ABSTRACT
The statin family of cholesterol-lowering drugs is known to have pleiotropic properties which include anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects. Statins exert their pleiotropic effects by altering expression of human immune regulators including pro-inflammatory cytokines. Previously we found that statins modulate virulence phenotypes of the human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and sought to investigate if simvastatin could alter the host response to this organism in lung epithelial cells. Simvastatin increased the expression of the P. aeruginosa target genes KLF2, KLF6, IL-8 and CCL20. Furthermore, both simvastatin and P. aeruginosa induced alternative splicing of KLF6. The novel effect of simvastatin on wtKLF6 expression was found to be responsible for induction of the KLF6 regulated genes CCL20 and iNOS. Simvastatin also increased the adhesion of P. aeruginosa to host cells, without altering invasion or cytotoxicity. This study demonstrated that simvastatin had several novel effects on the pulmonary cellular immune response.
Subject(s)
Gene Expression Regulation/drug effects , Pseudomonas Infections/drug therapy , Pseudomonas aeruginosa/drug effects , Simvastatin/administration & dosage , Alternative Splicing/drug effects , Cell Line , Chemokine CCL20/biosynthesis , Humans , Immunity, Cellular/drug effects , Interleukin-8/biosynthesis , Kruppel-Like Factor 6 , Kruppel-Like Transcription Factors/biosynthesis , Lung/drug effects , Lung/immunology , Lung/pathology , Proto-Oncogene Proteins/biosynthesis , Pseudomonas Infections/genetics , Pseudomonas Infections/pathology , Pseudomonas aeruginosa/pathogenicityABSTRACT
Obesity is a major public health concern, and complementary research strategies have been directed toward the identification of the underlying causative gene mutations that affect the normal pathways and networks that regulate energy balance. Here, we describe an autosomal-recessive morbid-obesity syndrome and identify the disease-causing gene defect. The average body mass index of affected family members was 48.7 (range = 36.7-61.0), and all had features of the metabolic syndrome. Homozygosity mapping localized the disease locus to a region in 3q29; we designated this region the morbid obesity 1 (MO1) locus. Sequence analysis identified a homozygous nonsense mutation in CEP19, the gene encoding the ciliary protein CEP19, in all affected family members. CEP19 is highly conserved in vertebrates and invertebrates, is expressed in multiple tissues, and localizes to the centrosome and primary cilia. Homozygous Cep19-knockout mice were morbidly obese, hyperphagic, glucose intolerant, and insulin resistant. Thus, loss of the ciliary protein CEP19 in humans and mice causes morbid obesity and defines a target for investigating the molecular pathogenesis of this disease and potential treatments for obesity and malnutrition.