secretion through Activation of the NF-κB and Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Pathways via Toll-Like Receptor 4

2020 ◽  
Vol 88 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xingzhao Ji ◽  
Xiujuan Zhang ◽  
Heqiao Li ◽  
Lina Sun ◽  
Xuexin Hou ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The mechanism underlying the pathogenesis of Nocardia is not fully known. The Nfa34810 protein of Nocardia farcinica has been predicted to be a virulence factor. However, relatively little is known regarding the interaction of Nfa34810 with host cells, specifically invasion and innate immune activation. In this study, we aimed to determine the role of recombinant Nfa34810 during infection. We demonstrated that Nfa34810 is an immunodominant protein located in the cell wall. Nfa34810 protein was able to facilitate the uptake and internalization of latex beads coated with Nfa34810 protein into HeLa cells. Furthermore, the deletion of the nfa34810 gene in N. farcinica attenuated the ability of the bacteria to infect both HeLa and A549 cells. Moreover, stimulation with Nfa34810 triggered macrophages to produce tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), and it also activated mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) signaling pathways by inducing the phosphorylation of ERK1/2, p38, JNK, p65, and AKT in macrophages. Specific inhibitors of ERK1/2, JNK, and NF-κB significantly reduced the expression of TNF-α, which demonstrated that Nfa34810-mediated TNF-α production was dependent upon the activation of these kinases. We further found that neutralizing antibodies against Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) significantly inhibited TNF-α secretion. Taken together, our results indicated that Nfa34810 is a virulence factor of N. farcinica and plays an important role during infection. Nfa34810-induced production of TNF-α in macrophages also involves ERK, JNK, and NF-κB via the TLR4 pathway.

2005 ◽  
Vol 79 (16) ◽  
pp. 10147-10154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Davy C. W. Lee ◽  
Chung-Yan Cheung ◽  
Anna H. Y. Law ◽  
Chris K. P. Mok ◽  
Malik Peiris ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Avian influenza A virus subtype H5N1 can infect humans to cause a severe viral pneumonia with mortality rates of more than 30%. The biological basis for this unusual disease severity is not fully understood. We previously demonstrated that in contrast to human influenza A virus subtypes including H1N1 or H3N2, the H5N1 virus associated with the “bird flu” outbreak in Hong Kong in 1997 (H5N1/97) hyperinduces proinflammatory cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), in primary human macrophages in vitro. To delineate the molecular mechanisms involved, we analyzed the role of transcription factor NF-κB and cellular kinases in TNF-α dysregulation. H5N1 and H1N1 viruses did not differ in the activation of NF-κB or degradation of IκB-α in human macrophages. However, we demonstrated that unlike H1N1 virus, H5N1/97 strongly activates mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), including p38 MAPK and extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2. Specific inhibitors of p38 MAPK significantly reduced the H5N1/97-induced TNF-α expression in macrophages. Taken together, our findings suggest that H5N1/97-mediated hyperinduction of cytokines involves the p38 MAPK signaling pathway. These results may provide insights into the pathogenesis of H5N1 disease and rationales for the development of novel therapeutic strategies.


2002 ◽  
Vol 70 (12) ◽  
pp. 7165-7168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce W. Jarvis ◽  
Tajie H. Harris ◽  
Nilofer Qureshi ◽  
Gary A. Splitter

ABSTRACT The intracellular, gram-negative pathogen Brucella abortus establishes chronic infections in host macrophages while downregulating cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α). When producing TNF-α, Brucella abortus rough lipopolysaccharide (LPS) activates the same mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathways (ERK and JNK) as Escherichia coli LPS, but Brucella LPS is a much less potent agonist.


2008 ◽  
Vol 82 (16) ◽  
pp. 7790-7798 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marlynne Q. Nicol ◽  
Jean-Marie Mathys ◽  
Albertina Pereira ◽  
Kevin Ollington ◽  
Michael H. Ieong ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive persons are predisposed to pulmonary infections, even after receiving effective highly active antiretroviral therapy. The reasons for this are unclear but may involve changes in innate immune function. HIV type 1 infection of macrophages impairs effector functions, including cytokine production. We observed decreased constitutive tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) concentrations and increased soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor type II (sTNFRII) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid samples from HIV-positive subjects compared to healthy controls. Moreover, net proinflammatory TNF-α activity, as measured by the TNF-α/sTNFRII ratio, decreased as HIV-related disease progressed, as manifested by decreasing CD4 cell count and increasing HIV RNA (viral load). Since TNF-α is an important component of the innate immune system and is produced upon activation of Toll-like receptor (TLR) pathways, we hypothesized that the mechanism associated with deficient TNF-α production in the lung involved altered TLR expression or a deficit in the TLR signaling cascade. We found decreased Toll-like receptor 1 (TLR1) and TLR4 surface expression in HIV-infected U1 monocytic cells compared to the uninfected parental U937 cell line and decreased TLR message in alveolar macrophages (AMs) from HIV-positive subjects. In addition, stimulation with TLR1/2 ligand (Pam3Cys) or TLR4 ligand (lipopolysaccharide) resulted in decreased intracellular phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase and subsequent decreased transcription and expression of TNF-α in U1 cells compared to U937 cells. AMs from HIV-positive subjects also showed decreased TNF-α production in response to these TLR2 and TLR4 ligands. We postulate that HIV infection alters expression of TLRs with subsequent changes in mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling and cytokine production that ultimately leads to deficiencies of innate immune responses that predispose HIV-positive subjects to infection.


