Association of extracellular vesicle inflammatory proteins and mortality.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic declines in life expectancy in the United States were attributed to increased mortality rates in midlife adults across racial and ethnic groups, indicating a need for markers to identify individuals at risk for early mortality. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are small, lipid-bound vesicles capable of shuttling functional proteins, nucleic acids, and lipids. Given their role as intercellular communicators and potential biomarkers of disease, we explored whether circulating EVs may be markers of mortality in a prospective, racially, and socioeconomically diverse middle-aged cohort. We isolated plasma EVs from 76 individuals (mean age = 59.6 years) who died within a 5 year period and 76 surviving individuals matched by age, race, and poverty status. There were no significant differences in EV concentration, size, or EV-associated mitochondrial DNA levels associated with mortality. We found that several EV-associated inflammatory proteins including CCL23, CSF-1, CXCL9, GDNF, MCP-1, STAMBP, and 4E-BP1 were significantly associated with mortality. IL-10RB and CDCP1 were more likely to be present in plasma EVs from deceased individuals than in their alive counterparts. We also report differences in EV-associated inflammatory proteins with poverty status, race, and sex. Our results suggest that plasma EV-associated inflammatory proteins are promising potential clinical biomarkers of mortality.

Hepatocyte cannabinoid 1 receptor nullification alleviates toxin-induced liver damage via NF-κB signaling.

Cannabinoid 1 receptor (CB1R) expression is upregulated in the liver with viral hepatitis, cirrhosis, and both alcoholic and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (FLD), whereas its expression is muted under usual physiological conditions. Inhibiting CB1R has been shown to be beneficial in preserving hepatic function in FLD but it is unclear if inhibiting CB1R during an inflammatory response to an acute hepatic injury, such as toxin-induced injury, would also be beneficial. We found that intrinsic CB1R in hepatocytes regulated liver inflammation-related gene transcription. We tested if nullification of hepatocyte-specific CB1R (hCNR1-/-) in mice protects against concanavalin A (Con A)-induced liver injury. We looked for evidence of liver damage and markers of inflammation in response to Con A by measuring liver enzyme levels and proinflammatory cytokines (e.g., TNF-α, IL-1ß, IL-6, IL-17) in serum collected from hCNR1-/- and control mice. We observed a shift to the right in the dose-response curve for liver injury and inflammation in hCNR1-/- mice. We also found less inflammatory cell infiltration and focal necrosis in livers of hCNR1-/- mice compared to controls, resulting from downregulated apoptotic markers. This anti-apoptotic mechanism results from increased activation of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), especially cAMP-dependent cannabinoid signaling and membrane-bound TNF-α, via downregulated TNF-α receptor 2 (TNFR2) transcription levels. Collectively, these findings provide insight into involvement of CB1R in the pathogenesis of acute liver injury.

Muscle cannabinoid 1 receptor regulates Il-6 and myostatin expression, governing physical performance and whole-body metabolism.

Sarcopenic obesity, the combination of skeletal muscle mass and function loss with an increase in body fat, is associated with physical limitations, cardiovascular diseases, metabolic stress, and increased risk of mortality. Cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1R) plays a critical role in the regulation of whole-body energy metabolism because of its involvement in controlling appetite, fuel distribution, and utilization. Inhibition of CB1R improves insulin secretion and insulin sensitivity in pancreatic ß-cells and hepatocytes. We have now developed a skeletal muscle-specific CB1R-knockout (Skm-CB1R-/-) mouse to study the specific role of CB1R in muscle. Muscle-CB1R ablation prevented diet-induced and age-induced insulin resistance by increasing IR signaling. Moreover, muscle-CB1R ablation enhanced AKT signaling, reducing myostatin expression and increasing IL-6 secretion. Subsequently, muscle-CB1R ablation increased myogenesis through its action on MAPK-mediated myogenic gene expression. Consequently, Skm-CB1R-/- mice had increased muscle mass and whole-body lean/fat ratio in obesity and aging. Muscle-CB1R ablation improved mitochondrial performance, leading to increased whole-body muscle energy expenditure and improved physical endurance, with no change in body weight. These results collectively show that CB1R in muscle is sufficient to regulate whole-body metabolism and physical performance and is a novel target for the treatment of sarcopenic obesity. -González-Mariscal, I., Montoro, R. A., O'Connell, J. F., Kim, Y., Gonzalez-Freire, M., Liu, Q.-R., Alfaras, I., Carlson, O. D., Lehrmann, E., Zhang, Y., Becker, K. G., Hardivillé, S., Ghosh, P., Egan, J. M. Muscle cannabinoid 1 receptor regulates Il-6 and myostatin expression, governing physical performance and whole-body metabolism.

