OTUB1 inhibits CNS autoimmunity by preventing IFN-γ-induced hyperactivation of astrocytes.

Astrocytes are critical regulators of neuroinflammation in multiple sclerosis (MS) and its animal model experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Growing evidence indicates that ubiquitination of signaling molecules is an important cell-intrinsic mechanism governing astrocyte function during MS and EAE Here, we identified an upregulation of the deubiquitinase OTU domain, ubiquitin aldehyde binding 1 (OTUB1) in astrocytes during MS and EAE Mice with astrocyte-specific OTUB1 ablation developed more severe EAE due to increased leukocyte accumulation, proinflammatory gene transcription, and demyelination in the spinal cord as compared to control mice. OTUB1-deficient astrocytes were hyperactivated in response to IFN-γ, a fingerprint cytokine of encephalitogenic T cells, and produced more proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines than control astrocytes. Mechanistically, OTUB1 inhibited IFN-γ-induced Janus kinase (JAK)/signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) signaling by K48 deubiquitination and stabilization of the JAK2 inhibitor suppressor of cytokine signaling 1 (SOCS1). Thus, astrocyte-specific OTUB1 is a critical inhibitor of neuroinflammation in CNS autoimmunity.

Protective dendritic cell responses against listeriosis induced by the short form of the deubiquitinating enzyme CYLD are inhibited by full-length CYLD.

The deubiquitinating enzyme CYLD is an important tumor suppressor and inhibitor of immune responses. In contrast to full-length CYLD, the immunological function of the naturally occurring short splice variant of CYLD (sCYLD) is insufficiently described. Previously, we showed that DCs, which lack full-length CYLD but express sCYLD, exhibit augmented NF-κB and DC activation. To explore the function of sCYLD in infection, we investigated whether DC-specific sCYLD regulates the pathogenesis of listeriosis. Upon Listeria monocytogenes infection of CD11c-Cre Cyld(ex7/8 fl/fl) mice, infection of CD8α(+) DCs, which are crucial for the establishment of listeriosis in the spleen, was not affected. However, NF-κB activity of CD11c-Cre Cyld(ex7/8 fl/fl) DCs was increased, while activation of ERK and p38 was normal. In addition, CD11c-Cre Cyld(ex7/8 fl/fl) DCs produced more TNF, IL-10, and IL-12 upon infection, which led to enhanced stimulation of IFN-γ-producing NK cells. In addition CD11c-Cre Cyld(ex7/8 fl/fl) DCs presented Listeria Ag more efficiently to CD8(+) T cells resulting in a stronger pathogen-specific CD8(+) T-cell proliferation and more IFN-γ production. Collectively, the improved innate and adaptive immunity and survival during listeriosis identify the DC-specific FL-CYLD/sCYLD balance as a potential target to modulate NK-cell and Ag-specific CD8(+) T-cell responses.

Astrocytic A20 ameliorates experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis by inhibiting NF-κB- and STAT1-dependent chemokine production in astrocytes.

Single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the tumor necrosis factor, alpha-induced protein 3 gene, which encodes the ubiquitin-modifying protein A20, are linked to susceptibility to multiple sclerosis (MS), a demyelinating autoimmune disease of the central nervous system (CNS). Since it is unresolved how A20 regulates MS pathogenesis, we examined its function in a murine model of MS, namely experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Deletion of A20 in neuroectodermal cells (astrocytes, neurons, and oligodendrocytes; Nestin-Cre A20fl/fl mice) or selectively in astrocytes (GFAP-Cre A20fl/fl mice) resulted in more severe EAE as compared to control animals. In Nestin-Cre A20fl/fl and GFAP-Cre A20fl/fl mice demyelination and recruitment of inflammatory leukocytes were increased as compared to A20fl/fl control mice. Importantly, numbers of encephalitogenic CD4+ T cells producing interferon (IFN)-γ, interleukin (IL)-17, and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), respectively, as well as mRNA production of IFN-γ, IL-17, tumor necrosis factor (TNF), GM-CSF, IL-6, CXCL1, CCL2, and CXCL10 were significantly increased in spinal cords of Nestin-Cre A20fl/fl and GFAP-Cre A20fl/fl mice, respectively. Compared to A20-sufficient astrocytes, A20-deficient astrocytes displayed stronger activation of nuclear factor kappa-light-chain enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) in response to TNF, IL-17, and GM-CSF, and of signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1) upon IFN-γ stimulation. Due to NF-κB and STAT1 hyperactivation, A20-deficient astrocytes produced significantly more chemokines in response to these key encephalitogenic cytokines of autoimmune CD4+ T cells resulting in an amplification of CD4+ T cell recruitment to the CNS. Thus, astrocytic A20 is an important inhibitor of autoimmune-mediated demyelination in the CNS.

