Cutting edge: TLR2 directly triggers Th1 effector functions

Toll-like receptors recognize pathogen-associated molecular patterns, activate innate immunity, and consequently modulate adaptive immunity in response to infections. TLRs are also expressed on T cells, and it has been shown that T cell activation is modulated by TLR ligands. However, the functions of TLRs on Th1 and Th2 effector cells and the molecular mechanisms underlying TLR-mediated activation are not fully understood. We analyzed TLR functions and downstream signaling events in both effector T cells. In mouse Th1 cells the stimulation by TLR2 but not by other TLRs directly induced IFN-gamma production, cell proliferation, and cell survival without TCR stimulation, and these effects were greatly enhanced by IL-2 or IL-12 through the enhanced activation of MAPKs. In contrast, no TLR affected the function of effector Th2 cells. These results identify TLR2 as a new specific activator of Th1 cell function and imply the involvement in Th1-mediated responses.     

Coordinated delivery and function of bacterial MARTX toxin effectors

Bacteria often coordinate virulence factors to fine‐tune the host response during infection. These coordinated events can include toxins counteracting or amplifying effects of another toxin or though regulating the stability of virulence factors to remove their function once it is no longer needed. Multifunctional autoprocessing repeats‐in toxin (MARTX) toxins are effector delivery toxins that form a pore into the plasma membrane of a eukaryotic cell to deliver multiple effector proteins into the cytosol of the target cell. The function of these proteins includes manipulating actin cytoskeletal dynamics, regulating signal transduction pathways and inhibiting host secretory pathways. Investigations into the molecular mechanisms of these effector domains are providing insight into how the function of some effectors overlap and regulate one another during infection. Coordinated crosstalk of effector function suggests that MARTX toxins are not simply a sum of all their parts. Instead, modulation of cell function by effector domains may depend on which other effector domain are co‐delivered. Future studies will elucidate how these effectors interact with each other to modulate the bacterial host interaction.     

Serial killers: ordering caspase activation events in apoptosis

Caspases participate in the molecular control of apoptosis in several guises; as triggers of the death machinery, as regulatory elements within it, and ultimately as a subset of the effector elements of the machinery itself. The mammalian caspase family is steadily growing and currently contains 14 members. At present, it is unclear whether all of these proteases participate in apoptosis. Thus, current research in this area is focused upon establishing the repertoire and order of caspase activation events that occur during the signalling and demolition phases of cell death. Evidence is accumulating to suggest that proximal caspase activation events are typically initiated by molecules that promote caspase aggregation. As expected, distal caspase activation events are likely to be controlled by caspases activated earlier in the cascade. However, recent data has cast doubt upon the functional demarcation of caspases into signalling (upstream) and effector (downstream) roles based upon their prodomain lengths. In particular, caspase-3 may perform an important role in propagating the caspase cascade, in addition to its role as an effector caspase within the death programme. Here, we discuss the apoptosis-associated caspase cascade and the hierarchy of caspase activation events within it.     

Monitoring the integrity of self: biology of MHC-restriction of virus-immune T cells

All available evidence indicates that the cytotoxic thymus-derived lymphocyte (T cell), which is lytic for virus-infected target cells in vitro, is also the effector in cell-mediated immunity in vivo. Such T cell show two orders of specificity: for the virus in question, and for a particular self major histocompatibility complex (MHC) glycoprotein. Recirculating T cells amy thus be considered to survey the integrity of self, the self components involved being the cell-surface structures that are recognized as foreign during graft rejection. Virus-infected liver cells are apparently eliminated in much the same way as a transplanted organ. The necessary balance between self-tolerance (absence of autoreactivity) and self-monitoring effector T cell function seems to be established during the process of differentiation in thymus. The molecular nature of the underlying recognition events is, as yet, obscure.     

