天然免疫进化中的无脊椎动物Toll样受体

Toll样受体（Toll-like receptors,TLR）（或Toll）通过与各种病原相关分子模式（pathogen associated molecular patterns,PAMP）的识别和特异结合,广泛参与各种天然免疫应答,目前已在线虫类、软体动物、节肢动物、棘皮动物及低等脊索类的后口动物等多种无脊椎动物中发现大量的TLR及同源蛋白.TLR在进化中高度保守,其功能随着动物进化中免疫机能的复杂化而多样化.这些研究成果将会不断加深对无脊椎动物天然免疫系统的起源、进化路线及其信号转导机制的认识.     

LDL受体对清道夫受体活性的影响

应用经ＰＭＡ诱导衍生的ＴＨＰ－１巨噬细胞为模型,以单克隆抗体Ｃ７Ｂ封闭ｏｘＬＤＬ上的ＬＤＬ受体结合位点,结果发现,正常细胞在摄取ｏｘＬＤＬ时ＬＤＬ受体与清道夫受体起协同作用;但Ｃ７Ｂ作用于蓄积了脂质的ＴＨＰ－１巨噬细胞时,对细胞脂质蓄积程度无明显影响,清道夫受体活性不但不降低反而有所升高,说明由于脂质蓄积ＬＤＬ受体的作用减弱。     

清道夫受体A基因的表达和调控研究进展

Ａ类清道夫受体（ＳＲ－Ａ）的表达具有巨噬细胞特异性,这与ＳＲ－Ａ启动子上的ＰＵ．１／Ｓｐｉ－１识别位点有关,ＳＲ－Ａ具有广泛的配体结合活性,在机体的防御,细胞粘附及信息转导等过程中起重要作用,对修饰脂蛋白的介导,内吞可能是动脉粥样硬化斑块形成的重要原因。     

LDL受体对清道夫受体活性的影响

应用经ＰＭＡ诱导衍生的ＴＨＰ－１巨噬细胞为模型,以单克隆抗体Ｃ７Ｂ封闭ｏｘＬＤＬ上的ＬＤＬ受体结合位点,结果发现,正常细胞在摄取ｏｘＬＤＬ时ＬＤＬ受体与清道夫受体起协同作用;但Ｃ７Ｂ作用于蓄积了脂质的ＴＨＰ－１巨噬细胞时,对细胞脂质蓄积程度无明显影响,清道夫受体活性不但不降低反而有所升高,说明由于脂质蓄积ＬＤＬ受体的作用减弱．     

单细胞LDL受体与清道夫受体活性的同时测定

结合应用激光扫描共聚焦显微镜系统(LSCM)和DiI-AcLDL及BODIPY FL-LDL两种荧光配基选择性标记技术,可在单细胞水平上同时测定LDL受体和清道夫受体活性.C57BL/6J小鼠巨噬细胞用终浓度为5mg/L的 DiI-AcLDL及BODIPY FL-LDL,在37℃负载5 h左右的条件下可获得良好的标记效果.两种荧光配基选择性标记具有高度特异性,在激光共聚焦显微镜下可清晰、定量地观察细胞对LDL和AcLDL摄入,是一种灵敏度高且可定量研究LDL受体和清道夫受体功能的非同位素方法.     

清道夫受体A在机体防御系统中的作用

清道夫受体A(SR—A)是清道夫膜受体家族成员之一,主要存在于巨噬细胞,最初是作为脂蛋白受体被发现的,可以内吞修饰后的脂蛋白,促使动脉粥样硬化斑块形成。近年研究发现,SR—A还在介导巨噬细胞对内毒素内吞、清除及凋亡细胞的识别、吞噬等机体防御反应中起重要作用。     

巨噬细胞清道夫受体与Toll样受体对Ox-LDL摄取和炎症的影响

巨噬细胞吞噬氧化型低密度脂蛋白（oxidized low density lipoprotein,ox-LDL）后形成的泡沫细胞是动脉粥样硬化过程的标志。在巨噬细胞摄取ox-LDL过程中,清道夫受体人类白细胞分化抗原36(cluster of differentiation 36,CD36)、清道夫受体A1(scavenger receptor class A1,SR-A1)、氧化低密度脂蛋白受体1(lectin like oxidized low density lipoprotein receptor,LOX-1)发挥着重要功能。有研究表明,与炎症相关的巨噬细胞Toll样受体（Toll-like receptors,TLR）,如TLR4,通过激发炎症反应影响ox-LDL的摄取,然而两者的调控机制尚不清楚。巨噬细胞清道夫受体和TLR如何相互影响可能是治疗动脉粥样硬化的关键。通过对经典清道夫受体和TLR4在ox-LDL摄取与炎症反应中的作用研究进展进行综述,以期为寻找治疗动脉粥样硬化新的靶点提供思路。     

