Macrophages are essential for innate immunity and inflammatory responses and differentiate into various functional phenotypes. Tribbles homolog 1 (), a member of the mammalian Tribbles homolog pseudokinase family, has been implicated in regulation of cell differentiation, proliferation, and metabolism, but its role in macrophage biology has not been fully elucidated. Here, we investigated the consequences of deficiency on macrophage functions and M1/M2 polarization. Bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) fromdeficient () mice exhibited elevated phagocytic capacity, correlating with up-regulation of several scavenger receptors. Concomitantly, uptake of modified low-density lipoprotein was increased in BMDMs. macrophages also exhibited diminished migration in the presence of the chemokine MCP-1, associated with reduced expression of the MCP-1 receptor Furthermore, deficiency attenuated the response of BMDMs to both M1 and M2 stimuli; induction of the M1-marker genes ,, and upon LPS/IFNγ stimulation and of the M2-marker genes, , and upon IL-4 stimulation was reduced. Functionally, deficiency decreased secretion of proinflammatory cytokines (IL-6, TNFα, IL-1β, and CXCL1) and reduced nitric oxide and reactive oxygen species production in M1-polarized macrophages. Supporting the attenuated M2 phenotype, IL-4-stimulated macrophages secreted less IL-10 and TGFβ. Mechanistically, BMDMs displayed lower levels of Janus kinase 1 (JAK1), resulting in reduced activation of LPS/IFNγ-mediated STAT1 signaling. Likewise, decreased levels of JAK1 along with lower activation of STAT6 and STAT3 were observed in M2-polarized BMDMs. Our findings suggest that extensively controls macrophage M1/M2 polarization via the JAK/STAT signaling pathway.
The myosin-directed chaperone UNC-45B is essential for sarcomeric organization and muscle function from Caenorhabditis elegans to humans. The pathological impact of UNC-45B in muscle disease remained elusive. We report ten individuals with bi-allelic variants in UNC45B who exhibit childhood-onset progressive muscle weakness. We identified a common UNC45B variant that acts as a complex hypomorph splice variant. Purified UNC-45B mutants showed changes in folding and solubility. In situ localization studies further demonstrated reduced expression of mutant UNC-45B in muscle combined with abnormal localization away from the A-band towards the Z-disk of the sarcomere. The physiological relevance of these observations was investigated in C. elegans by transgenic expression of conserved UNC-45 missense variants, which showed impaired myosin binding for one and defective muscle function for three. Together, our results demonstrate that UNC-45B impairment manifests as a chaperonopathy with progressive muscle pathology, which discovers the previously unknown conserved role of UNC-45B in myofibrillar organization.
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