Mechanisms of thrombin-stimulated cell division

Addition of highly purified thrombin t o cultures of several kinds of nondividing fibroblasts brings about cell division. This stimulation occurs in serum-free medium, permitting studies on its mechanism under chemically defined conditions. Previous studies have shown that action of thrombin a t the cell surface is sufficient to cause cell division and that the proteolytic activity of thrombin is required for its mitogenic effect. These results prompted experiments which showed that there is a cell surface receptor for thrombin and that thrombin must hind to its receptor and cleave it to stimulate cell division. Some of the thrombin that hinds to its receptors becomes attached to them by a linkage that appears to be covalent. However, it is presently unknown whether this direct thrombin receptor complex plays a role in the stimulation. These results raise a number of question that should be explored in future studies. They also provide a foundation on which to build hypotheses about tentative molecular mechanisms that might be involved in the stimulation. Knowledge that thrombin must cleave its receptor to bring about cell division suggests two alternative mechanisms for stimulation by proteolysis. In one the receptor is a negative effector which prevents cell division when it is intact, but not after it has been cleaved. Alternatively, a fragment of the receptor could be a positive effector. In this mechanism, proteolysis by thrombin would produce a specific receptor fragment which brings about cell proliferation. If every protease which cleaves the receptor also stimulates cell division, the receptor is probably a negative effector. In contrast, if certain proteases cleave the receptor but do not stimulate the cells, a fragment of the receptor is likely a positive effector. With negative regulation by the receptor, the controlling events would occur before proteolysis of it, and it might be possible to find putative regulatory molecules by identification of nearest neighbors of the receptor. This should be possible by using bifunctional crosslinking reagents. If a fragment of the thrombin receptor turns out to be a positive effector, it should be possible to identify and study fragments by analyzing the metabolic fate of the receptor. Techniques are now available for this kind of analysis and it should also be possible to determine whether receptor fragments remain in the membrane or whether they are translocated to specific sites within the cell. A critical question to be asked is which of these events and interactions involving the thrombin receptor are necessary for stimulation of cell division. It now appears that the best way to answer this question is to examine these events in a large number of cloned cell populations that are responsive or unresponsive to the mitogenic action of thrombin. If a thrombin-mediated event occurs in all responsive clones but is altered or absent in sonie unresponsive clones, it is probably necessary for stimulation of cell division.     

Inositol Hexakisphosphate-Induced Autoprocessing of Large Bacterial Protein Toxins

Large bacterial protein toxins autotranslocate functional effector domains to the eukaryotic cell cytosol, resulting in alterations to cellular functions that ultimately benefit the infecting pathogen. Among these toxins, the clostridial glucosylating toxins (CGTs) produced by Gram-positive bacteria and the multifunctional-autoprocessing RTX (MARTX) toxins of Gram-negative bacteria have distinct mechanisms for effector translocation, but a shared mechanism of post-translocation autoprocessing that releases these functional domains from the large holotoxins. These toxins carry an embedded cysteine protease domain (CPD) that is activated for autoprocessing by binding inositol hexakisphosphate (InsP₆), a molecule found exclusively in eukaryotic cells. Thus, InsP₆-induced autoprocessing represents a unique mechanism for toxin effector delivery specifically within the target cell. This review summarizes recent studies of the structural and molecular events for activation of autoprocessing for both CGT and MARTX toxins, demonstrating both similar and potentially distinct aspects of autoprocessing among the toxins that utilize this method of activation and effector delivery.     

Immunoproteomics: Mass spectrometry-based methods to study the targets of the immune response

The mammalian immune system has evolved to display fragments of protein antigens derived from microbial pathogens to immune effector cells. These fragments are typically peptides liberated from the intact antigens through distinct proteolytic mechanisms that are subsequently transported to the cell surface bound to chaperone-like receptors known as major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules. These complexes are then scrutinized by effector T cells that express clonally distributed T cell receptors with specificity for specific MHC-peptide complexes. In normal uninfected cells, this process of antigen processing and presentation occurs continuously, with the resultant array of self-antigen-derived peptides displayed on the surface of these cells. Changes in this peptide landscape of cells act to alert immune effector cells to changes in the intracellular environment that may be associated with infection, malignant transformation, or other abnormal cellular processes, resulting in a cascade of events that result in their elimination. Because peptides play such a crucial role in informing the immune system of infection with viral or microbial pathogens and the transformation of cells in malignancy, the tools of proteomics, in particular mass spectrometry, are ideally suited to study these immune responses at a molecular level. Here we review recent advances in the studies of immune responses that have utilized mass spectrometry and associated technologies, with specific examples from collaboration between our laboratories.     

