Cutting edge: cells that carry A null allele for toll-like receptor 2 are capable of responding to endotoxin.
(1/2450)
Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2 and TLR4 have been implicated in the responses of cells to LPS (endotoxin). CD14-transfected Chinese hamster ovary (CHO)-K1 fibroblasts (CHO/CD14) are exquisitely sensitive to endotoxin. Sequence analysis of CHO-TLR2, compared with human and mouse TLR2, revealed a single base pair deletion. This frameshift mutation resulted in an alternative stop codon, encoding a protein devoid of transmembrane and intracellular domains. CHO-TLR2 cDNA failed to enable LPS signaling upon transient transfection into human epithelial kidney 293 cells. Site-directed mutagenesis of CHO-TLR2 enabled expression of a presumed full-length hamster TLR2 that conferred LPS responsiveness in human epithelial kidney 293 cells. Genomic TLR2 DNA from primary hamster macrophages also contained the frameshift mutation found in CHO fibroblasts. Nevertheless, hamster peritoneal macrophages were found to respond normally to LPS, as evidenced by the induction of cytokines. These results imply that expression of TLR2 is sufficient but not essential for mammalian responses to endotoxin. (+info)
Peptidoglycan- and lipoteichoic acid-induced cell activation is mediated by toll-like receptor 2.
(2/2450)
The life-threatening complications of sepsis in humans are elicited by infection with Gram-negative as well as Gram-positive bacteria. Recently, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a major biologically active agent of Gram-negative bacteria, was shown to mediate cellular activation by a member of the human Toll-like receptor family, Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2. Here we investigate the mechanism of cellular activation by soluble peptidoglycan (sPGN) and lipoteichoic acid (LTA), main stimulatory components of Gram-positive bacteria. Like LPS, sPGN and LTA bind to the glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored membrane protein CD14 and induce activation of the transcription factor NF-kappaB in host cells like macrophages. We show that whole Gram-positive bacteria, sPGN and LTA induce the activation of NF-kappaB in HEK293 cells expressing TLR2 but not in cells expressing TLR1 or TLR4. The sPGN- and LTA-induced NF-kappaB activation was not inhibited by polymyxin B, an antibiotic that binds and neutralizes LPS. Coexpression together with membrane CD14 enhances sPGN signal transmission through TLR2. In contrast to LPS signaling, activation of TLR2 by sPGN and LTA does not require serum. These findings identify TLR2 as a signal transducer for sPGN and LTA in addition to LPS. (+info)
Cutting edge: recognition of Gram-positive bacterial cell wall components by the innate immune system occurs via Toll-like receptor 2.
(3/2450)
Invasive infection with Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria often results in septic shock and death. The basis for the earliest steps in innate immune response to Gram-positive bacterial infection is poorly understood. The LPS component of the Gram-negative bacterial cell wall appears to activate cells via CD14 and Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2 and TLR4. We hypothesized that Gram-positive bacteria might also be recognized by TLRs. Heterologous expression of human TLR2, but not TLR4, in fibroblasts conferred responsiveness to Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae as evidenced by inducible translocation of NF-kappaB. CD14 coexpression synergistically enhanced TLR2-mediated activation. To determine which components of Gram-positive cell walls activate Toll proteins, we tested a soluble preparation of peptidoglycan prepared from S. aureus. Soluble peptidoglycan substituted for whole organisms. These data suggest that the similarity of clinical response to invasive infection by Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria is due to bacterial recognition via similar TLRs. (+info)
Signaling events induced by lipopolysaccharide-activated toll-like receptor 2.
(4/2450)
Human Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) is a signaling receptor that responds to LPS and activates NF-kappaB. Here, we investigate further the events triggered by TLR2 in response to LPS. We show that TLR2 associates with the high-affinity LPS binding protein membrane CD14 to serve as an LPS receptor complex, and that LPS treatment enhances the oligomerization of TLR2. Concomitant with receptor oligomerization, the IL-1R-associated kinase (IRAK) is recruited to the TLR2 complex. Intracellular deletion variants of TLR2 lacking C-terminal 13 or 141 aa fail to recruit IRAK, which is consistent with the inability of these mutants to transmit LPS cellular signaling. Moreover, both deletion mutants could still form complexes with wild-type TLR2 and act in a dominant-negative (DN) fashion to block TLR2-mediated signal transduction. DN constructs of myeloid differentiation protein, IRAK, TNF receptor-associated factor 6, and NF-kappaB-inducing kinase, when coexpressed with TLR2, abrogate TLR2-mediated NF-kappaB activation. These results reveal a conserved signaling pathway for TLR2 and IL-1Rs and suggest a molecular mechanism for the inhibition of TLR2 by DN variants. (+info)
Cell activation and apoptosis by bacterial lipoproteins through toll-like receptor-2.
