Expression of CD14 by hepatocytes: upregulation by cytokines during endotoxemia.

Studies were undertaken to examine hepatocyte CD14 expression during endotoxemia. Our results show that lipopolysaccharide (LPS) treatment in vivo caused a marked upregulation in CD14 mRNA and protein levels in rat hepatocytes. Detectable increases in mRNA were seen as early as 1.5 h after LPS treatment; these increases peaked at 20-fold by 3 h and returned to baseline levels by 24 h. In situ hybridization localized the CD14 mRNA expression to hepatocytes both in vitro and in vivo. Increases in hepatic CD14 protein levels were detectable by 3 h and peaked at 12 h. Hepatocytes from LPS-treated animals expressed greater amounts of cell-associated CD14 protein, and more of the soluble CD14 was released by hepatocytes from LPS-treated rats in vitro. The increases in hepatocyte CD14 expression during endotoxemia occurred in parallel to increases of CD14 levels in plasma. To provide molecular identification of the hepatocyte CD14, we cloned the rat liver CD14 cDNA. The longest clone consists of a 1,591-bp insert containing a 1,116-bp open reading frame. The deduced amino acid sequence is 372 amino acids long, has 81.8 and 62.8% homology to the amino acid sequences of mouse and human CD14, respectively, and is identical to the rat macrophage CD14. The expressed CD14 protein from this clone was functional, as indicated by NF-kappaB activation in response to LPS and fluorescein isothiocyanate-LPS binding in CHO cells stably transfected with rat CD14. A nuclear run-on assay showed that CD14 transcription rates were significantly increased in hepatocytes from LPS-treated animals, indicating that the upregulation in CD14 mRNA levels observed in rat hepatocytes after LPS treatment is dependent, in part, on increased transcription. In vitro and in vivo experiments indicated that interleukin-1beta and/or tumor necrosis factor alpha participate in the upregulation of CD14 mRNA levels in hepatocytes. Our data indicate that hepatocytes express CD14 and that hepatocyte CD14 mRNA and protein levels increase rapidly during endotoxemia. Our observations also support the idea that soluble CD14 is an acute-phase protein and that hepatocytes could be a source for soluble CD14 production.

Role of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), interleukin-1, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor, and dexamethasone in regulation of LPS-binding protein expression in normal hepatocytes and hepatocytes from LPS-treated rats.

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-binding protein (LBP) has been reported to be an acute-phase protein. LBP binds to LPS with a high affinity; LPS-LBP complexes then interact with the receptor CD14, resulting in increased expression of LPS-inducible genes. Hepatocytes represent a major source of LBP, but little is known about the regulation of rodent hepatocyte LBP synthesis. In these studies, undertaken to characterize hepatocyte LBP expression, we show that greater-than-20-fold increases in LBP mRNA levels in hepatocytes occurred following injection of LPS or turpentine in rats. In primary cultures of rat hepatocytes, the addition of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and LPS led to 4.5- and 3.2-fold stimulation in LBP mRNA levels, respectively. The induction of LBP by IL-6 or LPS was attenuated by dexamethasone. In contrast to IL-6 and LPS, in the presence of 10(-6) M dexamethasone, IL-1 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) led to maximal LBP mRNA induction levels, 4.7- and 3.8-fold, respectively, suggesting that IL-6 and LPS stimulate LBP expression by mechanisms different from those of IL-1 and TNF. Similar induction levels of LBP mRNA were seen in rat H35 hepatoma cells for all four stimuli, and dexamethasone inhibited these responses. Dexamethasone alone increased the spontaneous induction in primary hepatocytes at early time points but suppressed induction at later time points. Furthermore, hepatocytes from rats treated with LPS in vivo exhibited a > 10-fold increase in mRNA expression in response to LPS and enhanced responses to TNF and IL-1. As with the normal hepatocytes, dexamethasone inhibited the LPS-dependent induction in the LPS-treated rat hepatocytes. These data suggest that LBP synthesis by hepatocytes is under the control of LPS, IL-1, TNF, IL-6, and glucocorticoids and that the LPS treatment primes hepatocytes for subsequent responses to LPS, TNF, and IL-1 for LBP synthesis.

Identification and characterization of a bovine lipopolysaccharide-binding protein.

Endogenous regulatory mechanisms exist in mammals that enable a rapid response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS, endotoxin) stemming from gram-negative bacterial infections. Serum proteins and cell surface receptors exist that bind LPS, and this interaction may either aid in nonpathogenic removal of LPS from the body or potentiate the effects of LPS. We have used a photoreactive, thiol-cleavable, radiolabeled derivative of E. coli 0111:B4 LPS [LPS-(p-azidosalicylamido)-1,3'-dithiopropionamide; 125I-ASD-LPS], to identify the presence of LPS-binding proteins (LBPs) in bovine serum. Ion exchange chromatography was used to fractionate bovine serum, and eluted protein was subsequently photoaffinity labeled using 125I-ASD-LPS. LBPs were identified by autoradiography of sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels. Several LBPs including three with apparent molecular masses of 65, 60, and 50 kDa were variably present within the chromatography pools. A 22-residue NH2-terminal amino acid sequence of the 60-kDa protein showed 77% homology with human LBP and 68% with rabbit LBP within this region. Further purification utilizing high-performance liquid chromatography yielded a protein fraction that contained the 60-kDa protein and was distinctly more active than whole bovine serum in LPS-dependent macrophage activation assays (up to 1600-fold on a weight/volume basis). The LPS-mediated macrophage activation in concert with chromatographically purified serum protein in tissue factor assays was inhibitable using anti-CD14 monoclonal antibodies. The results indicate that an LPS-binding protein exists in samples of pooled bovine serum and that this protein has features in common with human and rabbit LBP.

