scholarly journals The Roles of Inflammasomes in Host Defense against Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Pathogens ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 120
Author(s):  
Jialu Ma ◽  
Shasha Zhao ◽  
Xiao Gao ◽  
Rui Wang ◽  
Juan Liu ◽  
...  

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) infection is characterized by granulomatous lung lesions and systemic inflammatory responses during active disease. Inflammasome activation is involved in regulation of inflammation. Inflammasomes are multiprotein complexes serving a platform for activation of caspase-1, which cleaves the proinflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and IL-18 into their active forms. These cytokines play an essential role in MTB control. MTB infection triggers activation of the nucleotide-binding domain, leucine-rich-repeat containing family, pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) and absent in melanoma 2 (AIM2) inflammasomes in vitro, but only AIM2 and apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a caspase-activation recruitment domain (ASC), rather than NLRP3 or caspase-1, favor host survival and restriction of mycobacterial replication in vivo. Interferons (IFNs) inhibits MTB-induced inflammasome activation and IL-1 signaling. In this review, we focus on activation and regulation of the NLRP3 and AIM2 inflammasomes after exposure to MTB, as well as the effect of inflammasome activation on host defense against the infection.

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tae-Hyun Kim ◽  
Kyungwon Yang ◽  
Minsuk Kim ◽  
Hee-Sun Kim ◽  
Jihee Lee Kang

AbstractApoptosis inhibitor of macrophage (AIM) modulates the signaling in inflammatory responses, including infection, cancer, or other immune diseases. Recent studies suggest that like interleukin-10 (IL-10), AIM is involved in alternatively activated (M2) macrophage polarization. We aimed to understand whether and how AIM is involved in IL-10-induced inhibition of inflammasome activation and resolution of inflammation. First, we demonstrated that IL-10 induced increases in mRNA and protein expression of AIM in murine bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDM). In addition, genetic and pharmacologic inhibition of STAT3 (signal transducer and activator of transcription 3) reduced IL-10-induced AIM expression. We also found that IL-10-induced STAT3 activity enhanced the AIM promoter activity by directly binding the promoter of the AIM gene. Additionally, reduction of LPS/adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-induced IL-1β production and caspase-1 activation by IL-10 was reversed in BMDM from AIM−/− mice. Treatment of BMDM from both wild type (WT) and IL-10−/− mice with recombinant AIM showed the inhibitory effects on IL-1β and IL-18 production and caspase-1 activation. Endogenous and exogenous AIM inhibited apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a caspase activation and recruitment domain (ASC) speck formation. In LPS-induced acute peritonitis, inhibition of IL-1β and IL-18 production in peritoneal lavage fluid (PLF) and serum, reduction of caspase-1 activation in peritoneal macrophages, and reduction of numbers of neutrophils and peritoneal macrophages in PLF by administration of IL-10 were not evident in AIM−/− mice. Our in vitro and in vivo data reveal a novel role of AIM in the inhibition of inflammasome-mediated caspase-1 activation and IL-1β and IL-18 production.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pengxiao Chen ◽  
Qi Bai ◽  
Yanting Wu ◽  
Qiongzhen Zeng ◽  
Xiaowei Song ◽  
...  

Artemisia argyi H. Lév. and Vaniot is a traditional medical herb that has been used for a long time in China and other Asian counties. Essential oil is the main active fraction of Artemisia argyi H. Lév. and Vaniot, and its anti-inflammatory potential has been observed in vitro and in vivo. Here, we found that the essential oil of Artemisia argyi H. Lév. and Vaniot (EOAA) inhibited monosodium urate (MSU)- and nigericin-induced NLRP3 inflammasome activation. EOAA suppressed caspase-1 and IL-1β processing and pyroptosis. NF-κB p65 phosphorylation and translocation were also inhibited. In addition, EOAA suppressed nigericin-induced NLRP3 inflammasome activation without blocking ASC oligomerization, suggesting that it may inhibit NLRP3 inflammasome activation by preventing caspase-1 processing. Our study thus indicates that EOAA inhibits NLRP3 inflammasome activation and has therapeutic potential against NLRP3-driven diseases.


2017 ◽  
Vol 216 (9) ◽  
pp. 2891-2909 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paola Kuri ◽  
Nicole L. Schieber ◽  
Thomas Thumberger ◽  
Joachim Wittbrodt ◽  
Yannick Schwab ◽  
...  

