TNF blockers are highly efficacious at dampening inflammation and reducing symptoms in rheumatic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis, and also in ...nonrheumatic syndromes such as inflammatory bowel disease. As TNF belongs to a superfamily of 19 structurally related proteins that have both proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory activity, reagents that disrupt the interaction between proinflammatory TNF family cytokines and their receptors, or agonize the anti-inflammatory receptors, are being considered for the treatment of rheumatic diseases. Biologic agents that block B cell activating factor (BAFF) and receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL) have been approved for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus and osteoporosis, respectively. In this Review, we focus on additional members of the TNF superfamily that could be relevant for the pathogenesis of rheumatic disease, including those that can strongly promote activity of immune cells or increase activity of tissue cells, as well as those that promote death pathways and might limit inflammation. We examine preclinical mouse and human data linking these molecules to the control of damage in the joints, muscle, bone or other tissues, and discuss their potential as targets for future therapy of rheumatic diseases.
Fas (CD95, Apo-1, or TNFRSF6) is a prototypical apoptosis-inducing death receptor in the tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR) superfamily. While the extracellular domains of TNFRs form trimeric ...complexes with their ligands and the intracellular domains engage in higher-order oligomerization, the role of the transmembrane (TM) domains is unknown. We determined the NMR structures of mouse and human Fas TM domains in bicelles that mimic lipid bilayers. Surprisingly, these domains use proline motifs to create optimal packing in homotrimer assembly distinct from classical trimeric coiled-coils in solution. Cancer-associated and structure-based mutations in Fas TM disrupt trimerization in vitro and reduce apoptosis induction in vivo, indicating the essential role of intramembrane trimerization in receptor activity. Our data suggest that the structures represent the signaling-active conformation of Fas TM, which appears to be different from the pre-ligand conformation. Analysis of other TNFR sequences suggests proline-containing sequences as common motifs for receptor TM trimerization.
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•Fas transmembrane domain structures show proline-containing motif for trimerization•The trimer conformation of the transmembrane domain is important for Fas signaling•The trimer conformation represents signaling-active, but not pre-liganded, state of Fas•Structural and functional data explain cancer mutations in transmembrane domain
Fas/CD95 is an apoptosis-inducing death receptor. Fu et al. determined the transmembrane domain structure of Fas and showed that the trimer assembly, which is mediated by a proline-containing motif, is essential for Fas signaling. The study provides structural explanation for several known cancer mutations in the transmembrane domain of Fas.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Caspase-8 activation can be triggered by death receptor-mediated formation of the death-inducing signaling complex (DISC) and by the inflammasome adaptor ASC. Caspase-8 assembles with FADD at the ...DISC and with ASC at the inflammasome through its tandem death effector domain (tDED), which is regulated by the tDED-containing cellular inhibitor cFLIP and the viral inhibitor MC159. Here we present the caspase-8 tDED filament structure determined by cryoelectron microscopy. Extensive assembly interfaces not predicted by the previously proposed linear DED chain model were uncovered, and were further confirmed by structure-based mutagenesis in filament formation in vitro and Fas-induced apoptosis and ASC-mediated caspase-8 recruitment in cells. Structurally, the two DEDs in caspase-8 use quasi-equivalent contacts to enable assembly. Using the tDED filament structure as a template, structural analyses reveal the interaction surfaces between FADD and caspase-8 and the distinct mechanisms of regulation by cFLIP and MC159 through comingling and capping, respectively.
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•Caspase-8 tDED assembles into filaments through quasi-equivalent contacts•The assembly of caspase-8 filaments is nucleated by the upstream Fas/FADD complex•cFLIP tDED also forms filaments, which interact with caspase-8 by comingling•MC159 inhibits caspase-8 filament assembly by a unique capping mechanism
How caspase-8 is activated has been a long-standing question. Fu et al. show that its tDED forms filaments using quasi-equivalent interactions. Cryo-EM structure of the filament reveals mechanisms of caspase-8 activation and its regulation by cFLIP and MC159.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Caspases are responsible for crucial aspects of inflammation and immune-cell death that are disrupted in a number of genetic autoimmune and autoinflammatory diseases. The caspase family of proteases ...can be divided into pro-apoptotic and pro-inflammatory members based on their substrate specificity and participation in separate signalling cascades. However, as discussed here, evidence has emerged over the past few years that a number of the caspases thought to be involved solely in apoptosis also contribute to specific aspects of immune-cell development, activation and differentiation, and can even protect cells from some forms of cell death.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Metabolic reprogramming has emerged as an important feature of immune cell activation. Two new studies, including Sena et al. (2013) in this issue of Immunity, identify mitochondrial reactive oxygen ...species (ROS) arising from metabolic reprogramming as signaling molecules in T cell activation.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) have an established role in inflammation and host defense, as they kill intracellular bacteria and have been shown to activate the NLRP3 inflammasome. Here, we find that ...ROS generated by mitochondrial respiration are important for normal lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-driven production of several proinflammatory cytokines and for the enhanced responsiveness to LPS seen in cells from patients with tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated periodic syndrome (TRAPS), an autoinflammatory disorder caused by missense mutations in the type 1 TNF receptor (TNFR1). We find elevated baseline ROS in both mouse embryonic fibroblasts and human immune cells harboring TRAPS-associated TNFR1 mutations. A variety of antioxidants dampen LPS-induced MAPK phosphorylation and inflammatory cytokine production. However, gp91(phox) and p22(phox) reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase subunits are dispensable for inflammatory cytokine production, indicating that NADPH oxidases are not the source of proinflammatory ROS. TNFR1 mutant cells exhibit altered mitochondrial function with enhanced oxidative capacity and mitochondrial ROS generation, and pharmacological blockade of mitochondrial ROS efficiently reduces inflammatory cytokine production after LPS stimulation in cells from TRAPS patients and healthy controls. These findings suggest that mitochondrial ROS may be a novel therapeutic target for TRAPS and other inflammatory diseases.
