Injury-induced inflammatory signaling and hematopoiesis in Drosophila.

Inflammatory response in Drosophila to sterile (axenic) injury in embryos and adults has received some attention in recent years, and most concentrate on the events at the injury site. Here we focus on the effect sterile injury has on the hematopoietic organ, the lymph gland, and the circulating blood cells in the larva, the developmental stage at which major events of hematopoiesis are evident. In mammals, injury activates Toll-like receptor/NF-κB signaling in macrophages, which then express and secrete secondary, proinflammatory cytokines. In Drosophila larvae, distal puncture injury of the body wall epidermis causes a rapid activation of Toll and Jun kinase (JNK) signaling throughout the hematopoietic system and the differentiation of a unique blood cell type, the lamellocyte. Furthermore, we find that Toll and JNK signaling are coupled in their activation. Secondary to this Toll/JNK response, a cytokine, Upd3, is induced as a Toll pathway transcriptional target, which then promotes JAK/STAT signaling within the blood cells. Toll and JAK/STAT signaling are required for the emergence of the injury-induced lamellocytes. This is akin to the derivation of specialized macrophages in mammalian systems. Upstream, at the injury site, a Duox- and peroxide-dependent signal causes the activation of the proteases Grass and SPE, needed for the activation of the Toll-ligand Spz, but microbial sensors or the proteases most closely associated with them during septic injury are not involved in the axenic inflammatory response.

Vias de transdução de sinal e polimorfismo de Toll-like Receptors na carcinogenese por HPV / Toll-like Receptors signaling pathway and polymorphism on the HPV carcinogenesis

Seres humanos dependem incessantemente de um sistema de reconhecimento efetivo contra infecções para sobreviver. Dentre as diversas proteínas que compõem a resposta imune inata estão os receptores do tipo Toll (TLR Toll-like Receptors), que possuem a função de reconhecer padrões moleculares associados a patógenos e dar início a uma resposta imune adequada. O carcinoma do colo uterino é uma das principais causas de morte de mulheres por câncer mundialmente, sendo o terceiro tipo de câncer mais comum entre mulheres. Este tipo de neoplasia é vinculada etiologicamente à infecção pelo Papilomavírus humano (HPV). Dentre as principais proteínas virais, E6 e E7 são responsáveis pela manipulação dos processos celulares para promover ciclo viral, sendo essenciais no processo de transformação celular. Nesse contexto, o objetivo deste trabalho foi investigar a importância da via de sinalização de TLRs sobre a infecção por HPV. O polimorfismo rs5743836, na região promotora de TLR9, capaz de alterar a expressão deste receptor, foi estudado quanto à influência sobre a história natural da infecção por HPV em uma coorte de mulheres brasileiras; nenhuma associação relevante foi encontrada, indicando que este polimorfismo não interfere significativamente na resposta à infecção e risco de desenvolvimento de lesões no colo do útero causadas por HPV. Proteínas componentes da via de TLRs demonstraram serem alvos de interação com E6 de HPV16; dentre elas, o notável adaptador MyD88 e IKKε, enzima ativadora de importantes transfatores do sistema imune. Estas interações foram aqui estudadas. A interação de E6 com MyD88 resultou em estabilização da proteína viral, o que parece não depender do sítio LxxLL presente em MyD88, como ocorre com outros parceiros moleculares de E6. O sítio de interação de E6 com IKKε coincide com a região onde se localiza o sítio catalítico desta enzima, sugerindo a ação de E6 na ativação de proteínas alvo de IKKε. Esta interação foi observada em queratinócitos, células alvo das infecções por HPV. A produção de citocinas foi afetada por E6 de HPV16, resultando num aumento da quantidade de IL-8 e IL-6; a indução desta citocina poderia ser explicada pela ativação de IKKε. Estes resultados apontam para a capacidade do HPV16 de interferir com o sistema imune, contribuindo para o processo de carcinogênese

Humans constantly rely on an effective recognition system against infections in order to survive. Among various proteins that compose the innate immune response, Toll-like Receptors (TLRs) have the role to recognize pathogen associated molecular patterns and initiate a proper immune response. The cervical cancer is one of the main causes of women death worldwide, being the third most common cancer type among women. This type of neoplasia is etiologically associated with the Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. E6 and E7, two main viral proteins, are responsible for manipulating the cellular processes to promote the virus' life-cycle, being essential to the cellular transformation process. In the context, the objective of this work was to investigate the relevance of the TLR signaling pathway on the HPV infection. The rs5743836 polymorphism, in the TLR9 promoter region, capable of altering this receptor's expression, was studied regarding its influence on the natural history of HPV infection in a Brazilian women cohort; no relevant association was found, indicating that this polymorphism does not interfere significantly in the infection response and risk of developing cervix lesions caused by HPV. Component proteins of TLR pathway were shown to be interaction targets of HPV16 E6; among them, the notable adaptor MyD88 and IKKε, enzyme that activates important immune system transfactors. These interactions were studied in this work. The interaction of E6 with MyD88 resulted in the stabilization of the viral protein, which seems independent of the LxxLL site present on MyD88, as in other E6 molecular partners. The interaction site on IKK with E6 matches with the region containing the enzyme's catalytic site, suggesting an influence of E6 in the activation of IKKε target proteins. This interaction was observed in keratinocytes, natural targets of HPV infections. The cytokines production was altered by HPV16 E6, resulting in an increase of IL-8 and IL-6 concentration; the induction of the latter could be explained by the activation of IKKε. These results point to the ability of HPV16 of interfering with the immune system, contributing to the carcinogenesis process