Brain angiogenesis inhibitor 1 (BAI1) is a pattern recognition receptor that mediates macrophage binding and engulfment of Gram-negative bacteria.

Bacterial recognition by host cells is essential for initiation of infection and the host response. Bacteria interact with host cells via multiple pattern recognition receptors that recognize microbial products or pathogen-associated molecular patterns. In response to this interaction, host cell signaling cascades are activated that lead to inflammatory responses and/or phagocytic clearance of attached bacteria. Brain angiogenesis inhibitor 1 (BAI1) is a receptor that recognizes apoptotic cells through its conserved type I thrombospondin repeats and triggers their engulfment through an ELMO1/Dock/Rac1 signaling module. Because thrombospondin repeats in other proteins have been shown to bind bacterial surface components, we hypothesized that BAI1 may also mediate the recognition and clearance of pathogenic bacteria. We found that preincubation of bacteria with recombinant soluble BAI1 ectodomain or knockdown of endogenous BAI1 in primary macrophages significantly reduced binding and internalization of the Gram-negative pathogen Salmonella typhimurium. Conversely, overexpression of BAI1 enhanced attachment and engulfment of Salmonella in macrophages and in heterologous nonphagocytic cells. Bacterial uptake is triggered by the BAI1-mediated activation of Rac through an ELMO/Dock-dependent mechanism, and inhibition of the BAI1/ELMO1 interaction prevents both Rac activation and bacterial uptake. Moreover, inhibition of ELMO1 or Rac function significantly impairs the proinflammatory response to infection. Finally, we show that BAI1 interacts with a variety of Gram-negative, but not Gram-positive, bacteria through recognition of their surface lipopolysaccharide. Together these findings identify BAI1 as a pattern recognition receptor that mediates nonopsonic phagocytosis of Gram-negative bacteria by macrophages and directly affects the host response to infection.

The A2B adenosine receptor promotes Th17 differentiation via stimulation of dendritic cell IL-6.

Adenosine is an endogenous metabolite produced during hypoxia or inflammation. Previously implicated as an anti-inflammatory mediator in CD4(+) T cell regulation, we report that adenosine acts via dendritic cell (DC) A(2B) adenosine receptor (A(2B)AR) to promote the development of Th17 cells. Mouse naive CD4(+) T cells cocultured with DCs in the presence of adenosine or the stable adenosine mimetic 5'-(N-ethylcarboximado) adenosine resulted in the differentiation of IL-17- and IL-22-secreting cells and elevation of mRNA that encode signature Th17-associated molecules, such as IL-23R and RORγt. The observed response was similar when DCs were generated from bone marrow or isolated from small intestine lamina propria. Experiments using adenosine receptor antagonists and cells from A(2B)AR(-/-) or A(2A)AR(-/-)/A(2B)AR(-/-) mice indicated that the DC A(2B)AR promoted the effect. IL-6, stimulated in a cAMP-independent manner, is an important mediator in this pathway. Hence, in addition to previously noted direct effects of adenosine receptors on regulatory T cell development and function, these data indicated that adenosine also acts indirectly to modulate CD4(+) T cell differentiation and suggested a mechanism for putative proinflammatory effects of A(2B)AR.