Background The genetic determinants of the human innate immune response are poorly understood. Apolipoprotein (apo)E, a lipid-trafficking protein that impacts inflammation, has well-described ‘wild type’ (ε3) and disease-associated (ε2, ε4) alleles, but its connection to human innate immunity is undefined. Objective To define the relationship of APOε4 to the human innate immune response. Methods We evaluated APOε4 in several functional models of the human innate immune response including intravenous lipopolysaccharide challenge in human subjects, and assessed APOε4 association to organ injury in human severe sepsis, a disease driven by dysregulated innate immunity. Results Whole blood from healthy APOε3/APOε4 volunteers induced higher cytokines upon ex vivo stimulation with Toll like Receptor (TLR)2, TLR4, or TLR5 ligands than blood from APOε3/APOε3 subjects, whereas TLR7/8 responses were similar. This was associated with increased lipid rafts in APOε3/APOε4 monocytes. By contrast, APOε3/APOε3 and APOε3/APOε4 serum neutralized lipopolysaccharide equivalently and supported similar lipopolysaccharide responses in Apoe-deficient macrophages, arguing against a differential role for secretory APOE4 protein. After intravenous lipopolysaccharide, APOε3/APOε4 human subjects had higher hyperthermia and plasma TNFα and earlier plasma IL-6 than APOε3/APOε3 subjects. APOE4-targeted replacement mice displayed enhanced hypothermia, plasma cytokines, and hepatic injury, and altered splenic lymphocyte apoptosis after systemic lipopolysaccharide compared with APOE3 counterparts. In a cohort of 828 severe sepsis patients, APOε4 was associated with increased coagulation system failure among European American subjects. Conclusions APOε4 is a determinant of the human innate immune response to multiple TLR ligands, and associates with altered patterns of organ injury in human sepsis.

Background-Sensitization to house dust mite allergens is strongly correlated with asthma. Der p 7 elicits strong IgE antibody and T-cell responses in mite allergic patients. However, the structure and biological function of this important allergen are unknown. Allergen function may contribute to allergenicity as shown for the protease activity of Group 1 mite allergens and the interaction with the innate immune system by Group 2 mite allergens.

S-Palmitoylation, the reversible post-translational acylation of specific cysteine residues with the fatty acid palmitate, promotes the membrane tethering and subcellular localization of proteins in several biological pathways. Although inhibiting palmitoylation holds promise as a means for manipulating protein targeting, advances in the field have been hampered by limited understanding of palmitoylation enzymology and consensus motifs. In order to define the complement of S-acylated proteins in the macrophage, we treated RAW 264.7 macrophage membranes with hydroxylamine to cleave acyl thioesters, followed by biotinylation of newly exposed sulfhydryls and streptavidin-agarose affinity chromatography. Among proteins identified by LC-MS/MS, S-acylation status was established by spectral counting to assess enrichment under hydroxylamine versus mock treatment conditions. Of 1183 proteins identified in four independent experiments, 80 proteins were significant for S-acylation at false discovery rate ‫؍‬ 0.05, and 101 significant at false discovery rate ‫؍‬ 0.10. Candidate S-acylproteins were identified from several functional categories, including membrane trafficking, signaling, transporters, and receptors. Among these were 29 proteins previously biochemically confirmed as palmitoylated, 45 previously reported as putative S-acylproteins in proteomic screens, 24 not previously associated with palmitoylation, and three presumed false-positives. Nearly half of the candidates were previously identified by us in macrophage detergent-resistant membranes, suggesting that palmitoylation promotes lipid raft-localization of proteins in the macrophage. Among the candidate novel S-acylproteins was phospholipid scramblase 3 (Plscr3), a protein that regulates apoptosis through remodeling the mitochondrial membrane. Palmitoylation of Plscr3 was confirmed through S-Palmitoylation is the post-translational modification of specific cysteine residues in proteins with the 16-carbon fatty acid palmitate, a process that promotes tethering of proteins to cellular membranes and thereby contributes to specifying protein subcellular localization. Unlike analogous lipid posttranslational modifications with myristate (i.e. myristoylation) and isoprenoids (i.e. prenylation), palmitoylation is enzymatically reversible, being driven by palmitoyl acyl transferases (PATs) 1 of the Asp-His-His-Cys (DHHC) family and reversed by palmitoyl-protein thioesterases (PPTs) (1, 2). Indeed, great interest has emerged in the potential for dynamic changes in palmitoylation to regulate cell biology. For example, ␤-adrenergic receptor activation accelerates depalmitoylation of receptor-associated G␣s, shifting G␣s to the cytoplasm (3), and glutamate receptor activation accelerates depalmitoylation of the postsynaptic scaffolding protein PSD-95, causing receptor endocytosis (4). On a broader scale, the fundamental significance of palmitoylation as an organizing principle in cell biology is suggested by the breadth of functional categories represented by confirmed ...

During viral infection, extracellular dsRNA is a potent signaling molecule that activates many innate immune cells including macrophages. TLR3 is a well-known receptor for extracellular dsRNA, and internalization of extracellular dsRNA is required for endosomal TLR3 activation. Preserved inflammatory responses of TLR3-deficient macrophages to extracellular dsRNA strongly support a TLR3-independent mechanism in dsRNA-mediated immune responses. The present study demonstrated that CD11b/CD18 (Mac-1), a surface integrin receptor, recognized extracellular dsRNA and induced macrophage immune responses. CD11b deficiency reduced inflammatory cytokine induction elicited by polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid (poly I:C, a synthetic dsRNA) in mouse sera and livers and in cultured peritoneal macrophages. DsRNA-binding assay and confocal immunofluorescence showed that Mac-1, especially the CD11b subunit, interacted and colocalized with poly I:C on the surface of macrophages. Further mechanistic studies revealed two distinct signaling events following dsRNA recognition by Mac-1. Firstly, Mac-1 facilitated poly I:C internalization through the activation of PI3K signaling and enhanced TLR3-dependent activation of interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF3) in macrophages. Secondly, poly I:C induced activation of phagocyte NADPH oxidase (NOX2) in a TLR3-independent, but Mac-1 dependent manner. Subsequently, NOX2-derived intracellular reactive oxygen species activated MAPK and NFκB pathways. Our results indicate that extracellular dsRNA activates Mac-1 to enhance TLR3-dependent signaling and to trigger TLR3-independent, but Mac-1-dependent inflammatory oxidative signaling, identifying a novel mechanistic basis for macrophages to recognize extracellular dsRNA to regulate innate immune responses. This study identifies Mac-1 as a novel surface receptor for extracellular dsRNA and implicates Mac-1 as a potential therapeutic target for virus-related inflammatory diseases.