Innate lymphoid cells (ILC) play an important role in many immune processes, including control of infections, inflammation, and tissue repair. To date, little is known about the metabolism of ILC and ...whether these cells can metabolically adapt in response to environmental signals. Here we show that type 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2), important mediators of barrier immunity, predominantly depend on fatty acid (FA) metabolism during helminth infection. Further, in situations where an essential nutrient, such as vitamin A, is limited, ILC2 sustain their function and selectively maintain interleukin 13 (IL-13) production via increased acquisition and utilization of FA. Together, these results reveal that ILC2 preferentially use FAs to maintain their function in the context of helminth infection or malnutrition and propose that enhanced FA usage and FA-dependent IL-13 production by ILC2 could represent a host adaptation to maintain barrier immunity under dietary restriction.
Autoinflammatory diseases are characterized by seemingly unprovoked pathological activation of the innate immune system in the absence of autoantibodies or autoreactive T cells. Discovery of the ...causative mutations underlying several monogenic autoinflammatory diseases has identified key regulators of innate immune responses. Recent studies have highlighted the role of misfolding, oligomerization and abnormal trafficking of pathogenic mutant proteins in triggering autoinflammation, and suggest that more common rheumatic diseases may have an autoinflammatory component. This coincides with recent discoveries of new links between endoplasmic reticulum stress and inflammatory signalling pathways, which support the emerging view that autoinflammatory diseases may be due to pathological dysregulation of stress-sensing pathways that normally function in host defence.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
IgG antibodies cause inflammation and organ damage in autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We investigated the metabolic profile of macrophages isolated from inflamed ...tissues in immune complex (IC)-associated diseases, including SLE and rheumatoid arthritis, and following IgG Fcγ receptor cross-linking. We found that human and mouse macrophages undergo a switch to glycolysis in response to IgG IC stimulation, mirroring macrophage metabolic changes in inflamed tissue in vivo. This metabolic reprogramming was required to generate a number of proinflammatory mediators, including IL-1β, and was dependent on mTOR and hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)1α. Inhibition of glycolysis, or genetic depletion of HIF1α, attenuated IgG IC-induced activation of macrophages in vitro, including primary human kidney macrophages. In vivo, glycolysis inhibition led to a reduction in kidney macrophage IL-1β and reduced neutrophil recruitment in a murine model of antibody-mediated nephritis. Together, our data reveal the molecular mechanisms underpinning FcγR-mediated metabolic reprogramming in macrophages and suggest a therapeutic strategy for autoantibody-induced inflammation, including lupus nephritis.
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BFBNIB, NMLJ, NUK, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Objective
Autoreactive IgE antibodies have been implicated in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We hypothesize that omalizumab, a monoclonal antibody binding IgE, may improve ...SLE activity by reducing type I interferon (IFN) production by hampering plasmacytoid dendritic cells and basophil activation. This study was undertaken to assess the safety, tolerability, and clinical efficacy of omalizumab in mild to moderate SLE.
Methods
Sixteen subjects with SLE and a Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index 2000 (SLEDAI‐2K) score of ≥4 and elevated autoreactive IgE antibody levels were randomized to receive omalizumab or placebo (2:1) for 16 weeks, followed by 16 weeks of open‐label treatment and a 4‐week washout period. The SLEDAI‐2K score, British Isles Lupus Assessment Group index (BILAG 2004) score, and physician's global assessment of disease activity were recorded at each visit. The type I IFN–induced gene signature was determined using quantitative polymerase chain reaction.
Results
Omalizumab was well tolerated with no allergic reactions, and mostly mild adverse events comparable to those experienced with placebo treatment. SLEDAI‐2K scores improved in the omalizumab group compared to the placebo group at week 16 (P = 0.038), as well as during the open‐label phase in subjects initially receiving placebo (P = 0.02). No worsening in BILAG scores or the physician's global assessment was detected. There was a trend toward a reduction in IFN gene signature in subjects treated with omalizumab (P = 0.11), especially in subjects with a high baseline IFN signature (P = 0.052).
Conclusion
Our findings indicate that omalizumab is well tolerated in SLE and is associated with improvement in disease activity. Larger randomized clinical trials will be needed to assess the efficacy of omalizumab in patients with SLE.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
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