2004 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1140-1147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hidenori Matsuzaki ◽  
Hiroshi Kobayashi ◽  
Tatsuo Yagyu ◽  
Kiyoshi Wakahara ◽  
Toshiharu Kondo ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Bikunin, a Kunitz-type protease inhibitor, exhibits anti-inflammatory activity in protection against cancer and inflammation. To investigate the molecular mechanism of this inhibition, we analyzed the effect of bikunin on tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) production in human peripheral mononuclear cells stimulated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS), an inflammatory inducer. Here, we show the following results. (i) LPS induced TNF-α expression in time- and dose-dependent manners through phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2), c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways. (ii) Bikunin inhibits LPS-induced up-regulation of TNF-α protein expression in a dose-dependent manner, reaching 60% inhibition at the highest doses of bikunin tested (5.0 μM). (iii) Inhibition by bikunin of TNF-α induction correlates with the suppressive capacity of ERK1/2, JNK, and p38 signaling pathways, implicating repressions of at least three different signals in the inhibition. (iv) Bikunin blocks the induction of TNF-α target molecules interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and IL-6 proteins. (v) Bikunin is functional in vivo, and this glycoprotein blocks systemic TNF-α release in mice challenged with LPS. (vi) Finally, bikunin can prevent LPS-induced lethality. In conclusion, bikunin significantly inhibits LPS-induced TNF-α production, suggesting a mechanism of anti-inflammation by bikunin through control of cytokine induction during inflammation. Bikunin might be a candidate for the treatment of inflammation, including septic shock.


2001 ◽  
Vol 69 (3) ◽  
pp. 1273-1279 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hubertus P. A. Jersmann ◽  
Charles S. T. Hii ◽  
Judith V. Ferrante ◽  
Antonio Ferrante

ABSTRACT One of the recognized associations of bacterial infection with cardiovascular events is the activation of endothelium and upregulation of adhesion molecules. The two major proinflammatory mediators implicated in the causation of cardiovascular events, bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF), were found to cooperate to enhance the adhesive properties of endothelial cells. These caused synergistic upregulation of intercellular adhesion molecule-1, E-selectin, and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 in human umbilical vein endothelial cells as determined by flow cytometry analysis and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. This synergism was not due to TNF causing an upregulation of CD14 expression. Treatment with both LPS and TNF resulted in a marked increase in the translocation of NF-κB into the nucleus. The activity of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase was also synergistically enhanced, while the activity of c-jun N-terminal kinase was increased in an additive manner. The results demonstrate that LPS and TNF act synergistically to upregulate the expression of endothelial cell adhesion molecules, possibly by amplification of signaling pathways upstream of transcription. These findings have implications for the understanding of the acceleration of atherosclerotic events seen in low-grade infections with gram-negative organisms.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Woorim Kim ◽  
Tae Hyeok Kim ◽  
Su Jin Oh ◽  
Hyun Jeong Kim ◽  
Joo Hee Kim ◽  
...  

Abstract Studies that investigate the association between toll-like receptor (TLR)-4 or TLR9 gene polymorphisms and remission from the disease in RA patients taking tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) inhibitors have yet to be conducted. In this context, this study was designed to investigate the effects of polymorphisms in TLR4 and TLR9 on response to TNF-α inhibitor and develop various machine learning approaches to predict remission. A total of six single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were investigated. Logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the association between genetic polymorphisms and response to treatment. Various machine learning methods were utilized for prediction of remission. After adjusting for covariates, the rate of remission of T-allele carriers of TLR9 rs352139 was about 5 times that of the CC-genotype carriers (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.325–19.231, p = 0.018). Among machine learning algorithms, multivariate logistic regression and elastic net showed the best prediction with the AUROC value of 0.71 (95% CI 0.597 - 0.823 for both models). This study showed an association between a TLR9 polymorphism (rs352139) and treatment response in RA patients receiving TNF-α inhibitors. Moreover, this study developed various machine learning methods for prediction, among which the elastic net provided the best model for remission prediction.


2007 ◽  
Vol 75 (6) ◽  
pp. 2996-3005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Le Nhat Tu ◽  
Hye-Yoon Jeong ◽  
Hyog-Young Kwon ◽  
Abiodun D. Ogunniyi ◽  
James C. Paton ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Heat shock proteins (HSPs) play a pivotal role as chaperones in the folding of native and denatured proteins and can help pathogens penetrate host defenses. However, the underlying mechanism(s) of modulation of virulence by HSPs has not been fully determined. In this study, the role of the chaperone ClpL in the pathogenicity of Streptococcus pneumoniae was assessed. A clpL mutant adhered to and invaded nasopharyngeal or lung cells much more efficiently than the wild type adhered to and invaded these cells in vitro, as well as in vivo, although it produced the same amount of capsular polysaccharide. However, the level of secretion of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) from macrophages infected with the clpL mutant was significantly lower than the level of secretion elicited by the wild type during the early stages of infection. Interestingly, treatment of the human lung epithelial carcinoma A549 and murine macrophage RAW 264.7 cell lines with cytochalasin D, an inhibitor of actin polymerization, increased adherence of the mutant to the host cells. In contrast, cytochalasin D treatment of RAW 264.7 cells decreased TNF-α secretion after infection with either the wild type or the mutant. However, pretreatment of cell lines with the actin polymerization activator jasplakinolide reversed these phenotypes. These findings indicate, for the first time, that the ClpL chaperone represses adherence of S. pneumoniae to host cells and induces secretion of TNF-α via a mechanism dependent upon actin polymerization during the initial infection stage.


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