OTUB1 prevents lethal hepatocyte necroptosis through stabilization of c-IAP1 during murine liver inflammation.

In bacterial and sterile inflammation of the liver, hepatocyte apoptosis is, in contrast to necroptosis, a common feature. The molecular mechanisms preventing hepatocyte necroptosis and the potential consequences of hepatocyte necroptosis are largely unknown. Apoptosis and necroptosis are critically regulated by the ubiquitination of signaling molecules but especially the regulatory function of deubiquitinating enzymes (DUBs) is imperfectly defined. Here, we addressed the role of the DUB OTU domain aldehyde binding-1 (OTUB1) in hepatocyte cell death upon both infection with the hepatocyte-infecting bacterium Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) and D-Galactosamine (DGal)/Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-induced sterile inflammation. Combined in vivo and in vitro experiments comprising mice lacking OTUB1 specifically in liver parenchymal cells (OTUB1LPC-KO) and human OTUB1-deficient HepG2 cells revealed that OTUB1 prevented hepatocyte necroptosis but not apoptosis upon infection with Lm and DGal/TNF challenge. Lm-induced necroptosis in OTUB1LPC-KO mice resulted in increased alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release and rapid lethality. Treatment with the receptor-interacting serine/threonine-protein kinase (RIPK) 1 inhibitor necrostatin-1s and deletion of the pseudokinase mixed lineage kinase domain-like protein (MLKL) prevented liver damage and death of infected OTUB1LPC-KO mice. Mechanistically, OTUB1 reduced K48-linked polyubiquitination of the cellular inhibitor of apoptosis 1 (c-IAP1), thereby diminishing its degradation. In the absence of OTUB1, c-IAP1 degradation resulted in reduced K63-linked polyubiquitination and increased phosphorylation of RIPK1, RIPK1/RIPK3 necrosome formation, MLKL-phosphorylation and hepatocyte death. Additionally, OTUB1-deficiency induced RIPK1-dependent extracellular-signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activation and TNF production in Lm-infected hepatocytes. Collectively, these findings identify OTUB1 as a novel regulator of hepatocyte-intrinsic necroptosis and a critical factor for survival of bacterial hepatitis and TNF challenge.

A20 Curtails Primary but Augments Secondary CD8+ T Cell Responses in Intracellular Bacterial Infection.

