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S N Vogel

Publications and source records attributed to S N Vogel.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Cutting edge: functional characterization of the effect of the C3H/HeJ defect in mice that lack an Lpsn gene: in vivo evidence for a dominant negative mutation.

A point mutation in the Tlr4 gene, which encodes Toll-like receptor 4, has recently been proposed to underlie LPS hyporesponsiveness in C3H/HeJ mice (Lpsd). The data presented herein demonstrate that F1 progeny from crosses between mice that carry a approximately 9-cM deletion of chromosome 4 (including deletion of LpsTlr4) and C3H/HeJ mice (i.e., Lps0 x Lpsd F1 mice) exhibit a pattern of LPS sensitivity, measured by TNF activity, that is indistinguishable from that exhibited by Lpsn x Lpsd F1 progeny and whose average response is "intermediate" to parental responses. Thus, these data provide clear functional support for the hypothesis that the C3H/HeJ defect exerts a dominant negative effect on LPS sensitivity; however, expression of a normal Toll-like receptor 4 molecule is apparently not required.

Animals↗

Role of interferon and interferon regulatory factors in early protection against Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus infection.

To investigate the role of type I interferon (IFN) and its regulatory transacting proteins, interferon regulatory factors (IRF-1 and IRF-2), in early protection against infection with virulent Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEE), we utilized mice with targeted mutations in the IFN-alpha/beta receptor, IRF-1, or IRF-2 genes. IFN-alpha/beta-receptor knockout mice are highly susceptible to peripheral infection with virulent or attenuated VEE, resulting in their death within 24 and 48 h, respectively. Treatment of normal macrophages with anti-IFN-alpha/beta antibody prior to and during infection with molecularly cloned virulent VEE resulted in increased VEE replication. However, treatment with high doses of IFN or IFN-inducing agents failed to alter percentage mortality or average survival times in mice challenged with a low dose of virulent VEE. In IRF-1 and IRF-2 knockout mice (IRF-1(-/-) and IRF-2(-/-)), the 100% protection against virulent VEE that is conferred by attenuated VEE within 24 h in control C57BL/6 mice was completely absent in IRF-2(-/-) mice, whereas 50% of IRF-1(-/-) mice were protected. IRF-2(-/-) mice were deficient in clearing VEE virus from the spleen and the brain compared to the heterozygous IRF-2(+/-) knockout or C57BL/6 (+/+) mice. Furthermore, a distinct pattern of histopathological changes was observed in brains of IRF-2(-/-) mice after VEE exposure. Taken together, these findings imply that the altered immune response in IRF-1 and IRF-2 knockout mice results in altered virus dissemination, altered virus clearance, and altered virus-induced pathology. Thus, type I interferon, as well as IRF-1 and IRF-2, appears to play an important and necessary role in the pathogenesis of, and protection against, VEE infection.

Animals↗

Limited role of ceramide in lipopolysaccharide-mediated mitogen-activated protein kinase activation, transcription factor induction, and cytokine release.

The involvement of ceramide in lipopolysaccharide-mediated activation of mouse macrophages was studied. Lipopolysaccharide, cell-permeable ceramide analogs, and bacterial sphingomyelinase led to phosphorylation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinases, c-Jun NH2-terminal kinases, and p38 kinase and induced AP-1 DNA binding in C3H/OuJ (Lpsn) but not in C3H/HeJ (Lpsd) macrophages. Lipopolysaccharide and ceramide mimetics showed distinct kinetics of mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphorylation and AP-1 induction and activated AP-1 complexes with different subunit compositions. Lipopolysaccharide-activated AP-1 consisted of c-Fos, Jun-B, Jun-D, and c-Jun, while C2-ceramide induced Jun-D and c-Jun only. Lipopolysaccharide and, less potently, C2-ceramide or sphingomyelinase, stimulated AP-1-dependent reporter gene transcription in RAW 264.7 cells. Unlike lipopolysaccharide, C2-ceramide failed to activate NF-kappaB and did not induce production of tumor necrosis factor or interleukin-6. The lipopolysaccharide antagonist, Rhodobacter sphae-roides diphosphoryl lipid A, inhibited lipopolysaccharide activation of NF-kappaB and AP-1 but did not block C2-ceramide-induced AP-1. Pretreatment of C3H/OuJ macrophages with C2-ceramide greatly diminished AP-1 induction following subsequent C2-ceramide stimulation. However, lipopolysaccharide-induced transcription factor activation and cytokine release were not influenced. In contrast, lipopolysaccharide pretreatment inhibited both lipopolysaccharide- and C2-ceramide-mediated responses. Thus, ceramide partially mimics lipopolysaccharide in activating the mitogen-activated protein kinases and AP-1 but not in mediating NF-kappaB induction or cytokine production, suggesting a limited role in lipopolysaccharide signaling.

