Differential Modulation of TNF-α–Induced Apoptosis by Neisseria meningitidis

Infections by Neisseria meningitidis show duality between frequent asymptomatic carriage and occasional life-threatening disease. Bacterial and host factors involved in this balance are not fully understood. Cytopathic effects and cell damage may prelude to pathogenesis of isolates belonging to hyper-invasive lineages. We aimed to analyze cell–bacteria interactions using both pathogenic and carriage meningococcal isolates. Several pathogenic isolates of the ST-11 clonal complex and carriage isolates were used to infect human epithelial cells. Cytopathic effect was determined and apoptosis was scored using several methods (FITC-Annexin V staining followed by FACS analysis, caspase assays and DNA fragmentation). Only pathogenic isolates were able to induce apoptosis in human epithelial cells, mainly by lipooligosaccharide (endotoxin). Bioactive TNF-α is only detected when cells were infected by pathogenic isolates. At the opposite, carriage isolates seem to provoke shedding of the TNF-α receptor I (TNF-RI) from the surface that protect cells from apoptosis by chelating TNF-α. Ability to induce apoptosis and inflammation may represent major traits in the pathogenesis of N. meningitidis. However, our data strongly suggest that carriage isolates of meningococci reduce inflammatory response and apoptosis induction, resulting in the protection of their ecological niche at the human nasopharynx

Gene-Trap Mutagenesis Identifies Mammalian Genes Contributing to Intoxication by Clostridium perfringens ε-Toxin

The Clostridium perfringens ε-toxin is an extremely potent toxin associated with lethal toxemias in domesticated ruminants and may be toxic to humans. Intoxication results in fluid accumulation in various tissues, most notably in the brain and kidneys. Previous studies suggest that the toxin is a pore-forming toxin, leading to dysregulated ion homeostasis and ultimately cell death. However, mammalian host factors that likely contribute to ε-toxin-induced cytotoxicity are poorly understood. A library of insertional mutant Madin Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells, which are highly susceptible to the lethal affects of ε-toxin, was used to select clones of cells resistant to ε-toxin-induced cytotoxicity. The genes mutated in 9 surviving resistant cell clones were identified. We focused additional experiments on one of the identified genes as a means of validating the experimental approach. Gene expression microarray analysis revealed that one of the identified genes, hepatitis A virus cellular receptor 1 (HAVCR1, KIM-1, TIM1), is more abundantly expressed in human kidney cell lines than it is expressed in human cells known to be resistant to ε-toxin. One human kidney cell line, ACHN, was found to be sensitive to the toxin and expresses a larger isoform of the HAVCR1 protein than the HAVCR1 protein expressed by other, toxin-resistant human kidney cell lines. RNA interference studies in MDCK and in ACHN cells confirmed that HAVCR1 contributes to ε-toxin-induced cytotoxicity. Additionally, ε-toxin was shown to bind to HAVCR1 in vitro. The results of this study indicate that HAVCR1 and the other genes identified through the use of gene-trap mutagenesis and RNA interference strategies represent important targets for investigation of the process by which ε-toxin induces cell death and new targets for potential therapeutic intervention

Cytoplasmic truncation of the p55 tumour necrosis factor (TNF) receptor abolishes signalling, but not induced shedding of the receptor.

The mechanistic relationship between the signalling for the TNF effects by the human p55 TNF receptor (hu-p55-TNF-R) and the formation of a soluble form of the receptor, which is inhibitory to these effects, was explored by examining the function of C-terminally truncated mutants of the receptor, expressed in rodent cells. The 'wild-type' receptor signalled for a cytocidal effect when cross-linked with specific antibodies and exhibited spontaneous shedding. Shedding of the receptor was not affected by TNF but was markedly enhanced by 4 beta-phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA). Receptor mutants with 53%, 83% and 96% C-terminal deletions could not signal for the cytocidal effect. Furthermore, they were found to associate with the endogenous rodent receptors, interfering with their signalling. Yet even the deletion of 96% of the intracellular domain did not abolish shedding of the receptor in response to PMA. These findings suggest that signalling and shedding of the p55 TNF-R are mechanistically distinct

Soluble forms of tumor necrosis factor receptors (TNF-Rs). The cDNA for the type I TNF-R, cloned using amino acid sequence data of its soluble form, encodes both the cell surface and a soluble form of the receptor.

Two proteins which specifically bind tumor necrosis factor (TNF) have recently been isolated from human urine in our laboratory. The two proteins cross-react immunologically with two species of cell surface TNF receptors (TNF-R). Antibodies against one of the two TNF binding proteins (TBPI) were found to have effects characteristic of TNF, including stimulating phosphorylation of specific cellular proteins. Oligonucleotide probes designed on the basis of the NH2-terminal amino acid sequence of TBPI were used to clone the cDNA for the structurally related cell surface type 1 TNF-R. It is notable that although this receptor can signal the phosphorylation of cellular proteins, it appears from its amino acid sequence to be devoid of intrinsic protein kinase activity. The extracellular domain of the receptor is composed of four internal cysteine-rich repeats, homologous to structures repeated four times in the extracellular domains of the nerve growth factor receptor and the B lymphocytes surface antigen CDw40. The amino acid composition and size of the extracellular domain of the type I TNF-R closely resemble those of TBPI. The COOH-terminal amino acid sequence of the four cysteine rich repeats within the extracellular domain of the type I TNF-R matches the COOH-terminal sequence of TBPI. Amino acid sequences in the extracellular domain also fully match other sequences found in TBPI. On the other hand, amino acid sequences in the soluble form of the type II TNF-R (TBPII), while indicating a marked homology of structure, did not suggest any identity between this protein and the extracellular domain of the type I TNF-R. CHO cells transfected with type I TNF-R cDNA produced both cell surface and soluble forms of the receptor. The receptor produced by CHO cells was recognized by several monoclonal antibodies against TBPI, reacting with several distinct epitopes in this molecule. These data suggest that the soluble forms of the TNF-Rs are structurally identical to the extracellular cytokine binding domains of these receptors and are consistent with the notion that the soluble forms are, at least partly, derived from the same transcripts that encode the cell surface receptors