Inhibition of PI3K and calcineurin suppresses chemoattractant receptor-homologous molecule expressed on Th2 cells (CRTH2)-dependent responses of Th2 lymphocytes to prostaglandin D(2).

Interaction of prostaglandin D2 (PGD2) with chemoattractant receptor-homologous molecule expressed on Th2 cells (CRTH2) triggers chemotaxis and pro-inflammatory cytokine production by Th2 lymphocytes. We have investigated the role of inhibitors of various cell-signalling pathways on the responses of human CRTH2+ CD4+ Th2 cells to PGD2. Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) and Ca2+/calcineurin/nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) pathways were activated by PGD2 in Th2 cells in a CRTH2-dependent manner. Inhibition of the PI3K pathway with LY294002 significantly reduced both PGD2-induced cell migration and cytokine (interleukin-4, interleukin-5 and interleukin-13) production. The inhibitory effect of LY294002 on cell migration is likely to be related to cytoskeleton reorganization as it showed a similar potency on PGD2-induced actin polymerization. The calcineurin inhibitors, tacrolimus (FK506) and cyclosporin A, had no effect on cell migration but completely blocked both cytokine production and the nuclear translocation of NFATc1 suggesting that Ca2+/calcineurin/NFAT is involved in CRTH2-dependent cytokine production but not chemotaxis. The promotion of NFAT nuclear location by PI3K activation may be mediated by negative regulation of glycogen synthase kinase-3beta (GSK3beta), since the PGD2-stimulated increase in phospho-GSK3beta was down-regulated by LY294002, and inhibition of GSK3beta by SB216763 enhanced PGD2-induced Th2 cytokine production and reversed the inhibitory effect of LY294002. These data suggest that PI3K and Ca2+/calcineurin/NFAT signalling pathways are critically involved in pro-inflammatory responses of Th2 cells to PGD2.

Indole-3-acetic acid antagonists of the prostaglandin D2 receptor CRTH2.

Prostaglandin D2 (PGD2) acting at the CRTH2 receptor (chemoattractant receptor-homologous molecule expressed on Th2 cells) has been linked with a variety of allergic and other inflammatory diseases. We describe a family of indole-1-sulfonyl-3-acetic acids that are potent and selective CRTH2 antagonists that possess good oral bioavailability. The compounds may serve as novel starting points for the development of treatments of inflammatory disease such as asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis.

A dominant role for chemoattractant receptor-homologous molecule expressed on T helper type 2 (Th2) cells (CRTH2) in mediating chemotaxis of CRTH2+ CD4+ Th2 lymphocytes in response to mast cell supernatants.

Human cultured mast cells, immunologically activated with immunoglobuin E (IgE)/anti-IgE, released a factor(s) that promoted chemotaxis of human CRTH2+ CD4+ T helper type 2 (Th2) lymphocytes. Mast cell supernatants collected at 20 min, 1 hr, 2 hr and 4 hr after activation caused a concentration-dependent increase in the migration of Th2 cells. The effect of submaximal dilutions of mast-cell-conditioned media was inhibited in a dose-dependent manner by ramatroban (IC50 = 96 nm), a dual antagonist of both the thromboxane-like prostanoid (TP) receptor and the chemoattractant receptor-homologous molecule expressed on Th2 cells (CRTH2), but not by the selective TP antagonist SQ29548, implicating CRTH2 in mediating the chemotactic response of these Th2 cells. The effect of mast-cell-conditioned media was mimicked by prostaglandin D2 (PGD2) and this eicosanoid was detected in the conditioned media from activated mast cells in concentrations sufficient to account for the activity of the mast cell supernatants. Treatment of the mast cells with the cyclo-oxygenase inhibitor diclofenac (10 microm) inhibited both the production of PGD2 and the CRTH2+ CD4+ Th2-stimulatory activity, while addition of exogenous PGD2 to conditioned media from diclofenac-treated mast cells restored the ability of the supernatants to promote chemotaxis of these Th2 cells. The degree of inhibition caused by diclofenac treatment of the mast cells was concordant with the degree of inhibition of chemotactic responses afforded by CRTH2 blockade. These data suggest that PGD2, or closely related metabolites of arachidonic acid, produced from mast cells may play a central role in the activation of CRTH2+ CD4+ Th2 lymphocytes through a CRTH2-dependent mechanism.

