Glutaredoxin deficiency promotes activation of the transforming growth factor beta pathway in airway epithelial cells, in association with fibrotic airway remodeling.

S-glutathionylation of reactive protein cysteines is a post-translational event that plays a critical role in transducing signals from oxidants into biological responses. S-glutathionylation can be reversed by the deglutathionylating enzyme glutaredoxin (GLRX). We have previously demonstrated that ablation of Glrx sensitizes mice to the development of parenchymal lung fibrosis(1). It remains unclear whether GLRX also controls airway fibrosis, a clinical feature relevant to asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and whether GLRX controls the biology of airway epithelial cells, which have been implicated in the pathophysiology of these diseases. In the present study we utilized a house dust mite (HDM) model of allergic airway disease in wild type (WT) and Glrx-/- mice on a C57BL/6 background prone to develop airway fibrosis, and tracheal basal stem cells derived from WT mice, global Glrx-/- mice, or bi-transgenic mice allowing conditional ablation of the Glrx gene. Herein we show that absence of Glrx led to enhanced HDM-induced collagen deposition, elevated levels of transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGFB1) in the bronchoalveolar lavage, and resulted in increases in airway hyperresponsiveness. Airway epithelial cells isolated from Glrx-/- mice or following conditional ablation of Glrx showed spontaneous increases in secretion of TGFB1. Glrx-/- basal cells also showed spontaneous TGFB pathway activation, in association with increased expression of mesenchymal genes, including collagen 1a1 and fibronectin. Overall, these findings suggest that GLRX regulates airway fibrosis via a mechanism(s) that involve the plasticity of basal cells, the stem cells of the airways.

Necroptosis of Dendritic Cells Promotes Activation of γδ T Cells.

γδ T cells function at the interface between innate and adaptive immunity and have well-demonstrated roles in response to infection, autoimmunity and tumors. A common characteristic of these seemingly disparate conditions may be cellular stress or death. However, the conditions under which ligands for γδ T cells are induced or exposed remain largely undefined. We observed that induction of necroptosis of murine or human dendritic cells (DC) by inhibition of caspase activity paradoxically augments their ability to activate γδ T cells. Furthermore, upregulation of the stabilizer of caspase-8 activity, c-FLIP, by IL-4, not only greatly reduced the susceptibility of DC to necroptosis, but also considerably decreased their ability to activate γδ T cells. Collectively, these findings suggest that the induction of necroptosis in DC upregulates or exposes the expression of γδ T cell ligands, and they support the view that γδ T cells function in the immune surveillance of cell stress.