Mechanism of Activation-Induced Downregulation of Mitofusin 2 in Human Peripheral Blood T Cells.

Mitofusin 2 (Mfn2), a mitochondrial protein, was shown to have antiproliferative properties when overexpressed. In this article, we show that activation of resting human peripheral blood T cells caused downregulation of Mfn2 levels. This downregulation of Mfn2 was blocked by different inhibitors (mTOR inhibitor rapamycin, PI3K inhibitor LY294002, and Akt inhibitor A443654), producing cells that were arrested in the G0/G1 stage of the cell cycle. Furthermore, the activation-induced downregulation of Mfn2 preceded the entry of the cells into the cell cycle, suggesting that Mfn2 downregulation is a prerequisite for activated T cell entry into the cell cycle. Accordingly, small interfering RNA-mediated knockdown of Mfn2 resulted in increased T cell proliferation. Overexpression of constitutively active AKT resulted in the downregulation of Mfn2, which can be blocked by a proteasome inhibitor. Akt-mediated downregulation of Mfn2 was via the mTORC1 pathway because this downregulation was blocked by rapamycin, and overexpression of wild-type, but not kinase-dead mTOR, caused Mfn2 downregulation. Our data suggested that activation-induced reactive oxygen species production plays an important role in the downregulation of Mfn2. Collectively, our data suggest that the PI3K-AKT-mTOR pathway plays an important role in activation-induced downregulation of Mfn2 and subsequent proliferation of resting human T cells.

Role of mitofusin 2 (Mfn2) in controlling cellular proliferation.

It has been reported that Mitofusin2 (Mfn2) inhibits cell proliferation when overexpressed. We wanted to study the role of endogenous Mfn2 in cell proliferation, along with the structural features of Mfn2 that influence its mitochondrial localization and control of cell proliferation. Mfn2-knockdown clones of a B-cell lymphoma cell line BJAB exhibited an increased rate of cell proliferation. A 2-fold increase in cell proliferation was also observed in Mfn2-knockout mouse embryonic fibroblast (MEF) cells as compared with the control wild-type cells, and the proliferative advantage of the knockout MEF cells was blocked on reintroduction of the Mfn2 gene. Mfn2 exerts its antiproliferative effect by acting as an effector molecule of Ras, resulting in the inhibition of the Ras-Raf-ERK signaling pathway. Furthermore, both the N-terminal (aa 1-264) and the C-terminal (aa 265-757) fragments of Mfn2 blocked cell proliferation through distinct mechanisms: the N-terminal-mediated inhibition was due to its interaction with Raf-1, whereas the C-terminal fragment of Mfn2 inhibited cell proliferation by interacting with Ras. The inhibition of proliferation by the N-terminal fragment was independent of its mitochondrial localization. Collectively, our data provide new insights regarding the role of Mfn2 in controlling cellular proliferation.

Transforming growth factor ß1 (TGF-ß1) suppresses growth of B-cell lymphoma cells by p14(ARF)-dependent regulation of mutant p53.

Previously we reported that TGF-ß1-induced growth suppression was associated with a decrease in mutant p53 levels in B-cell lymphoma cells. The goal of the present study was to understand the mechanism involved in TGF-ß1-mediated down-regulation of mutant p53. In RL and CA46, two B-cell lymphoma cell lines, TGF-ß1 treatment caused down-regulation of E2F-1 transcription factor resulting in the down-regulation of both p14(ARF) and mutant p53, leading to growth arrest. Experimental overexpression of E2F-1 increased p14(ARF) level and blocked TGF-ß1-induced down-regulation of p14(ARF). Overexpression of p14(ARF) blocked the down-regulation of mutant p53 and prevented growth arrest. p14(ARF) also attenuated TGF-ß1-induced p21(Cip1/WAF1) induction, which was reversible by p53 siRNA, indicating the involvement of mutant p53 in controlling the TGF-ß1-induced expression of p21(Cip1/WAF1). The interaction observed between phospho-Smad2 and mutant p53 in the nucleus could be the mechanism responsible for blocking the growth-suppressive effects of TGF-ß1. In RL cells, p14(ARF) is present in a trimer consisting of mutant p53-Mdm2-p14(ARF) and in a dimer consisting of Mdm2-p14(ARF). Because it is known that Mdm2 can degrade p53, it is possible that, in its trimeric form, p14(ARF) is able to stabilize mutant p53 by inhibiting Mdm2. In its dimeric form, p14(ARF) may be sequestering Mdm2, limiting its ability to degrade p53. Collectively, these data demonstrate a unique mechanism in which the inhibition of TGF-ß1-mediated growth suppression by mutant p53 can be reversed by the down-regulation of its stabilizing protein p14(ARF). This work suggests that the high levels of p14(ARF) often found in tumor cells could be a potential therapeutic target.