Prostaglandin D2 causes preferential induction of proinflammatory Th2 cytokine production through an action on chemoattractant receptor-like molecule expressed on Th2 cells.

PGD2, produced by mast cells, has been detected in high concentrations at sites of allergic inflammation. It can stimulate vascular and other inflammatory responses by interaction with D prostanoid receptor (DP) and chemoattractant receptor-like molecule expressed on Th2 cells (CRTH2) receptors. A significant role for PGD2 in mediating allergic responses has been suggested based on the observation that enhanced eosinophilic lung inflammation and cytokine production is apparent in the allergen-challenged airways of transgenic mice overexpressing human PGD2 synthase, and PGD2 can enhance Th2 cytokine production in vitro from CD3/CD28-costimulated Th2 cells. In the present study, we investigated whether PGD2 has the ability to stimulate Th2 cytokine production in the absence of costimulation. At concentrations found at sites of allergic inflammation, PGD2 preferentially elicited the production of IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13 by human Th2 cells in a dose-dependent manner without affecting the level of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10. Gene transcription peaked within 2 h, and protein release peaked approximately 8 h after stimulation. The effect of PGD2 was mimicked by the selective CRTH2 agonist 13,14-dihydro-15-keto-PGD2 but not by the selective DP agonist BW245C, suggesting that the stimulation is mediated by CRTH2 and not DP. Ramatroban, a dual CRTH2/thromboxane-like prostanoid receptor antagonist, markedly inhibited Th2 cytokine production induced by PGD2, while the selective thromboxane-like prostanoid receptor antagonist SQ29548 was without effect. These data suggest that PGD2 preferentially up-regulates proinflammatory cytokine production in human Th2 cells through a CRTH2-dependent mechanism in the absence of any other costimulation and highlight the potential utility of CRTH2 antagonists in the treatment of allergic diseases.

2-Oxoacid dehydrogenase multienzyme complexes in the halophilic Archaea? Gene sequences and protein structural predictions.

All Archaea catalyse the conversion of pyruvate to acetyl-CoA via a simple pyruvate oxidoreductase. This is in contrast to the Eukarya and most aerobic bacteria, which use the pyruvate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex [PDHC], consisting of multiple copies of three component enzymes: E1 (pyruvate decarboxylase), E2 (lipoate acetyl-transferase) and E3 (dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase, DHLipDH). Until now no PDHC activity has been found in the Archaea, although DHLipDH has been discovered in the extremely halophilic Archaea and its gene sequence has been determined. In this paper, the discovery and sequencing of an operon containing the DHLipDH gene in the halophilic archaeon Haloferax volcanii are reported. Upstream of the DHLipDH gene are 3 ORFs which show highest sequence identities with the E1alpha, E1beta and E2 genes of the PDHC from gram-positive organisms. Structural predictions of the proposed protein product of the E2 gene show a domain structure characteristic of the E2 component in PDHCs, and catalytically important residues, including the lysine to which the lipoic acid cofactor is covalently bound, are conserved. Northern analyses indicate the transcription of the whole operon, but no PDHC enzymic activity could be detected in cell extracts. The presence in the E2 gene of an insertion (equivalent to approximately 100 aa) not found in bacterial or eukaryal E2 proteins, might be predicted to prevent multienzyme complex assembly. This is the first detailed report of the genes for a putative 2-oxoacid dehydrogenase complex in the Archaea, and the evolutionary and metabolic consequences of these findings are discussed.