ABSTRACT
Inflammasome activation exacerbates infectious disease caused by pathogens such as Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Although these pathogens activate host inflammasomes to regulate pathogen expansion, the mechanisms by which pathogen toxins contribute to inflammasome activation remain poorly understood. Here we show that activation of inflammasomes by Listeria infection is promoted by amino acid residue T223 of listeriolysin O (LLO) independently of its pore-forming activity. LLO T223 is critical for phosphorylation of the inflammasome adaptor ASC at amino acid residue Y144 through Lyn-Syk signaling, which is essential for ASC oligomerization. Notably, a Listeria mutant expressing LLO T223A is impaired in inducing ASC phosphorylation and inflammasome activation. Furthermore, the virulence of LLO T223A mutant is markedly attenuated in vivo due to impaired ability to activate the inflammasome. Our results reveal a function of a pathogen toxin that exacerbates infection by promoting phosphorylation of ASC.
Subject(s)
Bacterial Proteins/metabolism , Bacterial Toxins/metabolism , CARD Signaling Adaptor Proteins/metabolism , Heat-Shock Proteins/metabolism , Hemolysin Proteins/metabolism , Inflammasomes/metabolism , Listeria monocytogenes/pathogenicity , Signal Transduction , Amino Acid Sequence , Animals , Bacterial Proteins/genetics , Bacterial Toxins/chemistry , Bacterial Toxins/genetics , CARD Signaling Adaptor Proteins/chemistry , CARD Signaling Adaptor Proteins/deficiency , CARD Signaling Adaptor Proteins/genetics , Gene Editing , Heat-Shock Proteins/chemistry , Heat-Shock Proteins/genetics , Hemolysin Proteins/chemistry , Hemolysin Proteins/genetics , Interleukin-18/metabolism , Listeria monocytogenes/metabolism , Macrophages, Peritoneal/cytology , Macrophages, Peritoneal/metabolism , Macrophages, Peritoneal/microbiology , Mice , Mice, Inbred C57BL , Mice, Knockout , Mutagenesis, Site-Directed , Phosphorylation , Syk Kinase/genetics , Syk Kinase/metabolism , Virulence , src-Family Kinases/genetics , src-Family Kinases/metabolismABSTRACT
Acute and chronic kidney failure is common in hospitalized patients with COVID-19, yet the mechanism of injury and predisposing factors remain poorly understood. We investigated the role of complement activation by determining the levels of deposited complement components (C1q, C3, FH, C5b-9) and immunoglobulin along with the expression levels of the injury-associated molecules spleen tyrosine kinase (Syk), mucin-1 (MUC1) and calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase IV (CaMK4) in the kidney tissues of people who succumbed to COVID-19. We report increased deposition of C1q, C3, C5b-9, total immunoglobulin, and high expression levels of Syk, MUC1 and CaMK4 in the kidneys of COVID-19 patients. Our study provides strong rationale for the expansion of trials involving the use of inhibitors of these molecules, in particular C1q, C3, Syk, MUC1 and CaMK4 to treat patients with COVID-19.