Animals↗

The transcription factor interferon regulatory factor 1 is expressed after cerebral ischemia and contributes to ischemic brain injury.

The transcription factor interferon regulatory factor 1 (IRF-1) is involved in the molecular mechanisms of inflammation and apoptosis, processes that contribute to ischemic brain injury. In this study, the induction of IRF-1 in response to cerebral ischemia and its role in ischemic brain injury were investigated. IRF-1 gene expression was markedly upregulated within 12 h of occlusion of the middle cerebral artery in C57BL/6 mice. The expression reached a peak 4 d after ischemia (6.0 +/- 1.8-fold; P < 0.001) and was restricted to the ischemic regions of the brain. The volume of ischemic injury was reduced by 23 +/- 3% in IRF-1(+/-) and by 46 +/- 9% in IRF-1(-/-) mice (P < 0.05). The reduction in infarct volume was paralleled by a substantial attenuation in neurological deficits. Thus, IRF-1 is the first nuclear transacting factor demonstrated to contribute directly to cerebral ischemic damage and may be a novel therapeutic target in ischemic stroke.

Animals↗

Acceleration of viral replication and up-regulation of cytokine levels by antimalarials: implications in malaria-endemic areas.

Antimalarial drugs are widely used in malaria endemic areas, both for chemoprophylaxis and also empirically to treat patients presenting with fever. Previously, we have reported that chloroquine enhances the severity of Semliki forest virus (SFV) and encephalomyocarditis virus infection. The studies presented herein show that a broad spectrum of antimalarial drugs augmented the replication of SFV in mice, concomitant with greater tissue damage and up-regulation of mRNA levels of various inflammatory cytokine genes, including interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra), II-1alpha, IL-1beta, IL-6, IL-12p40, and interferon-gamma inducing factor. Furthermore, chloroquine enhances IL-1Ra production in RAW cells in vitro. Since IL-1Ra is known to be up-regulated in a number of viral infections, we propose that a further enhancement of its expression by antimalarials may be responsible for the increased severity of viral infection in our studies. Thus, the widespread use of antimalarials in malaria-endemic areas may predispose the population to viral infections. Further studies are in progress to delineate mechanism(s) involved in cytokine up-regulation and acceleration of viral replication.

Alphavirus Infections↗

Autocrine/paracrine IFN-alphabeta mediates the lipopolysaccharide-induced activation of transcription factor Stat1alpha in mouse macrophages: pivotal role of Stat1alpha in induction of the inducible nitric oxide synthase gene.

We have examined the role of Stat1alpha in the induction by LPS of the mouse inducible nitric oxide synthase (EC 1.14.13.39) gene. LPS induced both the tyrosine phosphorylation of Stat1alpha and the production of nitric oxide in a time- and dose-dependent manner. The phosphorylation of Stat1alpha elicited by LPS differed from that observed using IFN-gamma or IFN-beta, in that LPS induced less phosphorylated protein and the time course of induction was much delayed (2-4 h compared with 30 min). Cycloheximide inhibited LPS-mediated Stat1alpha phosphorylation. In addition, cell culture supernatants derived from macrophages treated with LPS for 4 h could be transferred to naive macrophage cultures resulting in rapid (30 min), rather than delayed (4 h), phosphorylation of Stat1alpha. Together, these results implicated an autocrine/paracrine effector protein(s) in the phosphorylation process. LPS stimulated phosphorylation of Stat1alpha in peritoneal macrophages derived from IFN-gamma-knockout mice, negating any possibility that IFN-gamma was the mediator. By contrast, neutralizing Ig raised against mouse IFN-alphabeta inhibited both the delayed LPS-mediated phosphorylation of Stat1alpha and the rapid induction of phosphorylation induced by supernatants from LPS-stimulated cultures. Collectively, these results show that LPS-induced IFN-alphabeta production, Stat1alpha activation, and nitrite accumulation closely parallel one another, suggesting that indirect activation of transcription factor Stat1alpha by IFN-alphabeta is a critical determinant of LPS-mediated inducible nitric oxide synthase gene expression.

Animals↗

Lipopolysaccharide and ceramide use divergent signaling pathways to induce cell death in murine macrophages.

