TNF-mediated alveolar macrophage necroptosis drives disease pathogenesis during respiratory syncytial virus infection.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the major cause of acute bronchiolitis in infants under 2 years old. Necroptosis has been implicated in the outcomes of respiratory virus infections. We report that RSV infection triggers necroptosis in primary mouse macrophages and human monocytes in a RIPK1-, RIPK3- and MLKL-dependent manner. Moreover, necroptosis pathways are harmful to RSV clearance from alveolar macrophages. Additionally, Ripk3-/- mice were protected from RSV-induced weight loss and presented with reduced viral loads in the lungs.Alveolar macrophage depletion also protected mice from weight loss and decreased lung RSV virus load. Importantly, alveolar macrophage depletion abolished the upregulation of Ripk3 and Mlkl gene expression induced by RSV infection in the lung tissue.Autocrine tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-mediated RSV-triggered macrophage necroptosis and necroptosis pathways were also involved in TNF secretion even when macrophages were committed to cell death, which can worsen lung injury during RSV infection. In line, Tnfr1-/- mice had a marked decrease in Ripk3 and Mlkl gene expression and a sharp reduction in the numbers of necrotic alveolar macrophages in the lungs. Finally, we provide evidence that elevated nasal levels of TNF are associated with disease severity in infants with RSV bronchiolitis.We propose that targeting TNF and/or the necroptotic machinery may be valuable therapeutic approaches to reduce the respiratory morbidity caused by RSV infection in young children.

Neuropeptide gastrin-releasing peptide induces PI3K/reactive oxygen species-dependent migration in lung adenocarcinoma cells.

Nerve fibers and neurotransmitters have increasingly been shown to have a role in tumor progression. Gastrin-releasing peptide is a neuropeptide linked to tumor aggressiveness, acting as an autocrine tumor growth factor by binding to its receptor, gastrin-releasing peptide receptor, expressed by many tumors. Although neuropeptides have been previously linked to tumor cell proliferation, more recent studies have uncovered roles for neuropeptides in chemotaxis and metastasis. Understanding the precise roles of such peptides in cancer is crucial to optimizing targeted therapy design. We have previously described that gastrin-releasing peptide acts directly as a chemotactic factor for neutrophils, dependent on PI3K, ERK, and p38. In this study, we investigated roles for gastrin-releasing peptide in lung adenocarcinoma. We asked if gastrin-releasing peptide would act as a proliferative and/or chemotactic stimulus for gastrin-releasing peptide receptor-expressing tumor cells. In A549 cells, a non-small cell lung carcinoma line, the treatment with gastrin-releasing peptide leads to activation of AKT and ERK1/2, and production of reactive oxygen species. Gastrin-releasing peptide induced migration of A549 cells, dependent on gastrin-releasing peptide receptor and PI3K, but not ERK. However, no proliferation was observed in these cells in response to gastrin-releasing peptide, and gastrin-releasing peptide did not promote resistance to treatment with a chemotherapy drug. Our results suggest that, similar to what happens in neutrophils, gastrin-releasing peptide is a migratory, rather than a proliferative, stimulus, for non-small cell lung carcinoma cells, indicating a putative role for gastrin-releasing peptide and gastrin-releasing peptide receptor in metastasis.

Gastrin-releasing peptide receptor (GRPR) mediates chemotaxis in neutrophils.

Neutrophil migration to inflamed sites is crucial for both the initiation of inflammation and resolution of infection, yet these cells are involved in perpetuation of different chronic inflammatory diseases. Gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP) is a neuropeptide that acts through G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) involved in signal transmission in both central and peripheral nervous systems. Its receptor, gastrin-releasing peptide receptor (GRPR), is expressed by various cell types, and it is overexpressed in cancer cells. RC-3095 is a selective GRPR antagonist, recently found to have antiinflammatory properties in arthritis and sepsis models. Here we demonstrate that i.p. injection of GRP attracts neutrophils in 4 h, and attraction is blocked by RC-3095. Macrophage depletion or neutralization of TNF abrogates GRP-induced neutrophil recruitment to the peritoneum. In vitro, GRP-induced neutrophil migration was dependent on PLC-ß2, PI3K, ERK, p38 and independent of Gαi protein, and neutrophil migration toward synovial fluid of arthritis patients was inhibited by treatment with RC-3095. We propose that GRPR is an alternative chemotactic receptor that may play a role in the pathogenesis of inflammatory disorders.

Expression mapping of ectonucleotide pyrophosphatase/phosphodiesterase 1-3 (E-NPP1-3) in different brain structures during rat development.

Ecto-nucleotide pyrophosphatases/phosphodiesterases (E-NPPs) are membrane-bound ecto-enzymes involved in the modulation of purinergic signaling. Important physiological roles related to brain development have been associated to purinergic neurotransmission. NPP1, two splice isoforms of NPP2, and NPP3 have already been identified in adult rat brain. However, there are no studies evaluating the mRNA expression of these NPP members during the brain development. The effort of the present study was to map NPP gene expression pattern in olfactory bulb, hippocampus, cerebral cortex, striatum, and cerebellum at crucial ages for rat development (7, 14, 21, 60, and 150 days old) by a semi-quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) strategy. Our results demonstrated an increase in the relative expression of NPP1 throughout the aging in all structures analyzed, except in hippocampus, where the higher expression has been detected in 14 days old rats. Both NPP2 isoforms have shown a similar pattern of expression among all structures. The relative expression of NPP3 decreased during the aging mainly on cerebellum, hippocampus, and olfactory bulb. Altogether, the different patterns of NPP gene expression during rat brain development reinforce the idea that each enzyme may play a distinct role on modulating the purinergic signaling throughout aging.

Gallic acid reduces the effect of LPS on apoptosis and inhibits the formation of neutrophil extracellular traps.

Apoptosis and NETosis of neutrophils are two major mechanisms of programmed cell death that differ in their morphological characteristics and effects on the immune system. Apoptosis can be delayed by the presence of pathogens or chemical components such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Neutrophils have other antimicrobial strategy, called neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), which contributes to the elimination and control of the pathogen. NETosis is induced by infection, inflammation or trauma and represents an innate immune activation mechanism. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of gallic acid (GA) in the modulation of apoptosis and NETs release. The results show that GA decreased the anti-apoptotic effect of LPS, blocked the induction of NETs and prevented the formation of free radicals induced by LPS. These findings demonstrate that the GA is a novel therapeutic agent for decreasing the exacerbated response of the body against an infectious agent.