Cellular inhibitor of apoptosis proteins (cIAPs) block apoptosis, but their physiological functions are still under investigation. Here, we report that cIAP1 and cIAP2 are E3 ubiquitin ligases that are required for receptor-interacting protein 2 (RIP2) ubiquitination and for nucleotide-binding and oligomerization (NOD) signaling. Macrophages derived from Birc2(-/-) or Birc3(-/-) mice, or colonocytes depleted of cIAP1 or cIAP2 by RNAi, were defective in NOD signaling and displayed sharp attenuation of cytokine and chemokine production. This blunted response was observed in vivo when Birc2(-/-) and Birc3(-/-) mice were challenged with NOD agonists. Defects in NOD2 signaling are associated with Crohn's disease, and muramyl dipeptide (MDP) activation of NOD2 signaling protects mice from experimental colitis. Here, we show that administration of MDP protected wild-type but not Ripk2(-/-) or Birc3(-/-) mice from colitis, confirming the role of the cIAPs in NOD2 signaling in vivo. This discovery provides therapeutic opportunities in the treatment of NOD-dependent immunologic and inflammatory diseases.

No abstract

Mitochondria are ancient organelles evolved from bacteria. Over the course of evolution, the behavior of mitochondria inside eukaryotic cells has changed dramatically, and the corresponding machineries that control it are in most cases new inventions. The evolution of mitochondrial behavior reflects the necessity to create a dynamic compartment to integrate the myriad mitochondrial functions with the status of other endomembrane compartments, such as the endoplasmic reticulum, and with signaling pathways that monitor cellular homeostasis and respond to stress. Here we review what has been discovered about the molecular machineries that work together to control the collective behavior of mitochondria in cells, as well as their physiological roles in healthy and disease states.

Cellular inhibitors of apoptosis proteins (cIAPs) are essential regulators of cell death and immunity. The corresponding contributions of IAPs to infectious disease outcomes are relatively unexplored. We find that mice deficient in cIAP2 exhibit increased susceptibility and mortality to influenza A virus infection. The lethality was not due to impaired antiviral immune functions, but rather because of death-receptor-induced programmed necrosis of airway epithelial cells that led to severe bronchiole epithelial degeneration, despite control of viral replication. Pharmacological inhibition of RIPK1 or genetic deletion of Ripk3, both kinases involved in programmed necrosis, rescued cIAP2-deficient mice from influenza-induced lethality. Genetic deletion of the death receptor agonists Fas ligand or TRAIL from the hematopoietic compartment also reversed the susceptibility of cIAP2-deficient mice. Thus, cIAP2-dependent antagonism of RIPK3-mediated programmed necrosis critically protects the host from influenza infection through maintenance of pulmonary tissue homeostasis rather than through pathogen control by the immune system.

Pathogen and danger recognition by the inflammasome activates inflammatory caspases that mediate inflammation and cell death. The cellular inhibitor of apoptosis proteins (cIAPs) function in apoptosis and innate immunity, but their role in modulating the inflammasome and the inflammatory caspases is unknown. Here we report that the cIAPs are critical effectors of the inflammasome and are required for efficient caspase-1 activation. cIAP1, cIAP2, and the adaptor protein TRAF2 interacted with caspase-1-containing complexes and mediated the activating nondegradative K63-linked polyubiquitination of caspase-1. Deficiency in cIAP1 (encoded by Birc2) or cIAP2 (Birc3) impaired caspase-1 activation after spontaneous or agonist-induced inflammasome assembly, and Birc2(-/-) or Birc3(-/-) mice or mice administered with an IAP antagonist had a dampened response to inflammasome agonists and were resistant to peritonitis. Our results describe a role for the cIAPs in innate immunity and further demonstrate the evolutionary conservation between cell death and inflammation mechanisms.

Constitutive and LPS-induced proinflammatory gene expression are exaggerated in the diaphragm compared with limb muscles and are critically dependent on the NF-kappaB pathway. We suggest the diaphragm may be relatively predisposed to proinflammatory responses.

Mitochondrial function is integrated with cellular status through the regulation of opposing mitochondrial fusion and division events. Here we uncover a link between mitochondrial dynamics and lipid metabolism by examining the cellular role of mitochondrial carrier homologue 2 (MTCH2). MTCH2 is a modified outer mitochondrial membrane carrier protein implicated in intrinsic cell death and in the in vivo regulation of fatty acid metabolism. Our data indicate that MTCH2 is a selective effector of starvation-induced mitochondrial hyperfusion, a cytoprotective response to nutrient deprivation. We find that MTCH2 stimulates mitochondrial fusion in a manner dependent on the bioactive lipogenesis intermediate lysophosphatidic acid. We propose that MTCH2 monitors flux through the lipogenesis pathway and transmits this information to the mitochondrial fusion machinery to promote mitochondrial elongation, enhanced energy production, and cellular survival under homeostatic and starvation conditions. These findings will help resolve the roles of MTCH2 and mitochondria in tissue-specific lipid metabolism in animals.

No abstract