Ceramide is a well-known apoptotic agent that has been implicated in LPS signaling. Therefore, we examined whether LPS-induced macrophage cytotoxicity is mediated by mimicking ceramide. Both LPS and the cell-permeable ceramide analogue, C2 ceramide, induced significant cell death in IFN-gamma-activated, thioglycollate-elicited peritoneal macrophages after 48 and 24 h, respectively. Ceramide-induced cell death was neither accompanied by DNA fragmentation nor phosphatidyl serine externalization, characteristics of apoptosis. In contrast, LPS induced a significant fraction of cells to undergo apoptosis, as demonstrated by DNA fragmentation and quantified by DNA analysis on FACS, yet the majority of the cells died in a necrotic fashion. C3H/HeJ Lps(d) macrophages were resistant to LPS-induced cell death and less sensitive to C2 ceramide-evoked cytotoxicity, when compared with Lps(n) macrophages. C2 ceramide plus IFN-gamma failed to activate release of nitric oxide (NO.), whereas LPS-induced cell death, but not C2-induced cytotoxicity, was blocked by an inhibitor of inducible NO. synthase (iNOS), NG-monomethyl-L-arginine. Macrophages from IFN regulatory factor-1 (-/-) mice shown previously to respond marginally to LPS plus IFN-gamma to express iNOS mRNA and NO., were refractory to LPS plus IFN-gamma-induced cytotoxicity and apoptosis. These data suggest that although LPS may mimic certain ceramide effects, signal transduction events that lead to cytotoxicity, as well as the downstream mediators, diverge.

Animals↗

Involvement of CD14 and complement receptors CR3 and CR4 in nuclear factor-kappaB activation and TNF production induced by lipopolysaccharide and group B streptococcal cell walls.

This study was undertaken to evaluate the role of CD14 and complement receptors type 3 (CR3) and 4 (CR4) in mediating TNF release and NF-kappaB activation induced by LPS and cell wall preparations from group B streptococci type III (GBS). LPS and GBS caused TNF secretion from human monocytes in a CD14-dependent manner, and soluble CD14, LPS binding protein, or their combination potentiated both LPS- and GBS-induced activities. Blocking of either CD14 or CD18, the common beta-subunit of CR3 and CR4, decreased GBS-induced TNF release, while LPS-mediated TNF production was inhibited by anti-CD14 mAb only. Chinese hamster ovary cell transfectants (CHO) that express human CD14 (CHO/CD14) responded to both LPS and GBS with NF-kappaB translocation, which was inhibited by anti-CD14 mAb and enhanced by LPS binding protein. While LPS showed fast kinetics of NF-kappaB activation in CHO/CD14 cells, a slower NF-kappaB response was induced by GBS. LPS also activated NF-kappaB in CHO cells transfected with either human CR3 or CR4 cDNA, although responses were delayed and weaker than those of CHO/CD14 cells. In contrast to LPS, GBS failed to induce NF-kappaB in CHO/CR3 or CHO/CR4 cells. Both C3H/OuJ (Lps[n]) and C3H/HeJ (Lps[d]) mouse peritoneal macrophages responded to GBS with TNF production and NF-kappaB translocation, whereas LPS was active only in C3H/OuJ macrophages. Thus, LPS and GBS differentially involve CD14 and CR3 or CR4 for signaling NF-kappaB activation in CHO cells and TNF release in human monocytes, and engage a different set of receptors and/or intracellular signaling pathways in mouse macrophages.

Animals↗

Genetic and physical mapping of the Lps locus: identification of the toll-4 receptor as a candidate gene in the critical region.

On the basis of 2093 meioses analyzed in two separate intraspecific backcrosses, the location of the mouse Lpsd mutation was circumscribed to a genetic interval 0.9 cM in size. A total of 19 genetic markers that lie in close proximity to the mutation were examined in mapping. Most of these were previously unpublished polymorphic microsatellites, identified by fragmentation of YAC and BAC clones spanning the region of interest. Lpsd was found to be inseparable from the microsatellite marker D4MIT178, and from three novel polymorphic microsatellites identified near D4MIT178. The mutation was confined between two novel microsatellite markers, herein designated "B" and "83.3." B lies centromeric to the mutation, and was separated by four crossovers in a panel of 1600 mice; 83.3 lies distal to the mutation and was separated by three crossovers in a panel of 493 mice. 66 BAC clones and one YAC clone were assembled to cover > 95% of the critical region. Estimates based on pulsed field gel electrophoresis and fluorescence in situ hybridization indicate that the The B-->83.3 interval is about 3.2 Mb in length. A minimal area of zero recombinational distance from Lpsd was also assigned, and found to occupy approximately 1.2 Mb of physical size. To identify gene candidates, nearly 40,000 sequencing runs were performed across the critical region. Selective hybridization and exon trapping were also employed to identify genes throughout the "zero" region. Only a single intact gene was identified within the entire critical region. This gene encodes the Toll-4 receptor, a member of the IL-1 receptor family.