CD4 co-receptor dependent signaling promotes competency for re-stimulation induced cell death of effector T cells

The elimination of activated T cells by FAS-mediated signaling is an important immunoregulatory mechanism used to maintain homeostasis and prevent tissue damage. T cell receptor-dependent signals are required to confer sensitivity to FAS-mediated re-stimulation-induced cell death (RICD), however, the nature of these signals is not well understood. In this report, we show, using T cells from CD4-deficient mice reconstituted with a tail-less CD4 transgene, that CD4-dependent signaling events are a critical part of the competency signal required for RICD. This is in part due to defects in FAS receptor signaling complex formation as shown by decreased recruitment of FAS and caspase 8 into lipid rafts following antigen re-stimulation in the absence of CD4-dependent signals. In addition, in the absence of CD4-dependent signals, effector T cells have a selective defect in IL-2 secretion following peptide re-stimulation, while provision of exogenous IL-2 during re-stimulation partially restores susceptibility to RICD. Importantly, IL-2 production and proliferation after primary peptide stimulation is comparable between wild type and CD4-deficient T cells indicating that the requirement for CD4-dependent signaling events for IL-2 production is developmentally regulated and is particularly critical in previously activated effector T cells. In total, our results indicate that CD4 co-receptor dependent signaling events specifically regulate effector T cell survival and function. Further, these data suggest that CD4-dependent signaling events may protect against the decreased IL-2 production and resistance to cell death seen during chronic immune stimulation.     

Dysfunctional Telomeres at Senescence Signal Cell Cycle Arrest via Chk2

Loss of telomere integrity can have two outcomes with opposite predicted effects on tumorigenesis. On the one hand, shortened telomeres in normal cells may trigger cell cycle arrest, leading to tumour suppression. On the other hand, in a tumour cell in which neither the p53 nor pRb pathway is intact, shortened telomeres could initiate chromosome instability and promote tumorigenesis A major issue in telomere research is to understand how shortened dysfunctional telomeres can regulate the onset of cellular senescence. Recent studies have revealed that critically shortened or acutely uncapped telomeres share molecular features with damaged DNA. We have recently linked the phosphorylation and activation of one major DNA damage effector checkpoint kinase, Chk2, to telomere erosion in signalling cell cycle arrest in normal fibroblasts. Here, we discuss several hypotheses to explain the molecular events occurring at shortened telomeres that ultimately lead to cell cycle arrest or increased genomic instability.     

Molecular mechanisms of the decision between life and death: regulation of apoptosis by apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1.

Coordination and balance between cell survival and apoptosis is crucial for normal development and homeostasis of multicellular organisms. Defects in control of this balance may contribute to a variety of diseases including cancer, autoimmune and neurodegenerative conditions. Although a large number of pro- and anti-apoptotic factors acting for or against the final death event have been and are being discovered at an extraordinary pace with the recent progress in this area, the molecular mechanisms determining whether a cell lives or dies are not fully understood. Phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of intracellular effector molecules are the most common and important regulatory mechanisms in signal transduction and control a variety of cellular events from cell growth to apoptosis. Apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 (ASK1) is a member of the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase kinase kinase family, which activates both the SEK1-JNK and MKK3/6-p38 MAP kinase pathways and constitutes a pivotal signaling pathway in cytokine- and stress-induced apoptosis. This review provides recent findings on the molecular mechanisms which determine cell fate such as survival, proliferation, differentiation or apoptosis, with special focus on the regulatory mechanisms of ASK1-mediated apoptosis.     

