Non-apoptotic role of BID in inflammation and innate immunity

Innate immunity is a fundamental defence response that depends on evolutionarily conserved pattern recognition receptors for sensing infections or danger signals. Nucleotide-binding and oligomerization domain (NOD) proteins are cytosolic pattern-recognition receptors of paramount importance in the intestine, and their dysregulation is associated with inflammatory bowel disease. They sense peptidoglycans from commensal microorganisms and pathogens and coordinate signalling events that culminate in the induction of inflammation and anti-microbial responses. However, the signalling mechanisms involved in this process are not fully understood. Here, using genome-wide RNA interference, we identify candidate genes that modulate the NOD1 inflammatory response in intestinal epithelial cells. Our results reveal a significant crosstalk between innate immunity and apoptosis and identify BID, a BCL2 family protein, as a critical component of the inflammatory response. Colonocytes depleted of BID or macrophages from Bid(-/-) mice are markedly defective in cytokine production in response to NOD activation. Furthermore, Bid(-/-) mice are unresponsive to local or systemic exposure to NOD agonists or their protective effect in experimental colitis. Mechanistically, BID interacts with NOD1, NOD2 and the IκB kinase (IKK) complex, impacting NF-κB and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signalling. Our results define a novel role of BID in inflammation and immunity independent of its apoptotic function, furthering the mounting evidence of evolutionary conservation between the mechanisms of apoptosis and immunity.     

细胞自噬与肝病

细胞自噬是真核细胞在长期进化过程中形成的一种自我保护机制,它在清除细胞内蛋白质聚集体、维持细胞内稳态中发挥着重要的作用.近年来研究表明,细胞自噬与各种肝病的病理发生密切相关,本文简要综述该方面的研究进展.     

自噬与肿瘤EGFR抑制剂耐药的研究进展

表皮生长因子受体(epidermal growth factor receptor,EGFR)这种酪氨酸激酶受体在许多类型实体肿瘤的发生及生长过程中起着主要作用,因而针对性地应用EGFR抑制剂已被批准作为多种类型肿瘤的治疗方法.然而,先天性或获得性耐药问题限制了这类药物的疗效.自噬作为细胞内废弃物降解的一种方式,被认为与肿瘤EGFR抑制剂耐药相关. EGFR抑制剂能诱导自噬,然而该作用是双向的.自噬既能减弱EGFR抑制剂的细胞毒性作用而介导肿瘤耐药,也会在过度自噬的情况下促进细胞死亡而逆转肿瘤耐药.因此,调节自噬水平有可能为克服肿瘤患者EGFR抑制剂耐药提供更多思路.     

细胞自噬的调节机制与选择性降解

细胞自噬是一个多步骤的降解过程.当细胞自噬发生时,具有双层膜结构的自噬小体先把待降解的细胞内容物包裹起来,然后与溶酶体融合将内容物降解.细胞自噬起初仅被认为是对营养缺乏的适应性机制,是一个非选择性降解过程.近些年来不断深入的研究表明,细胞自噬同时还参与了抵抗炎症、肿瘤、神经退行性变及心脏病等重要生理过程.随着细胞自噬受体蛋白p62的发现,人们进一步认识到细胞自噬还是一个具有高度选择性的降解过程.本文综述了细胞自噬的调节机制及其对一些蛋白聚合体的选择性降解.     

Autophagy fights disease through cellular self-digestion

Autophagy, or cellular self-digestion, is a cellular pathway involved in protein and organelle degradation, with an astonishing number of connections to human disease and physiology. For example, autophagic dysfunction is associated with cancer, neurodegeneration, microbial infection and ageing. Paradoxically, although autophagy is primarily a protective process for the cell, it can also play a role in cell death. Understanding autophagy may ultimately allow scientists and clinicians to harness this process for the purpose of improving human health.     

激光共聚焦扫描显微镜观测自噬小体变化的应用

文章探讨激光共聚焦扫描显微镜技术在检测低氧诱导小鼠心肌细胞损伤自噬小体变化的应用价值.在无菌条件下,取胚胎型小鼠心肌细胞备用.采用低氧环境+缺氧液方法诱导心肌细胞损伤并发生自噬现象作为实验组,正常环境下培养细胞的方法作为对照组.待心肌细胞长到一定程度后,分别利用激光共聚焦扫描显微镜和正置荧光显微镜对免疫荧光染色的自噬小体表达的LC3A/B蛋白情况进行观测并比较2种检测方法的优缺点.结果显示利用低氧环境+缺氧液方法诱导小鼠心肌细胞损伤并自噬小体形成是可行的.与正常对照组比较,低氧缺氧诱导小鼠心肌细胞损伤组(实验组)自噬小体呈高表达状态.与普通型正置荧光显微镜比较,激光共聚焦扫描显微镜成像速度快,一次可以获得多副图像且图像清晰.激光共聚焦扫描显微镜技术具有成像速度快、灵敏度高和精确度高等优点,可以实时、准确观测低氧诱导小鼠心肌细胞损失自噬小体的表达情况,具有重要临床应用价值.     