(5/2450)
Apoptosis is implicated in the generation and resolution of inflammation in response to bacterial pathogens. All bacterial pathogens produce lipoproteins (BLPs), which trigger the innate immune response. BLPs were found to induce apoptosis in THP-1 monocytic cells through human Toll-like receptor-2 (hTLR2). BLPs also initiated apoptosis in an epithelial cell line transfected with hTLR2. In addition, BLPs stimulated nuclear factor-kappaB, a transcriptional activator of multiple host defense genes, and activated the respiratory burst through hTLR2. Thus, hTLR2 is a molecular link between microbial products, apoptosis, and host defense mechanisms. (+info)
Unresponsiveness of MyD88-deficient mice to endotoxin.
(6/2450)
MyD88 is a general adaptor protein that plays an important role in the Toll/IL-1 receptor family signalings. Recently, Toll-like receptors 2 and 4 (TLR2 and TLR4) have been suggested to be the signaling receptors for lipopolysaccharide (LPS). In this study, we demonstrate that MyD88 knockout mice lack the ability to respond to LPS as measured by shock response, B cell proliferative response, and secretion of cytokines by macrophages and embryonic fibroblasts. However, activation of neither NF-kappaB nor the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase family is abolished in MyD88 knockout mice. These findings demonstrate that signaling via MyD88 is essential for LPS response, but the inability of MyD88 knockout mice to induce LPS-dependent gene expression cannot simply be attributed to lack of the activation of MAP kinases and NF-kappaB. (+info)
Cutting edge: inflammatory signaling by Borrelia burgdorferi lipoproteins is mediated by toll-like receptor 2.
(7/2450)
The agent of Lyme disease, Borrelia burgdorferi, produces membrane lipoproteins possessing potent inflammatory properties linked to disease pathology. The recent association of toll-like receptors (TLR) 2 and 4 with LPS responses prompted the examination of TLR involvement in lipoprotein signaling. The ability of human cell lines to respond to lipoproteins was correlated with the expression of TLR2. Transfection of TLR2 into cell lines conferred responsiveness to lipoproteins, lipopeptides, and sonicated B. burgdorferi, as measured by nuclear translocation of NF-kappaB and cytokine production. The physiological importance of this interaction was demonstrated by the 10-fold greater sensitivity of TLR2-transfected cells to lipoproteins than LPS. Futhermore, TLR2-dependent signaling by lipoproteins was facilitated by CD14. These data indicate that TLR2 facilitates the inflammatory events associated with Lyme arthritis. In addition, the widespread expression of lipoproteins by other bacterial species suggests that this interaction may have broad implications in microbial inflammation and pathogenesis. (+info)
Human toll-like receptors mediate cellular activation by Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
(8/2450)
Recent studies have implicated a family of mammalian Toll-like receptors (TLR) in the activation of macrophages by Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacterial products. We have previously shown that different TLR proteins mediate cellular activation by the distinct CD14 ligands Gram-negative bacterial LPS and mycobacterial glycolipid lipoarabinomannan (LAM). Here we show that viable Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacilli activated both Chinese hamster ovary cells and murine macrophages that overexpressed either TLR2 or TLR4. This contrasted with Gram-positive bacteria and Mycobacterium avium, which activated cells via TLR2 but not TLR4. Both virulent and attenuated strains of M. tuberculosis could activate the cells in a TLR-dependent manner. Neither membrane-bound nor soluble CD14 was required for bacilli to activate cells in a TLR-dependent manner. We also assessed whether LAM was the mycobacterial cell wall component responsible for TLR-dependent cellular activation by M. tuberculosis. We found that TLR2, but not TLR4, could confer responsiveness to LAM isolated from rapidly growing mycobacteria. In contrast, LAM isolated from M. tuberculosis or Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guerin failed to induce TLR-dependent activation. Lastly, both soluble and cell wall-associated mycobacterial factors were capable of mediating activation via distinct TLR proteins. A soluble heat-stable and protease-resistant factor was found to mediate TLR2-dependent activation, whereas a heat-sensitive cell-associated mycobacterial factor mediated TLR4-dependent activation. Together, our data demonstrate that Toll-like receptors can mediate cellular activation by M. tuberculosis via CD14-independent ligands that are distinct from the mycobacterial cell wall glycolipid LAM. (+info)