Involvement of mTOR in CXCL12 mediated T cell signaling and migration.

BACKGROUND: CXCL12 is a pleiotropic chemokine involved in multiple different processes such as immune regulation, inflammatory responses, and cancer development. CXCL12 is also a potent chemokine involved in chemoattraction of T cells to the site of infection or inflammation. Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a serine-threonine kinase that modulates different cellular processes, such as metabolism, nutrient sensing, protein translation, and cell growth. The role of mTOR in CXCL12-mediated resting T cell migration has yet to be elucidated. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Rapamycin, an inhibitor of mTOR, significantly inhibits CXCL12 mediated migration of both primary human resting T cells and human T cell leukemia cell line CEM. p70(S6K1), an effector molecule of mTOR signaling pathway, was knocked down by shRNA in CEM cells using a lentiviral gene transfer system. Using p70(S6K1) knock down cells, we demonstrate the role of mTOR signaling in T cell migration both in vitro and in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: Our data demonstrate a new role for mTOR in CXCL12-induced T cell migration, and enrich the current knowledge regarding the clinical use of rapamycin.

Antigen-independent IFN-γ production by human naïve CD4 T cells activated by IL-12 plus IL-18.

The role of T cells in innate immunity is not well defined. In this report, we show that a subset of human peripheral blood CD4(+) T cells responds to IL-12 plus IL-18, but not to IL-12 or IL-18 alone, by producing IFN-γ in the absence of any antigenic stimulation or cell proliferation. Intracellular staining reveals a small percentage of resting CD4(+) T cells (0.5 to 1.5%) capable of producing IFN-γ in response to IL-12 plus IL-18. Interestingly, both naïve (CD45RA(+)) and memory (CD45RO(+)) CD4(+) populations were responsive to IL-12 plus IL-18 stimulation in producing IFN-γ. The expression of IFN-γinduced by IL-12 and IL-18 is sensitive to rapamycin and SB203580, indicating the possible involvement of mTOR and p38 MAP kinase, respectively, in this synergistic pathway. While p38MAP kinase is involved in transcription, mTOR is involved in message stabilization. We have also shown that NFκB family member, cRel, but not GADD45ß and GADD45γ, plays an important role in IL-12 plus IL-18-induced IFN-γ transcription. Thus, the present study suggests that naïve CD4(+) T cells may participate in innate immunity or amplify adaptive immune responses through cytokine-induced antigen-independent cytokine production.

Distinctive mechanism for sustained TGF-ß signaling and growth inhibition: MEK1 activation-dependent stabilization of type II TGF-ß receptors.

There are multiple mechanisms by which cells evade TGF-ß-mediated growth inhibitory effects. In this report, we describe a novel mechanism by which cells become resistant to TGF-ß-mediated growth suppression. Although having all the components of the TGF-ß signaling pathway, different cell lines, RL, HaCaT, and BJAB, have different sensitivities toward TGF-ß-induced growth suppression. The TGF-ß resistance of RL, a B-cell lymphoma cell line, was due to ligand-induced downregulation of TGF-ß receptor II (TßRII) and only transient TGF-ß induced nuclear translocation of Smad2 and Smad3. With low-dose phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) or anti-IgM treatment, TGF-ß sensitivity was restored by stabilizing TßRII expression and sustaining TGF-ß signaling. The MEK inhibitor, U0126, blocked both PMA- and anti-IgM-induced upregulation of TßRII. In HaCaT and BJAB, two TGF-ß-sensitive cell lines, which had higher basal levels of phospho-MEK and TßRII compared with RL, U0126 induced downregulation of TßRII and blocked subsequent TGF-ß signaling. Similar results were also obtained with normal B cells, where MEK1 inhibitor downregulated TßRII and subsequent TGF-ß signaling. Constitutively active MEK1, but not constitutively active ERK2, induced upregulation of TßRII. Furthermore, TßRII physically interacted with the constitutively active MEK1, but not with wild-type MEK1, indicating involvement of active MEK1 in stabilizing TßRII. Collectively, our data suggest a novel mechanism for MEK1 in regulating the sensitivity to TGF-ß signaling by stabilizing TßRII.

