Autophagy related 16-like 1 (ATG16L1) as a genetic risk factor has exposed the critical role of autophagy in Crohn’s disease (CD)1. Homozygosity for the highly prevalent ATG16L1 risk allele, or murine hypomorphic (HM) activity causes Paneth cell dysfunction2,3. As Atg16l1HM mice do not develop spontaneous intestinal inflammation, the mechanism(s) by which ATG16L1 contributes to disease remains obscure. Deletion of the unfolded protein response (UPR) transcription factor X-box binding protein-1 (Xbp1) in intestinal epithelial cells (IECs), whose human orthologue harbors rare inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) risk variants, results in endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, Paneth cell impairment and spontaneous enteritis4. Unresolved ER stress is a common feature of IBD epithelium4,5, and several genetic risk factors of CD affect Paneth cells2,4,6-9. Here we show that impairment in either UPR (Xbp1ΔIEC) or autophagy function (Atg16l1ΔIEC or Atg7ΔIEC) in IECs results in each other’s compensatory engagement, and severe spontaneous CD-like transmural ileitis if both mechanisms are compromised. Xbp1ΔIEC mice exhibit autophagosome formation in hypomorphic Paneth cells, which is linked to ER stress via protein kinase RNA-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase (PERK), elongation initiation factor 2α (eIF2α) and activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4). Ileitis is dependent on commensal microbiota and derives from increased IEC death, inositol requiring enzyme 1α (IRE1α)-regulated NFκB activation and tumor necrosis factor signaling which are synergistically increased when autophagy is deficient. ATG16L1 restrains IRE1α activity and augmentation of autophagy in IECs ameliorates ER stress-induced intestinal inflammation and eases NFκB overactivation and IEC death. ER stress, autophagy induction and spontaneous ileitis emerge from Paneth cell-specific deletion of Xbp1. Genetically and environmentally controlled UPR function within Paneth cells may therefore set the threshold for the development of intestinal inflammation upon hypomorphic ATG16L1 function and implicate ileal CD as a specific disorder of Paneth cells.
Integrity of human skin is endangered by exposure to UV irradiation and chemical stressors, which can provoke a toxic production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and oxidative damage. Since oxidation of proteins and metabolites occurs virtually instantaneously, immediate cellular countermeasures are pivotal to mitigate the negative implications of acute oxidative stress. We investigated the short-term metabolic response in human skin fibroblasts and keratinocytes to H2O2 and UV exposure. In time-resolved metabolomics experiments, we observed that within seconds after stress induction, glucose catabolism is routed to the oxidative pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) and nucleotide synthesis independent of previously postulated blocks in glycolysis (i.e., of GAPDH or PKM2). Through ultra-short (13)C labeling experiments, we provide evidence for multiple cycling of carbon backbones in the oxidative PPP, potentially maximizing NADPH reduction. The identified metabolic rerouting in oxidative and non-oxidative PPP has important physiological roles in stabilization of the redox balance and ROS clearance.
The chemokine CXCL12/stromal cell-derived factor-1 and its receptor CXCR4 play a major role in tumor invasion, proliferation, and metastasis. Recently, CXCR7 was identified as a novel, alternate receptor for CXCL12 and CXCL11/I-TAC. Because both chemokines are expressed abundantly in human astrocytomas and glioblastomas, we investigated the occurrence and function of both receptors in astroglial tumors. In situ, CXCR7 is highly expressed on tumor endothelial, microglial, and glioma cells whereas CXCR4 has a much more restricted localization; CXCL12 is often colocalized with CXCR7. CXCR7 transcription in tumor homogenates increased with malignancy. In vitro, CXCR7 was highly expressed in all glioma cell lines investigated whereas CXCR4 was only scarcely transcribed on one of eight lines. In contrast, a tumor stem-like cell line preferentially expressed CXCR4 which diminished upon differentiation, whereas CXCR7 increased drastically. Stimulation of CXCR7-positive glioma cells (CXCR4-and CXCR3-negative) by CXCL12 induced transient phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases Erk1/2, indicating that the receptor is functionally active. The phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C inhibitor U73122 effectively inhibited Erk activation and suggests that the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway is activated indirectly. Whereas proliferation and migration were little influenced, chemokine stimulation prevented camptothecin-and temozolomide-induced apoptosis. The selective CXCR7 antagonist CCX733 reduced the antiapoptotic effects of CXCL12 as shown by nuclear (Nicoletti) staining, caspase-3/7 activity assays, and cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1. Thus, CXCR7 is a functional receptor for CXCL12 in astrocytomas/glioblastomas and mediates resistance to druginduced apoptosis. Whereas CXCR7 is found on "differentiated" glioma cells, the alternate receptor CXCR4 is also localized on glioma stem-like cells. Cancer Res; 70(8); 3299-308. ©2010 AACR.
