Oxidative Stress Enhances Toll-Like Receptor 3 Response to Double-Stranded RNA in Airway Epithelial Cells

Abstract Background Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and oxidative stress in the respiratory system are involved in lung inflammation and tumorigenesis. Ozone (O3) is one of the main components of air pollution in urban areas able to act as strong pro-oxidant agent, however its effects on human health is still poorly investigated. In this study the effect of O3 has been evaluated in THP-1 monocytes differentiated into macrophages with PMA and in HBEpC (primary human bronchial epithelial) cells, two model systems for in vitro studies and translational research. Methods Cell viability, ROS and pro-inflammatory cytokines like interleukin-8(IL-8) and tumor necrosis factor(TNF-α) have been tested in the above-mentioned cell lines not exposed to any kind of pollution (basal condition-b.c.) or exposed to O3 at a concentration of 120 ppb. In HBEpC a labelfree shotgun proteomics analysis has been also performed in the same conditions. Results Ozone significantly increased the production of IL-8 and TNF-α in THP-1 whereas no changes were shown in HBEpC. In both cell lines lipopolysaccharide(LPS) caused an increase of IL-8 and TNF-α production in b.c. and O3 treatment potentiated this effect. Ozone exposure increased ROS formation in a time dependent manner in both cell lines and in THP-1 cells a decrease in catalase activity was also shown. Finally, according to these data, functional proteomics analysis revealed that in HBEpC exposure to O3 many differential proteins are related to oxidative stress and inflammation. Conclusions Our results indicate that O3, at levels that can be reached in urban areas, causes an increase of pro-inflammatory agents either per se or potentiating the effect of immune response stimulators in cell models of human macrophages and human airway epithelial cells. Interestingly, the proteomic analysis showed that besides the dysregulated proteins, O3 induced the expression of AKR1D1 and AKR1B10, proteins recognized to play a significant role in cancer development. Key messages This study adds new pieces of information on the association between O3 exposure and detrimental effects on respiratory system. This study suggests the need for further research on the mechanisms involved and for a continued monitoring/re-evaluation of air pollution standards aimed at safeguarding human health.

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Immune responses of porcine airway epithelial cells to poly(I:C), a synthetic analogue of viral double-stranded RNA

Canadian Journal of Animal Science ◽

10.4141/cjas2013-145 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 95 (1) ◽

pp. 13-20 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Xiu-qin Yang ◽

Liang Wang ◽

Hai-tao Li ◽

Di Liu

Keyword(s):

Epithelial Cells ◽

Immune Responses ◽

Digital Gene Expression ◽

Enrichment Analysis ◽

Airway Epithelial Cells ◽

Poly I:C ◽

Synthetic Analogue ◽

Airway Epithelial ◽

Transcriptional Responses ◽

Double Stranded Rna

Yang, X.-q., Wang, L., Li, H.-t. and Liu, D. 2015. Immune responses of porcine airway epithelial cells to poly(I:C), a synthetic analogue of viral double-stranded RNA. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 95: 13–20. Swine respiratory disease (SRD) is one of the most economically important diseases affecting the pig industry. The main infectious agents that cause SRD are viruses, but the molecular pathogenesis of viral SRD has not been extensively studied. Here, using digital gene expression tag profiling, the global transcriptional responses to poly(I:C), a synthetic analogue of viral double-stranded RNA, was analyzed in porcine airway epithelial cells (PAECs). The profiling analysis revealed numerous differentially expressed genes (DEGs), including unknown sequences in the porcine nucleotide databases. Gene ontology enrichment analysis showed that DEGs were mainly enriched in response to stress (GO: 0006950), of which, defense response is one sub-process. Poly(I:C) challenge induced a general inflammation response as indicated by marked upregulation of a variety of pathogen recognition receptors, interferon-stimulated genes, proinflammatory cytokines, and chemokines, together with the significant downregulation of anti-inflammatory molecules. Furthermore, the antiapoptotic pathway was triggered, as demonstrated by the significant suppression of molecules involved in the induction of apoptosis, together with the significant stimulation of putative inhibitor of apoptosis. The results indicate that PAECs initiated defense against poly(I:C) challenge through the inflammation responses, whereas poly(I:C) can utilize antiapoptotic pathway to evade host defense.

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