Recruitment of RelB to the Csf2 promoter enhances RelA-mediated transcription of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor.

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) induces expression of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) but lymphotoxin ß (LTß) does not. Here we report that priming of cells with agonistic LTß receptor antibody synergistically enhanced TNF-induced GM-CSF expression. The LTß priming process was not due to an increase in TNF-mediated nuclear translocation of p65, p65 DNA binding, or NF-κB transactivational activity. The synergistic effect of LTß priming was not observed with other TNF-responsive genes such as Ccl2 or RelB, which suggested that this effect was not a general increase in TNF signaling. Furthermore, RelB and p65 were both independently recruited to the GM-CSF promoter when cells were primed with LTß followed by TNF treatment. As a consequence, an increase in both chromatin accessibility and the recruitment of RNA polymerase II were observed to the GM-CSF promoter. Taken together, these findings suggested that LTß signaling amplified TNF-mediated GM-CSF expression by facilitating chromatin access and the co-recruitment of RNA polymerase II to increase gene transcription. Moreover, the novel priming process described here underscores the complexity of the interactions between the classical and alternative NF-κB signaling pathways.

Activation-induced deaminase-mediated class switch recombination is blocked by anti-IgM signaling in a phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-dependent fashion.

Activation-induced deaminase (AID) is expressed in activated B lymphocytes and initiates somatic hypermutation and class switch recombination. To determine if different stimuli affect the expression and function of AID, we monitored AID activity in murine B cells stimulated ex vivo with various ligands. AID was rapidly expressed at both the RNA and protein levels following stimulation with LPS, LPS plus IL-4, and anti-CD40 plus IL-4, but was delayed after stimulation with anti-IgM plus IL-4. By day 4, AID was expressed in all groups; however, cells stimulated with anti-IgM plus IL-4 did not undergo switch recombination. These cells expressed normal levels of gamma 1 germline transcripts, implying that the gamma 1 switch region was accessible. Furthermore, switching was suppressed by the addition of anti-IgM to cells stimulated with LPS plus IL-4 or anti-CD40 plus IL-4, even though AID was expressed. The lack of class switch recombination could be reversed by inhibition of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K). This suggests that activation through the B cell receptor induces PI3K, which interferes with the function of AID.

Traf1 induction and protection from tumor necrosis factor by nuclear factor-kappaB p65 is independent of serine 536 phosphorylation.

Abnormal nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) signaling has been attributed to the initiation and progression of cancer. Posttranslational modification of p65 facilitates optimal NF-kappaB signaling after activation. Here, we show that the phosphorylation of serine 536 was required for p65-mediated transcription and I kappa B alpha expression in fibroblasts. Furthermore, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) treatment slightly induced p65 phosphorylation, and both unphosphorylated and phosphorylated p65 translocated into the nucleus. The phosphorylation of serine 536 was not required for p65-mediated protection from TNF cytotoxicity and Traf1 induction in fibroblasts. Also, the corecruitment of p65 and RNA polymerase II to the Traf1 enhancer region did not require p65 phosphorylation. However, the corecruitment of p65 and RNA polymerase II to the Csf2 promoter required the phosphorylation of serine 536. These findings suggested that the requirement of serine phosphorylation at residue 536 and the distance between the NF-kappaB response element and the start of transcription may influence which genes will be transcribed.

Resistance to TGF-beta 1 correlates with aberrant expression of TGF-beta receptor II in human B-cell lymphoma cell lines.

Resistance to transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta1-mediated growth suppression in tumor cells is often associated with the functional loss of TGF-beta receptors. Here we describe two B-cell lymphoma cell lines (DB and RL) that differ in their sensitivity to TGF-beta1-mediated growth suppression. The TGF-beta1-resistant cell line DB lacked functional TGF-beta receptor II (T beta RII) in contrast to the TGF-beta-responsive cell line RL, whereas both cell lines had comparable levels of receptor I (T beta RI). Lack of functional T beta RII was correlated with the lack of TGF-beta1-induced nuclear translocation of phospho-Smad3 and phospho-Smad2, the lack of nuclear expression of p21(Cip1/WAF1), and the down-regulation of c-Myc in DB cells. Transfection of wild-type, but not a C-terminal-truncated, form of T beta RII rendered the DB cell line responsive to TGF-beta1-mediated growth suppression. Analysis of the T beta RII gene in DB cells revealed the absence of T beta RII message, which was reversed upon 5'-azacytidine treatment, indicating that the promoter methylation might be the cause of gene silencing. Promoter analysis revealed CpG methylations at -25 and -140 that correlated with the gene silencing. These data suggest that promoter methylation plays an important role in T beta RII gene silencing and subsequent development of a TGF-beta1-resistant phenotype by some B-cell lymphoma cells.

