No abstract

Early sensing of pathogenic bacteria by the host immune system is important to develop effective mechanisms to kill the invader. Microbial recognition, activation of signaling pathways, and effector mechanisms are sequential events that must be highly controlled to successfully eliminate the pathogen. Host recognizes pathogens through pattern-recognition receptors (PRRs) that sense pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). Some of these PRRs include Toll-like receptors (TLRs), nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptors (NLRs), retinoic acid-inducible gene-I- (RIG-I-) like receptors (RLRs), and C-type lectin receptors (CLRs). TLRs and NLRs are PRRs that play a key role in recognition of extracellular and intracellular bacteria and control the inflammatory response. The activation of TLRs and NLRs by their respective ligands activates downstream signaling pathways that converge on activation of transcription factors, such as nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB), activator protein-1 (AP-1) or interferon regulatory factors (IRFs), leading to expression of inflammatory cytokines and antimicrobial molecules. The goal of this review is to discuss how the TLRs and NRLs signaling pathways collaborate in a cooperative or synergistic manner to counteract the infectious agents. A deep knowledge of the biochemical events initiated by each of these receptors will undoubtedly have a high impact in the design of more effective strategies to control inflammation.

Bacterial internalization is an important process in the pathogenesis of infectious diseases in which nuclear factor kappaB (NF‐κB) plays a prominent role. We present pharmacological evidence indicating that in bovine endothelial cells (BEC) the internalization of Staphylococcus aureus, a pathogenic bacterium that causes mastitis in bovine cattle, was associated with the activation of NF‐κB. The internalization of S. aureus increased when BEC were stimulated with alpha‐tumour necrosis factor (TNF‐α) or beta‐interleukin 1 (IL‐1β) which are known activators of NF‐κB. SN50 (an inhibitor peptide of NF‐κB nuclear translocation) and BAY 11‐7083 (a chemical that inhibits the IκBα phosphorylation) caused significant reduction in S. aureus intracellular number, indicating that its internalization was associated with the NF‐κB activity. Furthermore, specific inhibition of c‐Jun N‐terminal kinase with SP600125 (SP) or p‐38 with SB203580 (SB) did not cause any change in the S. aureus intracellular number compared with the untreated control. Finally, TNF‐α treatment of BEC after the addition of both SP and SB, induced a significant increase in S. aureus internalization above the control value. These data indicate that NF‐κB activity is associated with S. aureus internalization and suggest that this transcription factor may play a role in the pathophysiology of bovine mastitis caused by this bacterium.

Internalization of Staphylococcus aureus in bovine endothelial cells (BEC) is increased by tumor necrosis

The inflammatory response is a critical molecular defense mechanism of the innate immune system that mediates the elimination of disease-causing bacteria. Repair of the damaged tissue, and the reestablishment of homeostasis, must be accomplished after elimination of the pathogen. The innate defense regulators (IDRs) are short cationic peptides that mimic natural host defense peptides and are effective in eliminating pathogens by enhancing the activity of the immune system while controlling the inflammatory response. Although the role of different IDRs as modulators of inflammation has been reported, there have been only limited studies of the signaling molecules regulated by this type of peptide. The present study investigated the effect of IDR-1002 on nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) and cAMP-response element-binding protein (CREB) transcription factors that are responsible for triggering and controlling inflammation, respectively, in macrophages. We found that TNF-α and COX-2 expression, IκBα phosphorylation, and NF-κB nuclear translocation were strongly inhibited in macrophages pre-incubated with IDR-1002 and then stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). IDR-1002 also increased CREB phosphorylation at Ser133 via activation of the p38/ERK1/2–MSK1 signaling pathways without detectable expression of the cytokines IL-4, IL-10, and IL-13 involved is suppressing inflammation or alternative activation. Transcriptional activation of NF-κB and CREB is known to require interaction with the transcriptional coactivator CREB-binding protein (CBP). To test for CBP–NF-κB and CBP–CREB complex formation, we performed co-immunoprecipitation assays. These assays showed that IDR-1002 inhibited the interaction between CBP and NF-κB in macrophages stimulated with LPS, which might explain the inhibition of TNF-α and COX-2 expression. Furthermore, the complex between CBP and CREB in macrophages stimulated with IDR-1002 was also inhibited, which might explain why IDR-1002 did not lead to expression of IL-4, IL-10, and IL-13, even though it induced an increase in phospho-CREB relative abundance. In conclusion, our results indicated that IDR-1002 has a dual effect. On one hand, it inhibited NF-κB nuclear translocation through a mechanism that involved inhibition of IκBα phosphorylation, and on the other, it activated a protein kinase signaling cascade that phosphorylated CREB to selectively influence cytokine gene expression. Based on these results, we think IDR-1002 could be a potential good biopharmaceutical candidate to control inflammation.