BackgroundBrain inflammation plays a central role in multiple sclerosis (MS). Dimethylfumarate (DMF), the main ingredient of an oral formulation of fumaric acid esters with proven therapeutic efficacy in psoriasis, has recently been found to ameliorate the course of relapsing-remitting MS. Glial cells are the effector cells of neuroinflammation; however, little is known of the effect of DMF on microglia and astrocytes. The purpose of this study was to use an established in vitro model of brain inflammation to determine if DMF modulates the release of neurotoxic molecules from microglia and astrocytes, thus inhibiting glial inflammation.MethodsPrimary microglial and astrocytic cell cultures were prepared from cerebral cortices of neonatal rats. The control cells were treated with LPS, an accepted inducer of pro-inflammatory properties in glial cells, and the experimental groups with LPS and DMF in different concentrations. After stimulation/incubation, the generation of nitric oxide (NO) in the cell culture supernatants was determined by measuring nitrite accumulation in the medium using Griess reagent. After 6 hours of treatment RT-PCR was used to determine transcription levels of iNOS, IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α mRNA in microglial and astrocytic cell cultures initially treated with DMF, followed after 30 min by LPS treatment. Moreover, we investigated possible involvement of the ERK and Nrf-2 transduction pathway in microglia using western blot analysis.ResultsPretreatment with DMF decreased synthesis of the proinflammatory mediators iNOS, TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 at the RNA level in activated microglia and astrocytes in vitro, associated with a decrease in ERK phosphorylation in microglia.ConclusionsCollectively, these results suggest that the neuroprotective effects of DMF may be in part functionally attributable to the compound's ability to inhibit expression of multiple neuroinflammatory mediators in brain of MS patients.
The activation and function of c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNKs) were investigated in primary microglia cultures from neonatal rat brain, which express all three JNK isoforms. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), and thrombin preparations induced a rapid and lasting activation of JNKs in the cytoplasm. In the nucleus, the activation patterns were rather complex. In untreated microglia, the small pool of nuclear JNKs was strongly activated, while the high-affinity JNK substrate c-Jun was only weakly phosphorylated. Stimulation with LPS increased the total amount of nuclear JNKs and the phosphorylation of the transcription factor c-Jun. Levels of activated JNKs in the nucleus, however, rapidly decreased. Analysis of the nuclear JNK isoforms revealed that the amount of JNK1 declined, while JNK2 increased, and the weakly expressed JNK3 did not vary. This observation suggests that JNK2 is mainly responsible for the activation of c-Jun in this context. Upstream of JNKs, LPS induced a lasting activation of the constitutively present JNK kinase MKK4. The function of JNKs in LPS-triggered cellular reactions was investigated using SP600125 (0.5-5 microM), a direct inhibitor of JNKs. Inhibition of JNKs reduced the LPS-induced metabolic activity and induction of the AP-1 target genes cyclooxygenase-2 (Cox-2), TNF-alpha, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in response to LPS, while ERK1/2 and p38 alpha had a more pronounced effect on LPS-induced cellular enlargement than JNKs. In summary, JNKs are essential mediators of relevant pro-inflammatory functions in microglia with different contributions of the JNK isoforms.
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