Activated danger or pathogen sensors trigger assembly of the inflammasome adaptor ASC into specks, large signaling platforms considered hallmarks of inflammasome activation. Because a lack of in vivo tools has prevented the study of endogenous ASC dynamics, we generated a live ASC reporter through CRISPR/Cas9 tagging of the endogenous gene in zebrafish. We see strong ASC expression in the skin and other epithelia that act as barriers to insult. A toxic stimulus triggered speck formation and rapid pyroptosis in keratinocytes in vivo. Macrophages engulfed and digested that speck-containing, pyroptotic debris. A three-dimensional, ultrastructural reconstruction, based on correlative light and electron microscopy of the in vivo assembled specks revealed a compact network of highly intercrossed filaments, whereas pyrin domain (PYD) or caspase activation and recruitment domain alone formed filamentous aggregates. The effector caspase is recruited through PYD, whose overexpression induced pyroptosis but only after substantial delay. Therefore, formation of a single, compact speck and rapid cell-death induction in vivo requires a full-length ASC.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bin Leng ◽  
Yingjie Zhang ◽  
Xinran Liu ◽  
Zhen Zhang ◽  
Yang Liu ◽  
...  

Long-term exposure to high glucose induces vascular endothelial inflammation that can result in cardiovascular disease. Astragaloside IV (As-IV) is widely used for anti-inflammatory treatment of cardiovascular diseases. However, its mechanism of action is still not fully understood. In this study, we investigated the effect of As-IV on high glucose-induced endothelial inflammation and explored its possible mechanisms. In vivo, As-IV (40 and 80 mg/kg/d) was orally administered to rats for 8 weeks after a single intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ, 65 mg/kg). In vitro, human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were treated with high glucose (33 mM glucose) in the presence or absence of As-IV, NPS2143 (CaSR inhibitor), BAY 11-7082 (NF-κB p65 inhibitor), and INF39 (NLRP3 inhibitor), and overexpression of CaSR was induced by infection of CaSR-overexpressing lentiviral vectors to further discuss the anti-inflammatory property of As-IV. The results showed that high glucose increased the expression of interleukin-18 (IL-18), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), NLRP3, caspase-1, and ASC, as well as the protein level of TLR4, nucleus p65, and CaSR. As-IV can reverse these changes in vivo and in vitro. Meanwhile, NPS2143, BAY 11-7082, and INF39 could significantly abolish the high glucose-enhanced NLRP3, ASC, caspase-1, IL-18, and IL-1β expression in vitro. In addition, both NPS2143 and BAY 11-7082 attenuated high glucose-induced upregulation of NLRP3, ASC, caspase-1, IL-18, and IL-1β expression. In conclusion, this study suggested that As-IV could inhibit high glucose-induced NLRP3 inflammasome activation and subsequent secretion of proinflammatory cytokines via inhibiting TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway and CaSR, which provides new insights into the anti-inflammatory activity of As-IV.


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (7) ◽  
pp. 412-419 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siwei Feng ◽  
Tingting Chen ◽  
Guihua Lei ◽  
Fengqing Hou ◽  
Jiali Jiang ◽  
...  

