Sequestosome1/A170/p62 (SQSTM1) is a scaffold multifunctional protein involved in several cellular events, such as signal transduction, cell survival, cell death, and inflammation. SQSTM1 expression by macrophages is induced in response to environmental stresses; however, its role in macrophage-mediated host responses to environmental stimuli, such as infectious pathogens, remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the role of SQSTM1 in host responses to Legionella pneumophila, an intracellular pathogen that infects macrophages, in both an SQSTM1-deficient (SQSTM1 −/− ) mouse model and macrophages from these mice. Compared with wild-type (WT) macrophages, the production and secretion of the proinflammatory cytokine IL-1β was significantly enhanced in SQSTM1 −/− macrophages after infection with L. pneumophila. Inflammasome activity, indicated by the level of IL-18 and caspase-1 activity, was also elevated in SQSTM1 −/− macrophages after infection with L. pneumophila. SQSTM1 may interact with nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor family, caspase recruitment domain-containing 4 and nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain like receptor family, pyrin domain containing 3 proteins to inhibit their self-dimerization. Acute pulmonary inflammation induced by L. pneumophila and silica was enhanced in SQSTM1 −/− mice with an increase in IL-1β levels in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluids. These findings suggest that SQSTM1 is a negative regulator of acute pulmonary inflammation, possibly by regulating inflammasome activity and subsequent proinflammatory cytokine production.
Keywords:Inflammasome r Legionella r Macrophages r Pneumonia r Sequestosome1Additional supporting information may be found in the online version of this article at the publisher's web-site Sequestosome1/A170/p62 (SQSTM1) is an intracellular protein initially identified as a phosphotyrosine-independent ligand of the Src homology 2 domain of p56lck [6]. Mouse A170, homologous to human SQSTM1, was first identified in macrophages as a stress-inducible intracellular protein [7]. Currently, SQSTM1 is thought to be a multifunctional protein that forms part of a hub for various signal transduction pathways involved in cell survival, cell death, and response to environmental stimuli, through associating with a large number of proteins [8].Studies using genetically modified mice have shown that SQSTM1 plays critical roles in the pathogenesis of numerous diseases, including bone remodeling, obesity, and cancer [9][10][11]. However, the contribution of SQSTM1 to host responses against infectious pathogens remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the role of SQSTM1 in the host responses to L. pneumophila using a SQSTM1-deficient (SQSTM1 −/− ) mouse model and SQSTM1 −/− macrophages.
Results and discussion
IL-1β secretion is enhanced in SQSTM1 −/− macrophages after Legionella infectionBecause macrophages are the main target cells for L. pneumophila, we first examined the responses to L. pneumophila in macrophages obtained from WT and SQSTM...