自噬检测质粒pLVX-mRFP-EGFP-LC3的构建和表达鉴定

细胞自噬的机体重要的一种代谢过程,为了更好地研究不同条件下细胞自噬的水平,构建自噬检测质粒pLVX-mRFP-EGFP-LC3。使用Trizol法提取Hela细胞总RNA,PCR技术特异性扩增LC3基因,将目的片段插入pEGFP-N3载体中。再将mRFP片段插入到EGFP-LC3质粒中,利用PCR技术扩增带有不同酶切位点的mRFP-EGFP-LC3片段,插入到慢病毒载体pLVX-puro中。通过Fugene~?6将质粒瞬时转染到293T细胞中,使用荧光显微镜检测荧光蛋白的表达,使用Western blotting检测目的基因的表达。结果显示成功构建自噬检测质粒pLVX-mRFP-EGFP-LC3,荧光显微镜下可见红色和绿色荧光,Western blotting方法检测到LC3的表达。     

Linking innate and adaptive immunity

The evolution of mechanisms to fight pathogens in plants and animals is reflected in the complexity of the components of their so-called immune systems. Higher vertebrates have evolved     

Autophagy in thymic epithelium shapes the T-cell repertoire and is essential for tolerance

Recognition of self-antigen-derived epitopes presented by major histocompatibility complex class II (MHC II) molecules on thymic epithelial cells (TECs) is critical for the generation of a functional and self-tolerant CD4 T-cell repertoire. Whereas haematopoietic antigen-presenting cells generate MHC-II-peptide complexes predominantly through the processing of endocytosed polypeptides, it remains unknown if and how TECs use unconventional pathways of antigen presentation. Here we address the role of macroautophagy, a process that has recently been shown to allow for endogenous MHC II loading, in T-cell repertoire selection in the mouse thymus. In contrast to most other tissues, TECs had a high constitutive level of autophagy. Genetic interference with autophagy specifically in TECs led to altered selection of certain MHC-II-restricted T-cell specificities and resulted in severe colitis and multi-organ inflammation. Our findings indicate that autophagy focuses the MHC-II-peptide repertoire of TECs on their intracellular milieu, which notably comprises a wide array of otherwise strictly 'tissue-specific' self antigens. In doing so, it contributes to T-cell selection and is essential for the generation of a self-tolerant T-cell repertoire.     

Cancer-related inflammation

The mediators and cellular effectors of inflammation are important constituents of the local environment of tumours. In some types of cancer, inflammatory conditions are present before a malignant change occurs. Conversely, in other types of cancer, an oncogenic change induces an inflammatory microenvironment that promotes the development of tumours. Regardless of its origin, 'smouldering' inflammation in the tumour microenvironment has many tumour-promoting effects. It aids in the proliferation and survival of malignant cells, promotes angiogenesis and metastasis, subverts adaptive immune responses, and alters responses to hormones and chemotherapeutic agents. The molecular pathways of this cancer-related inflammation are now being unravelled, resulting in the identification of new target molecules that could lead to improved diagnosis and treatment.     

Points of control in inflammation

Inflammation is a complex set of interactions among soluble factors and cells that can arise in any tissue in response to traumatic, infectious, post-ischaemic, toxic or autoimmune injury. The process normally leads to recovery from infection and to healing, However, if targeted destruction and assisted repair are not properly phased, inflammation can lead to persistent tissue damage by leukocytes, lymphocytes or collagen. Inflammation may be considered in terms of its checkpoints, where binary or higher-order signals drive each commitment to escalate, go signals trigger stop signals, and molecules responsible for mediating the inflammatory response also suppress it, depending on timing and context. The non-inflammatory state does not arise passively from an absence of inflammatory stimuli; rather, maintenance of health requires the positive actions of specific gene products to suppress reactions to potentially inflammatory stimuli that do not warrant a full response.     

Autophagy as new emerging cellular effect of nanomaterials

The biosafety issue of nanoscale materials is getting more and more attention with their increasing manufacture and application.In the research of cellular effects and underlying mechanisms related to toxicity of nanomaterials,most emphasis were placed on processes such as apoptosis,metabolic inhibition and oxidative stress.Recent evidence suggests that autophagy is part of the biological effects by nanomaterials and various kinds of nanomaterials are capable of disturbing the autophagic process.This review will highlight the importance of autophagy as an emerging mechanism of nanomaterial toxicity and the implication in the therapy of autophagy-related diseases.We summarize current research status of interaction between nanomaterials and autophagic pathways.It is of note that nanomaterials can either induce or block autophagy,which result in similar phenotype but completely different biological consequence.It is therefore important to perform comprehensive analysis of the whole autophagic flux in the future research.