Oxygen: a master regulator of pancreatic development?

Beyond its role as an electron acceptor in aerobic respiration, oxygen is also a key effector of many developmental events. The oxygen‐sensing machinery and the very fabric of cell identity and function have been shown to be deeply intertwined. Here we take a first look at how oxygen might lie at the crossroads of at least two of the major molecular pathways that shape pancreatic development. Based on recent evidence and a thorough review of the literature, we present a theoretical model whereby evolving oxygen tensions might choreograph to a large extent the sequence of molecular events resulting in the development of the organ. In particular, we propose that lower oxygenation prior to the expansion of the vasculature may favour HIF (hypoxia inducible factor)‐mediated activation of Notch and repression of Wnt/β‐catenin signalling, limiting endocrine cell differentiation. With the development of vasculature and improved oxygen delivery to the developing organ, HIF‐mediated support for Notch signalling may decline while the β‐catenin‐directed Wnt signalling is favoured, which would support endocrine cell differentiation and perhaps exocrine cell proliferation/differentiation.     

The role of caspases in photoreceptor cell death of the retinoschisin-deficient mouse

Early schisis cavities in the retinal bipolar cell layer accompanied by progressive loss of cone and rod photoreceptor cells are the hallmark of the retinoschisin-deficient (Rs1h(-/Y)) murine retina. With this study we aimed at elucidating the molecular events underlying the photoreceptor cell death in this established murine model of X-linked juvenile retinoschisis. We show that photoreceptor degeneration in the Rs1h(-/Y) mouse is due to apoptotic events peaking around postnatal day 18. Cell death is accompanied by increased expression of initiator and inflammatory caspases but not by downstream effector caspases. The strong induction of caspase-1 (Casp1) prompted us to explore its involvement in the apoptotic process. We therefore generated double knock-out mice deficient for both retinoschisin and Casp1. No direct influence of the Casp1 genotype on apoptosis could be identified although striking differences in the overall number of resident microglia were observed independent of the Rs1h genotype.     

Transmembrane chloride flux is required for target cell lysis but not for Golgi reorientation in cloned cytolytic effector cells. Golgi reorientation, N alpha-benzyloxycarbonyl-L-lysine thiobenzyl ester serine esterase release, and delivery of the lethal hit are separable events in target cell lysis

Cell-mediated cytotoxicity can be inhibited by the replacement of chloride with ions that are incapable of passing through chloride channels or by the presence of stilbene disulfonate derivatives known to interfere with chloride flux. We show that the stilbene disulfonate (4,4-diisothiocyano-2,2'-disulfonic acid stilbene (DIDS) inhibits lysis of YAC-1 targets by the cloned cell line NKB61A2. Inhibition of lysis occurs on the level of the effector cell inasmuch as preincubation of effectors but not of targets interferes with subsequent lysis. Moreover, inhibition of chloride flux in the target does not interfere with target cell lysis by cytotoxic granules isolated from killer cells. Target cell binding takes place in the presence of DIDS or absence of external chloride, suggesting that events that follow target cell binding require chloride flux. We show that reorientation of the Golgi apparatus, which occurs subsequent to target cell binding in the effector cell, occurs under conditions that interfere with chloride flux. It is therefore suggested that events in the effector cell taking place subsequent to the Golgi apparatus reorientation reaction are inhibited and that delivery of the lethal hit is a stimulus-induced secretory event that requires transmembrane chloride flux. Delivery of the lethal hit is shown to be independent of the release of N alpha-benzyloxycarbonyl-L-lysine thiobenzyl ester (BLT) serine esterase, suggesting that cytolytic components and BLT serine esterase are likely packaged in different vesicles.     