蛋白激酶C抑制剂对U937细胞清道夫受体功能的影响

为了解细胞内蛋白质磷酸化水平对清道夫受体功能的影响,用蛋白激酶Ｃ抑掉剂形孢菌素（ｓｔａｕｒｏｓｐｏｒｉｎｅ,ＳＴＡ）处理人Ｕ９３７细胞,分别测定对照组和处理组细胞对碘标记的氧化低密度脂蛋白（＾１２５Ｉ）ｏｘ－ＬＤＬ的降解,结合,细胞表面受体复合物的内移以及细胞内脂质蓄积的程度,并利用放射自显影方法观察药物对细胞表面受体表达的影响,结果发现ＳＴＡ可以促进细胞结合（＾１２５Ｉ）ｏｘ－ＬＤＬ增加细胞表面     

Hippo信号通路与海洋无脊椎动物天然免疫

Hippo信号通路是一条在进化上保守的丝氨酸/苏氨酸激酶级联信号通路,主要参与调控器官大小、组织再生、胚胎发育和肿瘤发生。在果蝇中,经典的Hippo信号通路主要由Hippo(Hpo)、Salvador(Sav)、Warts(Wts)、MOB as tumor suppressor (Mats)、Yorkie(Yki)和Scalloped(Sd)组成。其不仅可通过Fat(Ft)和Crumbs(Crb)等上游分子进行调控,而且还能与NF-κB途径、IFN途径、ROS途径、cGAS-STING信号通路以及Wnt信号通路发生交联,共同调控天然免疫过程。海洋无脊椎动物缺乏获得性免疫,主要依靠天然免疫抵御病原体的侵害。Hippo信号通路作为与生长发育和天然免疫密切相关的信号通路,对海洋无脊椎动物的研究中有着重要的意义。目前,对于海洋无脊椎动物Hippo信号通路所知甚少,关于其在天然免疫中的研究更是寥寥无几。开展Hippo信号通路在海洋无脊椎动物天然免疫过程中功能机制的研究,将为深入了解海洋无脊椎动物的天然免疫调控提供一种新思路。本文通过对Hippo信号通路的组成、调控机制以及其在海洋无脊椎动物天然免疫中作用的研究进行综述。将为海洋无脊椎动物天然免疫研究提供有益的参考。     

Effect of the antimicrobial peptide LL-37 on Toll-like receptors 2-, 3- and 4-triggered expression of IL-6, IL-8 and CXCL10 in human gingival fibroblasts

The antimicrobial peptide LL-37 is known to have a potent LPS-neutralizing activity in monocytes and macrophages. Recently, LL-37 in gingival crevicular fluids is suggested to be the major protective factor preventing infection of periodontogenic pathogens. In this study, we tried to address the effect of LL-37 on proinflammatory responses of human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs) stimulated with Toll-like receptor (TLR)-stimulant microbial compounds. LL-37 potently suppressed LPS-induced gene expression of IL6, IL8 and CXCL10 and intracellular signaling events, degradation of IRAK-1 and IκBα and phosphorylation of p38 MAPK and IRF3, indicating that the LPS-neutralizing activity is also exerted in HGFs. LL-37 also suppressed the expression of IL6, IL8 and CXCL10 induced by the TLR3 ligand poly(I:C). LL-37 modestly attenuated the expression of IL6 and IL8 induced by the TLR2/TLR1 ligand Pam₃CSK₄, but did not affect the expression induced by the TLR2/TLR6 ligand MALP-2. Interestingly, LL-37 rather upregulated the expression of IL6, IL8 and CXCL10 induced by another TLR2/TLR6 ligand FSL-1. Thus, the regulatory effect of LL-37 is differently exerted towards proinflammatory responses of HGFs induced by different microbial stimuli, which may lead to unbalanced proinflammatory responses of the gingival tissue to infection of oral microbes.     