Phosphorylation of RelA/p65 on serine 536 defines an I{kappa}B{alpha}-independent NF-{kappa}B pathway.

The association of the NF-kappaB p65/p50 dimer with IkappaBalpha plays a pivotal role in regulating its nuclear translocation and gene transcription. In addition, serine phosphorylation at various sites of the p65 subunit has been shown to be important in initiating transcription. Here we demonstrate that the regulation of nuclear translocation of p65 phosphorylated at serine 536 is not dependent on IkappaBalpha. Stimulation of either Jurkat or normal human T cells resulted in the nuclear translocation of phospho-p65 (Ser(536)). In addition, the phospho-p65 (Ser(536)) was not associated with either IkappaBalpha or p50, and the nuclear translocation of phospho-p65 (Ser(536)), but not total p65, was unaffected by the proteosome inhibitor MG-132, which blocks IkappaB protein degradation and prevents p65/p50 dimer nuclear translocation. Accordingly, the co-expression of a dominant negative mutant of IkappaBalpha blocked the transcriptional activity mediated by wild type but not the dominant positive p65 mutant (S536D). Furthermore, the transfection of the S536D form of p65 led to the induction of interleukin-8 transcription following stimulation, whereas the S536A form, which cannot be phosphorylated at this site, did not. Together, the findings suggest that p65 phosphorylated on serine 536 is not associated with or regulated by IkappaBalpha, that it has a distinct set of target genes, and that it may represent a noncanonical NF-kappaB pathway that is independent of IkappaBalpha regulation.

Comparison of the effect of mutant and wild-type p53 on global gene expression.

The mechanisms for "gain-of-function" phenotypes produced by mutant p53s such as enhanced proliferation, resistance to transforming growth factor-beta-mediated growth suppression, and increased tumorigenesis are not known. One theory is that these phenotypes are caused by novel transcriptional regulatory events acquired by mutant p53s. Another explanation is that these effects are a result of an imbalance of functions caused by the retention of some of the wild-type transcriptional regulatory events in the context of a loss of other counterbalancing activities. An analysis of the ability of DNA-binding domain mutants A138P and R175H, and wild-type p53 to regulate the expression levels of 6.9 x 10(3) genes revealed that the mutants retained only <5% of the regulatory activities of the wild-type protein. A138P p53 exhibited mostly retained wild-type regulatory activities and few acquired novel events. However, R175H p53 possessed an approximately equal number of wild-type regulatory events and novel activities. This is the first report that, after examination of the regulation of a large unfocused set of genes, provides data indicating that remaining wild-type transcriptional regulatory functions existing in the absence of counterbalancing activities as well as acquired novel events both contribute to the gain-of-function phenotypes produced by mutant p53s. However, mutant p53s are likely to be distinct in terms of the extent to which each mechanism contributes to their gain-of-function phenotypes.

Reduced expression of nuclear cyclic adenosine 5'-monophosphate response element-binding proteins and IFN-gamma promoter function in disease due to an intracellular pathogen.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis-induced IFN-gamma protein and mRNA expression have been shown to be reduced in tuberculosis patients, compared with healthy tuberculin reactors. To determine whether this decrease was associated with reduced activity of the IFN-gamma promoter, we first studied binding of nuclear proteins to the radiolabeled proximal IFN-gamma promoter (-71 to -40 bp), using EMSAs with nuclear extracts of freshly isolated peripheral blood T cells. Nuclear extracts of T cells from most tuberculosis patients showed markedly reduced expression of proteins that bind to the proximal IFN-gamma promoter, compared with findings in nuclear extracts of T cells from healthy tuberculin reactors. These DNA-binding complexes contained CREB proteins, based on competitive EMSAs, supershift assays, and Western blotting with an anti-CREB Ab. Transient transfection of PBLs with a luciferase reporter construct under the control of the IFN-gamma promoter revealed reduced IFN-gamma promoter activity in tuberculosis patients. Transient transfection of Jurkat cells with a dominant-negative CREB repressor plasmid reduced IFN-gamma promoter activity. These data suggest that reduced expression of CREB nuclear proteins in tuberculosis patients results in decreased IFN-gamma promoter activity and reduced IFN-gamma production.