Signal transduction pathways of bacterial lipopolysaccharide-stimulated bovine vascular endothelial cells.

Increased procoagulant activity of vascular endothelial cells may be an important component in the pathogenesis of intravascular coagulation associated with gram-negative bacterial diseases. Two bovine endothelial cell (BEC) lines isolated from pulmonary arteries (ENS-2 and ENT-18) were used in this study to investigate procoagulant signal transduction pathways of endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide, LPS)--stimulated BECs. The endothelial cell line ENS-2 was sensitive to LPS as demonstrated by tissue factor (TF) expression, but in contrast, the ENT-18 endothelial cell line was unusually resistant to the effects of LPS. No remarkable quantitative difference in binding of radiolabeled LPS was detected between the two endothelial cell lines. A protein kinase C (PKC) activator (phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate, PMA) failed to induce TF expression in either cell line at concentrations ranging from 0.05 to 1.00 microM when used as a sole stimulus for the endothelial cells. However, when PMA was used in combination with LPS, PMA enhanced the stimulatory effect of LPS on the endothelial cells. In parallel experiments, PKC inhibitors (H-7 and GF 109203X) interfered with the stimulatory effect of LPS on the cells by decreasing tissue factor expression. We also found that an activator of adenylate cyclase, forskolin, similarly inhibited LPS-induced tissue factor activity. In contrast, protein tyrosine kinase inhibitors (genistein, lavendustin A) had no inhibitory effect on LPS-induced endothelial cell tissue factor expression. Our results collectively suggest that activation of PKC is an important step in stimulation of endothelial cells by LPS, and that LPS and phorbol esters may synergize to produce an enhanced stimulatory effect. Our results also suggest participation of cAMP in controlling LPS-mediated stimulation of endothelial cells, but fail to demonstrate a role for protein tyrosine kinase activity.

Serum components enhance bacterial lipopolysaccharide-induced tissue factor expression and tumor necrosis factor-alpha secretion by bovine alveolar macrophages in vitro.

We have compared the effect of bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in combination with normal adult bovine serum (NBS), fetal bovine serum (FBS), or a bovine serum fraction on tissue factor expression and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) secretion by bovine alveolar macrophages. At a concentration of 1 ng/ml, bacterial LPS alone failed to induce measurable tissue factor expression by the macrophages, but the presence of FBS, NBS, or a fraction of normal pooled bovine serum isolated by ion-exchange chromatography (fraction 2) markedly potentiated the effect of LPS. A protein concentration of 64 micrograms/ml NBS, 192 micrograms/ml FBS, and only 640 ng/ml fraction 2 was required to induce maximal tissue factor expression on the macrophages in combination with 1 ng/ml LPS. Comparison of quantities of added serum protein required to induce maximal potentiating effects indicated that fraction 2 was 100 times more potent than whole NBS and 300 times more potent than whole FBS. We similarly found that TNF-alpha secretion by macrophages exposed to LPS was responsive to serum and was highly responsive to fraction 2. LPS alone (1 ng/ml) induced a relatively low level of TNF-alpha secretion by the macrophages, and the presence of FBS, NBS, or fraction 2 potentiated the effect of LPS. A concentration of 64.0 micrograms/ml NBS, 320.0 micrograms/ml FBS, and 3.2 micrograms/ml fraction 2 serum protein induced near-maximal TNF-alpha secretion by the macrophages. Comparison of the concentration of serum protein required to induce these potentiating effects indicated that fraction 2 was approximately 20 times more potent than whole NBS and 100 times more potent than whole FBS. The stimulatory effect of LPS plus fraction 2 serum proteins was dependent on the CD14 receptor, as monoclonal antibodies directed against CD14 (My4, 60bd; 10 micrograms/ml) inhibited tissue factor expression and TNF-alpha secretion by the macrophages.

Lipopolysaccharide-binding factors are present in bovine serum.

Response of vertebrates to bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) may be regulated, in part, by serum factors that influence the bioavailability and cellular binding affinity of LPS. Using 3H- or 14C-labeled LPS, or a novel fluorescence-based assay for detection in CsCl isopycnic density gradients, our studies indicate the existence of factors in adult and fetal bovine serum that bind LPS. Within serum-containing gradients, labeled LPS appeared in two peaks: least-dense fractions (< or = 1.30 g/cm3) and at 1.35 g/cm3. This profile was different from that of gradients without serum, where LPS appeared at 1.38 g/cm3. Binding of LPS to serum component(s) at 1.35 g/cm3 was rapid (< 1 min), saturable and specific. A partial shift (50%) of LPS from a density of 1.35 g/cm3 to other serum components at < or = 1.30 g/cm3 occurred over 1 h. Flow cytometric analysis indicated that bovine serum factors influence the binding of LPS to blood monocytes, because monocyte-FITC-LPS association increased in the presence of bovine serum.

Brain glutamate decarboxylase and pyrroloquinoline quinone.

Porcine brain glutamate decarboxylase was examined for the presence of covalently bound pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ). HPLC analysis of pure glutamate decarboxylase subjected to the hexanol extraction procedure gave negative results when monitored at 320 nm, the maximum of absorbance of 4-hydroxy-5-hexoxy-PQQ. Resolved glutamate decarboxylase exhibits a structureless absorption band at wavelengths longer than 300 nm which cannot be attributed to PQQ. The holoenzyme is not a pyridoxal-quinoprotein; its catalytic mechanism involves the participation of only one cofactor, i.e. pyridoxal-5-P. Free PQQ is a strong inhibitor of the decarboxylase (Ki = 13 microM) and the reaction with the protein results in spectral changes resembling those of polylysine treated with PQQ. If the concentration of free PQQ in some regions of the brain reaches the micromolar level, then PQQ might play a role in the regulation of glutamate decarboxylase activity.