Origin of Toll-Like Receptor-Mediated Innate Immunity

Toll-related receptors (TLR) have been found in four animal phyla: Nematoda, Arthropoda, Echinodermata, and Chordata. No TLR has been identified thus far in acoelomates. TLR genes play a pivotal role in the innate immunity in both fruit fly and mammals. The prevailing view is that TLR-mediated immunity is ancient. The two pseudocoelomate TLRs, one each from Caenorhabditis elegans and Strongyloides stercoralis, were distinct from the coelomate ones. Further, the only TLR gene (Tol-1) in Ca. elegans did not appear to play a role in innate immunity. We argue that TLR-mediated innate immunity developed only in the coelomates, after they split from pseudocoelomates and acoelomates. We hypothesize that the function of TLR-mediated immunity is to prevent microbial infection in the body cavity present only in the coelomates. Phylogenetic analysis showed that almost all arthropod TLRs form a separate cluster from the mammalian counterparts. We further hypothesize that TLR-mediated immunity developed independently in the protostomia and deuterostomia coelomates.     

The antimicrobial peptide cathelicidin interacts with airway mucus

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) and mucins are components of airway secretions and both contribute to the innate host defense system. At neutral pH, AMPs are positively charged, mucins negatively. It was the aim of the study to test whether these opposite charges result in interactions between AMPs and mucins. We measured binding of mucins isolated from porcine gastric mucosa to the cathelicidin LL-37 coated to multiwell plates and found that LL-37 electrostatically interacts with mucins. Circular dichroism spectra of the peptide revealed the induction of -helical conformation by mucins. Addition of mucins to solutions of LL-37 significantly decreased the antimicrobial activity of the peptide against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Streptococcus pneumoniae. We then tested whether LL-37 is bound to mucins in airway secretions from human subjects and found that a significant proportion of the peptide and its propeptide are bound to high molecular weight components. Together these data show that cationic AMPs interact with anionic mucins in airway secretions. Functions of AMPs are modulated by this interaction.     

Identification and characterization of defensin genes from the endoparasitoid wasp Cotesia vestalis (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)

Defensins are members of a large and diverse family of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) containing three or four intramolecular disulfide bonds. They are widely distributed from vertebrates to invertebrates, and serve as critical defense molecules protecting the host from the invasion of pathogens or protozoan parasites. Cotesia vestalis is a small endoparasitoid wasp that lays eggs in larvae of Plutella xylostella, a cosmopolitan pest of cruciferous crops. We identified and characterized three full-length cDNAs encoding putative defensin-like peptides from C. vestalis, named CvDef1, CvDef2 and CvDef3. Phylogenetic analyses of these sequences showed that they are present in two clades, CITDs and PITDs, indicating a diversity of defensins in C. vestalis. We analyzed their expression patterns in larvae, pupae and adults by semi-quantitative RT-PCR. The results showed that CvDef1 mRNA was expressed from the end stage of the second instar larva, CvDef3 mRNA from the early stage of the second instar larva, and CvDef2 mRNA was expressed in all developmental stages of C. vestalis. Furthermore, CvDef1 showed antimicrobial activity against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Growth kinetics of Staphylococcus aureus indicated that CvDef1 had much better antimicrobial ability than ampicillin, making it a potential candidate for practical use. Transmission electron microscopic (TEM) examination of CvDef1-treated S. aureus cells showed extensive damage to the cell membranes. Our results revealed the basic properties of three defensins in C. vestalis for the first time, which may pave the way for further study of the functions of defensins in parasitism and innate immunity of C. vestalis.     

Application of antimicrobial polypeptide host defenses to aquaculture: Exploitation of downregulation and upregulation responses

Antimicrobial polypeptides (AMPPs), consisting of peptides and small proteins with antimicrobial activity, are an integral component of innate immunity. Their often potent properties and widespread prevalence in fish suggests that designing means of manipulating their levels has considerable potential for maintaining or improving fish health. There is evidence that a number of chronic stresses lead to significant downregulation of AMPPs and thus their monitoring could be a highly sensitive measure of health status and risk of an infectious disease outbreak. Conversely, upregulation of AMPP expression could be used to enhance disease resistance in stressful environments, as well as improve the efficacy of traditional antimicrobial drugs. However, further work is required in linking levels of a number of AMPPs to physiological function since, while a number of studies have documented the down- or upregulation of AMPPs via gene expression, relatively few studies have quantitatively examined changes in protein expression. In addition, not all AMPPs appear to be expressed at microbicidal levels in vivo, suggesting that at least some may have functions other than being directly protective. Nonetheless, in fish, there is evidence that some constitutively expressed AMPPs, such as piscidins and histone-like proteins, are expressed at microbicidal levels and that they decline with stress. Furthermore, certain AMPPs derived from hemoglobin-β are upregulated to microbicidal levels after experimental challenge. The likely widespread distribution of these three AMPP groups in fish provides the opportunity to design strategies to greatly improve the health of cultured fish populations.