The ubiquitin-modifying enzyme A20, an important negative feedback regulator of NF-κB, impairs the expansion of tumor-specific CD8+ T cells but augments the proliferation of autoimmune CD4+ T cells. To study the T cell-specific function of A20 in bacterial infection, we infected T cell-specific A20 knockout (CD4-Cre A20fl/fl) and control mice with Listeria monocytogenes. A20-deficient pathogen-specific CD8+ T cells expanded stronger resulting in improved pathogen control at day 7 p.i. Imaging flow cytometry revealed that A20-deficient Listeria-specific CD8+ T cells underwent increased apoptosis and necroptosis resulting in reduced numbers of memory CD8+ T cells. In contrast, the primary CD4+ T cell response was A20-independent. Upon secondary infection, the increase and function of pathogen-specific CD8+ T cells, as well as pathogen control were significantly impaired in CD4-Cre A20fl/fl mice. In vitro, apoptosis and necroptosis of Listeria-specific A20-deficient CD8+ T cells were strongly induced as demonstrated by increased caspase-3/7 activity, RIPK1/RIPK3 complex formation and more morphologically apoptotic and necroptotic CD8+ T cells. In vitro, A20 limited CD95L and TNF-induced caspase3/7 activation. In conclusion, T cell-specific A20 limited the expansion but reduced apoptosis and necroptosis of Listeria-specific CD8+ T cells, resulting in an impaired pathogen control in primary but improved clearance in secondary infection.

Normal Development and Function of T Cells in Proline Rich 7 (Prr7) Deficient Mice.

Transmembrane adaptor proteins (TRAPs) are important organisers for the transduction of immunoreceptor-mediated signals. Prr7 is a TRAP that regulates T cell receptor (TCR) signalling and potently induces cell death when overexpressed in human Jurkat T cells. Whether endogenous Prr7 has a similar functional role is currently unknown. To address this issue, we analysed the development and function of the immune system in Prr7 knockout mice. We found that loss of Prr7 partially impairs development of single positive CD4+ T cells in the thymus but has no effect on the development of other T cell subpopulations, B cells, NK cells, or NKT cells. Moreover, Prr7 does not affect the TCR signalling pathway as T cells derived from Prr7 knockout and wild-type animals and stimulated in vitro express the same levels of the activation marker CD69, and retain their ability to proliferate and activate induced cell death programs. Importantly, Prr7 knockout mice retained the capacity to mount a protective immune response when challenged with Listeria monocytogenes infection in vivo. In addition, T cell effector functions (activation, migration, and reactivation) were normal following induction of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in Prr7 knockout mice. Collectively, our work shows that loss of Prr7 does not result in a major immune system phenotype and suggests that Prr7 has a dispensable function for TCR signalling.

Receptor-Interacting Protein Kinase-2 Inhibition by CYLD Impairs Antibacterial Immune Responses in Macrophages.

Upon infection with intracellular bacteria, nucleotide oligomerization domain protein 2 recognizes bacterial muramyl dipeptide and binds, subsequently, to receptor-interacting serine/threonine kinase 2 (RIPK2), which activates immune responses via the nuclear factor kappa-light-chain enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathways. Activation of RIPK2 depends on its K63 ubiquitination by E3 ligases, whereas the deubiquitinating enzyme A20 counter regulates RIPK2 activity by cleaving K63-polyubiquitin chains from RIPK2. Here, we newly identify the deubiquitinating enzyme CYLD as a new inhibitor of RIPK2. We show that CYLD binds to and removes K63-polyubiquitin chains from RIPK2 in Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) infected murine bone marrow-derived macrophages. CYLD-mediated K63 deubiquitination of RIPK2 resulted in an impaired activation of both NF-κB and ERK1/2 pathways, reduced production of proinflammatory cytokines interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-12, anti-listerial reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitric oxide (NO), and, finally, impaired pathogen control. In turn, RIPK2 inhibition by siRNA prevented activation of NF-κB and ERK1/2 and completely abolished the protective effect of CYLD deficiency with respect to the production of IL-6, NO, ROS, and pathogen control. Noteworthy, CYLD also inhibited autophagy of Listeria in a RIPK2-ERK1/2-dependent manner. The protective function of CYLD deficiency was dependent on interferon gamma (IFN-γ) prestimulation of infected macrophages. Interestingly, the reduced NF-κB activation in CYLD-expressing macrophages limited the protective effect of IFN-γ by reducing NF-κB-dependent signal transducers and activators of transcription-1 (STAT1) activation. Taken together, our study identifies CYLD as an important inhibitor of RIPK2-dependent antibacterial immune responses in macrophages.