Animals↗

Induction of adrenomedullin mRNA and protein by lipopolysaccharide and paclitaxel (Taxol) in murine macrophages.

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a potent inflammatory stimulus derived from the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria, has been implicated in septic shock. Plasma levels of adrenomedullin (AM), a potent vasorelaxant, are increased in septic shock and possibly contribute to the characteristic hypotension. As macrophages play a central role in the host response to LPS, we studied AM production by LPS-stimulated macrophages. When peritoneal exudate macrophages from C3H/OuJ mice were treated with protein-free LPS (100 ng/ml) or the LPS mimetic paclitaxel (Taxol; 35 microM), an approximately 10-fold increase in steady-state AM mRNA levels was observed, which peaked between 2 and 4 h. A three- to fourfold maximum increase in the levels of immunoreactive AM protein was detected after 6 to 8 h of stimulation. While LPS-hyporesponsive C3H/HeJ macrophages failed to respond to protein-free LPS with an increase in steady-state AM mRNA levels, increased levels were observed after stimulation of these cells with a protein-rich (butanol-extracted) LPS preparation. In addition, increased AM mRNA was observed following treatment of either C3H/OuJ or C3H/HeJ macrophages with soluble Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoite antigen or the synthetic flavone analog 5, 6-dimethylxanthenone-4-acetic acid. Gamma interferon also stimulated C3H/OuJ macrophages to express increased AM mRNA levels yet was inhibitory in the presence of LPS or paclitaxel. In vivo, mice challenged intraperitoneally with 25 microg of LPS exhibited increased AM mRNA levels in the lungs, liver, and spleen; the greatest increase (>50-fold) was observed in the liver and lungs. Thus, AM is produced, by murine macrophages, and furthermore, LPS induces AM mRNA in vivo in a number of tissues. These data support a possible role for AM in the pathophysiology of sepsis and septic shock.

Adrenomedullin↗

Lipopolysaccharide and its analog antagonists display differential serum factor dependencies for induction of cytokine genes in murine macrophages.

Monocytes/macrophages play a central role in mediating the effects of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) derived from gram-negative bacteria by the production of proinflammatory mediators. Recently, it was shown that the expression of cytokine genes for tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), and interferon-inducible protein-10 (IP-10) by murine macrophages in response to low concentrations of LPS is entirely CD14 dependent. In this report, we show that murine macrophages respond to low concentrations of LPS (</=2 ng/ml) in the complete absence of serum, leading to the induction of TNF-alpha and IL-1beta genes. In contrast to the TNF-alpha and IL-1beta genes, the IP-10 gene is poorly induced in the absence of serum. The addition of recombinant human soluble CD14 (rsCD14) had very little effect on the levels of serum-free, LPS-induced TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, and IP-10 genes. In contrast, the addition of recombinant human LPS-binding protein (rLBP) had opposing effects on the LPS-induced TNF-alpha or IL-1beta and IP-10 genes. rLBP inhibited LPS-induced TNF-alpha and IL-1beta genes, while it reconstituted IP-10 gene expression to levels induced in the presence of serum. These results provide further evidence that the induction of TNF-alpha or IL-1beta genes occurs via a pathway that is distinct from one that leads to the induction of the IP-10 gene and that the pathways diverge at the level of the initial interaction between LPS and cellular CD14. Additionally, the results presented here indicate that LPS structural analog antagonists Rhodobacter sphaeroides diphosphoryl lipid A and SDZ 880. 431 are able to inhibit LPS-induced TNF-alpha and IL-1beta in the absence of serum, while a synthetic analog of Rhodobacter capsulatus lipid A (B 975) requires both rsCD14 and rLBP to function as an inhibitor.

Acute-Phase Proteins↗

Pulmonary and hepatic gene expression following cecal ligation and puncture: monophosphoryl lipid A prophylaxis attenuates sepsis-induced cytokine and chemokine expression and neutrophil infiltration.