The type III effector EspF coordinates membrane trafficking by the spatiotemporal activation of two eukaryotic signaling pathways

Bacterial toxins and effector proteins hijack eukaryotic enzymes that are spatially localized and display rapid signaling kinetics. However, the molecular mechanisms by which virulence factors engage highly dynamic substrates in the host cell environment are poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that the enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) type III effector protein EspF nucleates a multiprotein signaling complex composed of eukaryotic sorting nexin 9 (SNX9) and neuronal Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein (N-WASP). We demonstrate that a specific and high affinity association between EspF and SNX9 induces membrane remodeling in host cells. These membrane-remodeling events are directly coupled to N-WASP/Arp2/3-mediated actin nucleation. In addition to providing a biochemical mechanism of EspF function, we find that EspF dynamically localizes to membrane-trafficking organelles in a spatiotemporal pattern that correlates with SNX9 and N-WASP activity in living cells. Thus, our findings suggest that the EspF-dependent assembly of SNX9 and N-WASP represents a novel form of signaling mimicry used to promote EPEC pathogenesis and gastrointestinal disease.     

Murine interstitial nephritis. IV. Long-term cultured L3T4+ T cell lines transfer delayed expression of disease as I-A-restricted inducers of the effector T cell repertoire

In the present study we observed that long-term cultures of tubular antigen-reactive L3T4+ T cells from immune SJL mice are able to adoptively transfer interstitial nephritis by 12 wk after i.v. injection. Lesions that develop under these conditions generally occur in the absence of anti-tubular basement membrane antibody formation. These cultured T cell lines are I-A restricted, require L3T4-associative interactions, and are tubular antigen specific, but do not share the phenotype, function, or H-2-restriction characteristics of Lyt-2+ nephritogenic effector T lymphocytes. Rather, our L3T4+ T cell lines, and phenotypically similar lymphocytes harvested from renal infiltrates, are inducers of this Lyt-2+ effector T cell repertoire. Such effector T cells, typically found in immune lymph nodes 4 to 7 days after immunization, can be induced in vitro within 5 days and will acutely transfer disease within another 5 days when placed under the kidney capsule. These findings collectively indicate that the time course for optimal effector cell differentiation and potential expression is relatively short. The immunologic inertia we previously observed between immunization or i.v. adoptive transfer and the development of cellular lesions, therefore, seems to reside in other systemic or interactional events beyond the timely formation of effector T cells.     

Effect of altered membrane fluidity on NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity. I. Selective inhibition of the recognition or post recognition events in the cytolytic pathway of NK cells

NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity results from membrane interactions between NK effector and target cells. The role of membrane fluidity in these events is not known. The present study was undertaken to investigate the effect of changes in membrane lipid fluidity of NK effector and NK-sensitive target cells on the lytic pathway of NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity. Fluidity was modulated by various lipids and measured by fluorescence polarization. NK effector cells treated with phosphatidylcholine complexed with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) showed increased membrane fluidity. This fluidization of the effector cell membrane resulted in a significant inhibition of cytotoxic activity in the 51Cr-release assay. Single cell analysis revealed that the inhibition was due to a decrease in the frequency of NK target conjugates and reduced killing of conjugated targets. Rigidification of the NK effector cell membranes by treatment with cholesteryl hemisuccinate complexed with PVP and BSA also resulted in inhibition of cytotoxicity. This inhibition was post binding, because binding was increased and lysis was abrogated. Fluidization of K562 target cell membranes caused a slight but insignificant increase in their lysis by NK cells without affecting the binding step. On the other hand, rigidification of K562 membranes decreased the sensitivity of these target cells to lysis. Single cell analysis revealed that this inhibition of NK lysis is post binding, because the frequency of killers was significantly decreased. It was also shown that membrane rigidification of target cells that were programmed for lysis during the lethal hit stage and subsequently separated from effector cells, rendered the programmed cells resistant to killing during the killer cell-independent lysis step. These results demonstrate that fluidization or rigidification of the plasma membrane of either effector or target cells affect different stages of the NK cell-mediated cytolytic events.