ABSTRACT
An RNA-binding protein (RBP) was recently identified, FXR1P, which regulates tumour necrosis factor (TNF) gene expression at the posttranscriptional level in response to lipopolysaccharide, was recently identified resulting in higher TNF production in macrophages from FXR1 knockout (KO) mice compared with wild-type (WT) macrophages. In this study, the importance of FXR1P in the induction of TNF by toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7) ligand S28463 and TLR9 ligand CpG is evaluated. The results clearly reveal a much higher level of TNF protein expression in FXR1-KO than in WT macrophages following stimulation with CpG but not with S28463. To better understand the molecular mechanism, both the steady-state levels and the stability of TNF mRNA were assessed. It was found that the TNF mRNA steady-state level was more elevated in CpG-stimulated FXR1-KO macrophages, while the stability of TNF mRNA was not affected in CpG-stimulated FXR1-KO macrophages. It was also established that FXR1P is involved in regulating the expression of several other inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. Together, the data clearly demonstrate the importance of FXR1P RBP in the regulation of a wide spectrum of inflammatory genes and suggest an important role of MAP signalling in the response of macrophages to selected TLR ligands, including CpG.
Subject(s)
Gene Expression Regulation , Macrophages/immunology , Oligodeoxyribonucleotides/immunology , RNA-Binding Proteins/physiology , Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/biosynthesis , Animals , Chemokine CCL2/biosynthesis , Chemokine CCL2/genetics , Interleukin-12/biosynthesis , Interleukin-12/genetics , Interleukin-6/biosynthesis , Interleukin-6/genetics , Macrophages/chemistry , Mice , Mice, Knockout , RNA Stability , RNA, Messenger/analysis , Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/geneticsABSTRACT
Toll-like receptor ligands (TLRLs) produced by various pathogens activate mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs). While the dependence on p38 MAPK activation for the induction of inflammatory genes by the TLR4L, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), has been well documented, the importance of the p38 pathway in gene regulation by other TLRLs is less well understood. We have focused our analysis on two TLRLs with therapeutic potential, imidazoquinoline S28463 (TLR7L) and CpG DNA (TLR9L), to explore in detail their effects on the regulation of gene expression in macrophages. Here we report that activation of the p38 MAPK/MK2 pathway is crucial for both S28463- and CpG-induced cytokine and chemokine production. We show that the stability of TNF mRNA induced by CpG DNA and S28463 is not dependent on the p38 MAPK/MK2 pathway, in contrast to LPS-induced TNF mRNA. Using a GFP reporter construct under the control of the 3' untranslated region of the TNF gene, we demonstrate that S28463 and CpG DNA-induced MK2 signalling regulates TNF mRNA primarily at the translational level, whereas LPS-induced MK2 signalling regulates both the stability and translational efficiency of TNF mRNA. Overall, these data provide insight into distinct molecular mechanisms of gene expression regulation by different Toll-like receptor ligands.
Subject(s)
Aminoquinolines/pharmacology , Gene Expression Regulation/drug effects , Oligodeoxyribonucleotides/pharmacology , Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases/metabolism , Toll-Like Receptor 7/metabolism , Toll-Like Receptor 9/metabolism , Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/genetics , Animals , Chemokines/genetics , Chemokines/metabolism , Enzyme Activation/drug effects , Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins , Ligands , Lipopolysaccharides/pharmacology , Mice , Mice, Inbred C57BL , Nitric Oxide/biosynthesis , Phosphorylation/drug effects , Protein Kinase Inhibitors/pharmacology , RNA Stability/drug effects , RNA, Messenger/genetics , RNA, Messenger/metabolism , Regulatory Sequences, Nucleic Acid/genetics , Transcription, Genetic/drug effects , Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/metabolism , p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases/antagonists & inhibitorsABSTRACT
Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) is regulated post-transcriptionally by the AU-rich element (ARE) within the 3'-untranslated region of its mRNA. This regulation modulates translational efficacy and mRNA stability. By using a cRNA probe containing the TNF ARE sequence, we screened a macrophage protein expression library and identified FXR1P. Macrophages that we generated from FXR1 knock-out mice had enhanced TNF protein production compared with wild type macrophages following activation. Expression of several other proteins that are regulated by ARE sequences was also affected by FXR1P deficiency. A GFP-ARE reporter that has green fluorescent protein (GFP) expression under control of the 3'-untranslated region of TNF mRNA had enhanced expression in transfected macrophages deficient in FXR1P. Finally, we found that the ablation of FXR1P led to a dramatically enhanced association of the TNF mRNA with polyribosomes demonstrating the important role of FXR1P in the post-transcriptional regulation of TNF expression. Our data suggest that release of this repression by FXR1P occurs during lipopolysaccharide-induced macrophage activation. Finally, complementation of the knock-out macrophages with recombinant FXR1P resulted in decreased TNF protein production, supporting our findings that FXR1P operates as a repressor of TNF translation.