Polymicrobial sepsis induced by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) reproduces many of the pathophysiologic features of septic shock. In this study, we demonstrate that mRNA for a broad range of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine and chemokine genes are temporally regulated after CLP in the lung and liver. We also assessed whether prophylactic administration of monophosphoryl lipid A (MPL), a nontoxic derivative of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) that induces endotoxin tolerance and attenuates the sepsis syndrome in mice after CLP, would alter tissue-specific gene expression post-CLP. Levels of pulmonary interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra), and IL-10 mRNA, as well as hepatic IL-1beta, IL-6, gamma interferon (IFN-gamma), G-CSF, inducible nitric oxide synthase, and IL-10 mRNA, were reduced in MPL-pretreated mice after CLP compared to control mice. Chemokine mRNA expression was also profoundly mitigated in MPL-pretreated mice after CLP. Specifically, levels of pulmonary and hepatic macrophage inflammatory protein 1alpha (MIP-1alpha), MIP-1beta, MIP-2, and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) mRNA, as well as hepatic IFN-gamma-inducible protein 10 and KC mRNA, were attenuated in MPL-pretreated mice after CLP. Attenuated levels of IL-6, TNF-alpha, MCP-1, MIP-1alpha, and MIP-2 in serum also were observed in MPL-pretreated mice after CLP. Diminished pulmonary chemokine mRNA production was associated with reduced neutrophil margination and pulmonary myeloperoxidase activity. These data suggest that prophylactic administration of MPL mitigates the sepsis syndrome by reducing chemokine production and the recruitment of inflammatory cells into tissues, thereby attenuating the production of proinflammatory cytokines.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗

Paclitaxel (Taxol)-induced killing of Leishmania major in murine macrophages.

The antitumor drug paclitaxel (Taxol) has been demonstrated to be a lipopolysaccharide mimetic in murine macrophages. In this study, the capacity of paclitaxel to activate macrophages to become microbicidal for Leishmania major was examined. Paclitaxel and gamma interferon synergized to kill intracellular L. major in Lpsn, but not Lpsd, macrophages by a nitric oxide (NO.)-dependent mechanism.

Animals↗

Analysis of the antagonist effect of IFN-alpha on IFN-gamma-induced interferon consensus sequence binding protein messenger RNA in murine macrophages.

Interferon consensus sequence binding protein (ICSBP), a member of the interferon regulatory factor family of DNA binding proteins, was recently demonstrated in ICSBP knockout mice to play a critical role in hematopoiesis and virus susceptibility. In macrophages, ICSBP mRNA and protein are strongly induced by IFN-gamma, but only marginally by IFN-alpha/beta. When present concurrently, IFN-alpha/beta antagonizes IFN-gamma-induced ICSBP mRNA and protein synthesis. The unknown mechanism(s) underlying this antagonism may involve competitive interactions between these two IFN species or between molecules of their respective signaling cascades. The data presented demonstrate that IFN-alpha does not interfere with initiation of transmembrane signaling by IFN-gamma and that inhibition of ICSBP mRNA expression by IFN-alpha is independent of new protein synthesis. Nuclear proteins from IFN-gamma-treated or from IFN-alpha plus IFN-gamma-treated cells showed identical binding patterns in EMSAs using a palindromic interferon response element (pIRE) from the ICSBP promoter. These proteins were primarily reactive with antibodies directed against STAT1 alpha and, to a lesser extent, against STAT2 and ISGF3 gamma. However, when a second, upstream IRE-like sequence was evaluated by EMSA, a DNA binding pattern distinct from that seen following exposure to IFN-gamma alone was observed after prolonged stimulation with both IFN-alpha and IFN-gamma. These data suggest a possible novel mechanism for IFN-alpha-induced inhibition of IFN-gamma-induced gene expression.

Animals↗

CD14-dependent and CD14-independent signaling pathways in murine macrophages from normal and CD14 knockout mice stimulated with lipopolysaccharide or taxol.