Streptococcus pneumoniae, a leading cause of invasive pneumococcal disease, is responsible for high mortality and morbidity worldwide. A previous study showed that the NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) and absent in melanoma 2 (AIM2) inflammasomes are essential for caspase-1 activation and IL-1β production in the host response to S. pneumoniae infection. The function of NLRP3 in host innate immunity to S. pneumoniae was studied in vivo and in vitro. However, the role of AIM2 in host defence against S. pneumoniae remains unclear. Here, we show that AIM2-deficient (AIM2–/–) mice display increased susceptibility to intra-nasal infection with S. pneumoniae in comparison to wild type mice and that this susceptibility was associated with defective IL-1β production. Macrophages from AIM2–/– mice infected with S. pneumoniae showed impaired secretion of IL-1β as well as activation of the inflammasome, as determined by the oligomerisation of apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a CARD (ASC) and caspase-1 activation. Taken together, these results indicate that the AIM2 inflammasome is essential for caspase-1-dependent cytokine IL-1β production and eventual protection from pneumococcal infection in mice.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Jiao ◽  
Jianjian Wang ◽  
Huixue Zhang ◽  
Yuze Cao ◽  
Yang Qu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Microglia are rapidly activated after ischemic stroke and participate in the occurrence of neuroinflammation, which exacerbates the injury of ischemic stroke. Receptor Interacting Serine Threonine Kinase 1 (RIPK1) is thought to be involved in the development of inflammatory responses, but its role in ischemic microglia remains unclear. Here, we applied recombinant human thioredoxin-1 (rhTrx-1), a potential neuroprotective agent, to explore the role of rhTrx-1 in inhibiting RIPK1-mediated neuroinflammatory responses in microglia. Method Middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) and Oxygen and glucose deprivation (OGD) were conducted for in vivo and in vitro experimental stroke models. The expression of RIPK1 in microglia after ischemia was examined. The inflammatory response of microglia was analyzed after treatment with rhTrx-1 and Necrostatin-1 (Nec-1, inhibitors of RIPK1), and the mechanisms were explored. In addition, the effects of rhTrx-1 on neurobehavioral deficits and cerebral infarct volume were examined. Results RIPK1 expression was detected in microglia after ischemia. Molecular docking results showed that rhTrx-1 could directly bind to RIPK1. In vitro experiments found that rhTrx-1 reduced necroptosis, mitochondrial membrane potential damage, Reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation and NLR Family, pyrin domain-containing 3 protein (NLRP3) inflammasome activation by inhibiting RIPK-1 expression, and regulated microglial M1/M2 phenotypic changes, thereby reducing the release of inflammatory factors. Consistently, in vivo experiments found that rhTrx-1 treatment attenuated cerebral ischemic injury by inhibiting the inflammatory response. Conclusion Our study demonstrates the role of RIPK1 in microglia-arranged neuroinflammation after cerebral ischemia. Administration of rhTrx-1 provides neuroprotection in ischemic stroke-induced microglial neuroinflammation by inhibiting RIPK1 expression.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huan Liao ◽  
Hongxuan Wang ◽  
Xiaoming Rong ◽  
Enqin Li ◽  
Ren-He Xu ◽  
...  

Radiation-induced brain injury (RI) commonly occurs in patients who received head and neck radiotherapy. However, the mechanism of RI remains unclear. We aimed to evaluate whether pyroptosis was involved in RI and the impact of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) on it. BALB/c male mice (6–8 weeks) were cranially irradiated (15 Gy), and MSCs were transplanted into the bilateral cortex 2 days later; then mice were sacrificed 1 month later. Meanwhile, irradiated BV-2 microglia cells (10 Gy) were cocultured with MSCs for 24 hours. We observed that irradiated mice brains presented NLRP3 and caspase-1 activation. RT-PCR then indicated that it mainly occurred in microglia cells but not in neurons. Further, irradiated BV-2 cells showed pyroptosis and increased production of IL-18 and IL-1β. RT-PCR also demonstrated an increased expression of several inflammasome genes in irradiated BV-2 cells, including NLRP3 and AIM2. Particularly, NLRP3 was activated. Knockdown of NLRP3 resulted in decreased LDH release. Noteworthily, in vivo, MSCs transplantation alleviated radiation-induced NLRP3 and caspase-1 activation. Moreover, in vitro, MSCs could decrease caspase-1 dependent pyroptosis, NLRP3 inflammasome activation, and ROS production induced by radiation. Thus, our findings proved that microglia pyroptosis occurred in RI. MSCs may act as a potent therapeutic tool in attenuating pyroptosis.


2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (48) ◽  
pp. 30619-30627
Author(s):  
Ana Carolina Guerta Salina ◽  
Stephanie L. Brandt ◽  
Nathan Klopfenstein ◽  
Amondrea Blackman ◽  
Júlia Miranda Ribeiro Bazzano ◽  
...  

