Anthrax lethal toxin (LeTx) is a virulence factor secreted byBacillus anthracis and has direct cytotoxic effects on most cells once released into the cytoplasm. The cytoplasmic delivery of the proteolytically active component of LeTx, lethal factor (LF), is carried out by the transporter component, protective antigen, which interacts with either of two known surface receptors known as anthrax toxin receptor (ANTXR) 1 and 2. We found that the cytoplasmic delivery of LF by ANTXR2 was mediated by cathepsin B (CTSB) and required lysosomal fusion with LeTxcontaining endosomes. Also, binding of protective antigen to ANXTR1 or -2 triggered autophagy, which facilitated the cytoplasmic delivery of ANTXR2-associated LF. We found that whereas cells treated with the membrane-permeable CTSB inhibitor CA074-Me-or CTSB-deficient cells had no defect in fusion of LC3-containing autophagic vacuoles with lysosomes, autophagic flux was significantly delayed. These results suggested that the ANTXR2-mediated cytoplasmic delivery of LF was enhanced by CTSB-dependent autophagic flux. Anthrax lethal toxin (LeTx)2 and edema toxin are two key virulence factors secreted by Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax (1, 2). LeTx and edema toxin are composed of lethal factor (LF) or edema factor (EF), respectively, and protective antigen (PA), which functions as a cytoplasmic transporter of LF or EF. These toxins are main contributors to the clinical manifestations of anthrax and are cytotoxic to host cells once delivered into the cytoplasm. EF is an adenylate cyclase that raises cAMP levels in cells (3). LF is a metalloproteinase that targets the N-terminal end of the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 1-7 (MEK1-7) (except MEK5) (4 -6) and in certain mouse cells induces pyronecrosis by activating NACHTleucine-rich repeat and pyrin domain-containing protein 1b (NALP1b) (7).Incorporation of LF or EF into the cytoplasm is initiated by the binding of PA to the host cell surface through interacting with either of two known receptors: anthrax receptor 1 (ANTXR1, also known as the tumor endothelial marker 8) (8) and ANTXR2 (also known as the capillary morphogenesis gene-2) (9). Both ANTXR1 and -2 are widely distributed in human tissues and share molecular and biochemical similarities in their extracellular PA interacting domains known as von Willebrand factor A or integrin-like inserted (I) domain (10), post-translational modifications such as palmitoylation and ubiquitination of cytoplasmic domains (11), and associations with the co-receptor lipoprotein receptor-related 6 molecule (12, 13). ANTXR1 and -2 are also distinct in that ANTXR1 is highly expressed in tumor endothelial and cancer cells, and ANTXR2 has a higher binding affinity to PA and requires a lower pH to form a transmembrane pore than ANTXR1 (10,14).After binding PA to either ANTXR, a furin-like surface protease then cleaves PA at the N-terminal end to release a 20-kDa soluble fragment, yielding membrane-associated 63-kDa PA (PA 63 ) that forms a ring-shape heptameric ...

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Anthrax lethal toxin (LeTx) is a virulence factor causing immune suppression and toxic shock of Bacillus anthracis infected host. It inhibits cytokine production and cell proliferation/differentiation in various immune cells. This study showed that a brief exposure of LeTx caused a continual MEK1 cleavage and prevented tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF) production in response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in non-proliferating cells such as human peripheral blood mononuclear cells or mouse primary peritoneal macrophages. In human monocytic cell lines U-937 and THP-1, LeTx induced cell cycle arrest in G0-G1 phase by rapid down-regulation of cyclin D1/D2 and checkpoint kinase 1 through MEK1 inhibition. However, THP-1 cells adaptively adjusted to LeTx and overrode cell cycle arrest by activating the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt signaling pathway. Inhibitory Ser-9 phosphorylation of glycogen synthase kinase 3beta (GSK3beta) by Akt prevented proteasome-mediated cyclin D1 degradation and induced cell cycle progress in LeTx-intoxicated THP-1 cells. Recovery from cell cycle arrest was required before recovering from on-going MEK1 cleavage and suppression of TNF production. Furthermore, pretreatment with LeTx or the GSK3-specific inhibitor SB-216763, or transfection with dominant active mutant Akt or degradation-defected mutant cyclin D1 protected cells from LeTx-induced cell cycle arrest, on-going MEK1 cleavage and suppression of TNF production. These results indicate that modulation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt/GSK3beta signaling cascades can be beneficial for protecting or facilitating recovery from cellular LeTx intoxication in cells that depend on basal MEK1 activity for proliferation.

To date, the cellular mechanisms of pyroptosis and TIR are largely unknown. We found that LeTx caused NLRP1b/caspase-1-dependent mitochondrial dysfunction, including hyperpolarization and generation of reactive oxygen species, which was distinct from that induced by stimuli such as NLRP3-activating ATP. In TIR cells, these mitochondrial events were not detected, although caspase-1 was activated, in response to LeTx. We identified that downregulation of the late endosomal cholesterol-transferring protein MLN64 in TIR cells was involved in TIR. The downregulation of MLN64 in TIR cells was at least in part due to DNA methyltransferase 1-mediated DNA methylation. In wild-type RAW264.7 cells and primary bone marrow-derived macrophages, LeTx caused NLRP1b/caspase-1-dependent mitochondrial translocation of MLN64, resulting in cholesterol enrichment, membrane hyperpolarization, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, and depletion of free glutathione (GSH). This study demonstrates for the first time that MLN64 plays a key role in LeTx/ caspase-1-induced mitochondrial dysfunction.

Macrophages pre-exposed to a sublethal dose of anthrax lethal toxin (LeTx) are refractory to subsequent high cytolytic doses of LeTx, termed toxin-induced resistance (TIR). A small population of TIR cells (2–4%) retains TIR characteristics for up to 5–6 wk. Through studying these long-term TIR cells, we found that a high level of histone deacetylase (HDAC)8 expression was crucial for TIR. Knocking down or inhibition of HDAC8 by small interfering RNAs or the HDAC8-specific inhibitor PCI-34051, respectively, induced expression of the mitochondrial death genes Bcl2 adenovirus E1B 19 kDa–interacting protein 3 (BNIP3), BNIP3-like and metastatic lymph node 64, and resensitized TIR cells to LeTx. Among multiple histone acetylations, histone H3 lysine 27 (H3K27) acetylation was most significantly decreased in TIR cells in an HDAC8-dependent manner, and the association of H3K27 acetylation with the genomic regions of BNIP3 and metastatic lymph node 64, where HDAC8 was recruited to, was diminished in TIR cells. Furthermore, overexpression of HDAC8 or knocking down the histone acetyltransferase CREB-binding protein/p300, known to target H3K27, rendered wild-type cells resistant to LeTx. As in RAW264.7 cells, primary bone marrow–derived macrophages exposed to a sublethal dose of LeTx were resistant to LeTx in an HDAC8-dependent manner. Collectively, this study demonstrates that epigenetic reprogramming mediated by HDAC8 plays a key role in determining the susceptibility of LeTx-induced pyroptosis in macrophages.