The antitumor agent, Taxol, shares with bacterial LPS the ability to activate murine macrophages, and its LPS-mimetic effects are blocked by LPS analogue antagonists. Since CD14 is central to the recognition of LPS by macrophages, we sought to examine a role for CD14 in the response to Taxol vs LPS. A comparison of responses of macrophages from wild-type mice with those from mice lacking CD14 due to a targeted disruption of the CD14 gene (CD14-deficient knockout (CD14KO)) revealed that like LPS, Taxol induces both CD14-dependent and -independent pathways of gene activation, although the CD14 dependency of Taxol stimulation is much less striking than that observed with LPS. The macrophage interaction with low concentrations of LPS (< or = 10 ng/ml) is largely CD14 dependent, as evidenced by the lack of induction of TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, and interferon-inducible protein-10 (IP-10) genes by CD14KO macrophages cultured in the absence of soluble CD14 (i.e., in autologous CD14KO -/- mouse serum). However, at high concentrations of LPS or Taxol, a CD14-independent pathway of activation is observed: this pathway leads to minimal IP-10 gene induction, even though induction of TNF-alpha and IL-1beta occurs. Measurements of TNF secretion followed a similar pattern to that observed at the level of steady state mRNA. These data suggest the existence of two pathways of activation by both LPS and Taxol: one that is CD14 dependent and leads to induction of TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, and IP-10 gene induction, and a CD14-independent pathway that results in the induction of TNF-alpha and IL-1beta, with minimal induction of IP-10.

Animals↗

Regulation of inducible nitric oxide synthase messenger RNA expression and nitric oxide production by lipopolysaccharide in vivo: the roles of macrophages, endogenous IFN-gamma, and TNF receptor-1-mediated signaling.

To evaluate potential roles for macrophages, IFN-gamma, and TNF receptor 1 (TNFR1) in the regulation of LPS-induced inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) mRNA expression, we used a model of macrophage depletion as well as IFN-gamma (GKO) and TNFR1 (TNFR1 -/-) knockout mice. LPS-induced iNOS mRNA in spleen was ablated in both macrophage-depleted and GKO mice. In livers of macrophage-depleted mice, LPS-induced iNOS mRNA was reduced by 55 to 85%, with the most profound reductions detected 6 and 8 h after LPS injection. In GKO mice, peak iNOS mRNA expression in liver (3 h) was unaffected by the loss of endogenous IFN-gamma. By 6 to 12 h after LPS challenge, however, hepatic LPS-induced iNOS mRNA and serum nitrate/nitrite levels were reduced substantially in GKO mice. Residual LPS-induced iNOS mRNA in livers of GKO mice was nearly ablated by macrophage depletion, indicating that induction of iNOS mRNA in liver requires both endogenous IFN-gamma and either macrophages and/or macrophage-derived factors. TNFR1-mediated signaling was involved in the induction of LPS-induced iNOS mRNA in liver at 3 and 6 h, but not in its maintenance at 8 h. Conversely, induction of iNOS mRNA in spleen by LPS was independent of TNFR1-mediated signaling. Our results indicate that macrophages and/or their secreted products, endogenous IFN-gamma production, and TNFR1-mediated signaling play key roles in the in vivo regulation of iNOS mRNA expression and that the extent of their involvement is both time and organ specific.

Animals↗

Lipopolysaccharide and monophosphoryl lipid A differentially regulate interleukin-12, gamma interferon, and interleukin-10 mRNA production in murine macrophages.

Monophosphoryl lipid A (MPL) is a nontoxic derivative of the lipid A region of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) that is being developed as both an adjuvant and prophylactic drug for septic shock. We compared the ability of LPS and MPL to induce interleukin-10 (IL-10), IL-12 p35, IL-12 p40, gamma interferon (IFN-gamma), glucocorticoid receptor (GR), IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra), and inducible nitric oxide synthase mRNA expression in murine peritoneal macrophages. These genes were chosen for their ability to positively or negatively regulate the host immune response and thus for their potential involvement in MPL-induced adjuvanticity or in its ability to protect against sepsis. LPS was a more potent inducer of IL-12 p35, IL-12 p40, and IFN-gamma mRNA, as well as of IL-12 protein, than MPL. In contrast, MPL induced higher levels of IL-10 mRNA than did LPS from 1 to 1,000 ng/ml. In general, MPL was not a more potent inducer of negative regulatory genes, since MPL and LPS induced similar levels of GR and IL-1ra mRNA. Addition of anti-IL-10 antibody to cultures increased the induction of MPL-induced IL-12 p35, IL-12 p40, and IFN-gamma mRNA, suggesting that the enhanced production of IL-10 by MPL-stimulated macrophages contributes to decreased production of mRNA for IL-12 (p35 and p40) and IFN-gamma. Conversely, the addition of exogenous IL-10 to LPS-treated macrophages reduced the mRNA expression of these cytokine genes. These studies suggest that enhanced production of IL-10 by MPL-stimulated macrophages may contribute to the reduced toxicity of MPL through its negative action on induction of cytokines shown to enhance endotoxicity.

Animals↗