The initial production of inflammatory mediators dictates host defense as well as tissue injury. Inflammasome activation is a constituent of the inflammatory response by recognizing pathogen and host-derived products and eliciting the production of IL-1β and IL-18 in addition to inducing a type of inflammatory cell death termed “pyroptosis.” Leukotriene B4(LTB4) is a lipid mediator produced quickly (seconds to minutes) by phagocytes and induces chemotaxis, increases cytokine/chemokine production, and enhances antimicrobial effector functions. Whether LTB4directly activates the inflammasome remains to be determined. Our data show that endogenously produced LTB4is required for the expression of pro-IL-1β and enhances inflammasome assembly in vivo and in vitro. Furthermore, LTB4-mediated Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) activation is required for inflammasome assembly in vivo as well for IL-1β–enhanced skin host defense. Together, these data unveil a new role for LTB4in enhancing the expression and assembly of inflammasome components and suggest that while blocking LTB4actions could be a promising therapeutic strategy to prevent inflammasome-mediated diseases, exogenous LTB4can be used as an adjuvant to boost inflammasome-dependent host defense.


2016 ◽  
Vol 311 (1) ◽  
pp. C83-C100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael A. Katsnelson ◽  
Kristen M. Lozada-Soto ◽  
Hana M. Russo ◽  
Barbara A. Miller ◽  
George R. Dubyak

Nucleotide-binding domain, leucine-rich-repeat-containing family, pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) is a cytosolic protein that nucleates assembly of inflammasome signaling platforms, which facilitate caspase-1-mediated IL-1β release and other inflammatory responses in myeloid leukocytes. NLRP3 inflammasomes are assembled in response to multiple pathogen- or environmental stress-induced changes in basic cell physiology, including the destabilization of lysosome integrity and activation of K+-permeable channels/transporters in the plasma membrane (PM). However, the quantitative relationships between lysosome membrane permeabilization (LMP), induction of increased PM K+ permeability, and activation of NLRP3 signaling are incompletely characterized. We used Leu-Leu- O-methyl ester (LLME), a soluble lysosomotropic agent, to quantitatively track the kinetics and extent of LMP in relation to NLRP3 inflammasome signaling responses (ASC oligomerization, caspase-1 activation, IL-1β release) and PM cation fluxes in murine bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDCs). Treatment of BMDCs with submillimolar (≤1 mM) LLME induced slower and partial increases in LMP that correlated with robust NLRP3 inflammasome activation and K+ efflux. In contrast, supramillimolar (≥2 mM) LLME elicited extremely rapid and complete collapse of lysosome integrity that was correlated with suppression of inflammasome signaling. Supramillimolar LLME also induced dominant negative effects on inflammasome activation by the canonical NLRP3 agonist nigericin; this inhibition correlated with an increase in NLRP3 ubiquitination. LMP elicited rapid BMDC death by both inflammasome-dependent pyroptosis and inflammasome-independent necrosis. LMP also triggered Ca2+ influx, which attenuated LLME-stimulated NLRP3 inflammasome signaling but potentiated LLME-induced necrosis. Taken together, these studies reveal a previously unappreciated signaling network that defines the coupling between LMP, changes in PM cation fluxes, cell death, and NLRP3 inflammasome activation.


2008 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 534-544 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denise P Abulafia ◽  
Juan Pablo de Rivero Vaccari ◽  
J Diego Lozano ◽  
George Lotocki ◽  
Robert W Keane ◽  
...  

Inflammation is a major contributor to the pathogenesis of cerebral ischemia and stroke. In the peripheral immune response, caspase-1 activation involves the formation of a macromolecular complex termed the inflammasome. We determined whether nucleotide-binding, leucine-rich repeat, pyrin domain containing 1 (NLRP1), molecular platform consisting of capase-1, apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a caspase-activating recruitment domain (ASC), and NLRP1, is expressed in the normal and postischemic brain. Mice underwent thromboembolic stroke to investigate the formation of the inflammasome and subsequent activation of downstream inflammatory responses. Western blot analysis showed expression and activation of interleukin (IL) IL-1β and IL-18 at 24 h after stroke. Size-exclusion chromatography and coimmunoprecipitation analysis showed protein association between NLRP1, ASC, caspase-1, and the X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP). After ischemia, immunohistochemical analysis revealed inflammasome proteins in neurons, astrocytes, and microglia/macrophages. The potential of the inflammasome as an antiinflammatory target was showed by interference of inflammasome activation resulting in reduced cytokine levels in mice treated after ischemia with a neutralizing antibody against NLRP1. These findings show that the inflammasome complex forms after focal brain ischemia and may be a novel therapeutic target for reducing the detrimental consequences of postischemic inflammation.


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