ST2 negatively regulates TLR2 signaling, but is not required for bacterial lipoprotein-induced tolerance

J Liu, JM Buckley, HP Redmond… - The Journal of …, 2010 - journals.aai.org
J Liu, JM Buckley, HP Redmond, JH Wang
The Journal of Immunology, 2010journals.aai.org
Activation of TLR signaling is critical for host innate immunity against bacterial infection.
Previous studies reported that the ST2 receptor, a member of the Toll/IL-1 receptor
superfamily, functions as a negative regulator of TLR4 signaling and maintains LPS
tolerance. However, it is undetermined whether ST2 negatively regulates TLR2 signaling
and furthermore, whether a TLR2 agonist, bacterial lipoprotein (BLP)-induced tolerance is
dependent on ST2. In this study, we show that BLP stimulation-induced production of …
Abstract
Activation of TLR signaling is critical for host innate immunity against bacterial infection. Previous studies reported that the ST2 receptor, a member of the Toll/IL-1 receptor superfamily, functions as a negative regulator of TLR4 signaling and maintains LPS tolerance. However, it is undetermined whether ST2 negatively regulates TLR2 signaling and furthermore, whether a TLR2 agonist, bacterial lipoprotein (BLP)-induced tolerance is dependent on ST2. In this study, we show that BLP stimulation-induced production of proinflammatory cytokines and immunocomplex formation of TLR2–MyD88 and MyD88–IL-1R–associated kinase (IRAK) were significantly enhanced in ST2-deficient macrophages compared with those in wild-type controls. Furthermore, overexpression of ST2 dose-dependently attenuated BLP-induced NF-κB activation, suggesting a negative regulatory role of ST2 in TLR2 signaling. A moderate but significantly attenuated production of TNF-α and IL-6 on a second BLP stimulation was observed in BLP-pretreated, ST2-deficient macrophages, which is associated with substantially reduced IRAK-1 protein expression and downregulated TLR2–MyD88 and MyD88–IRAK immunocomplex formation. ST2-deficient mice, when pretreated with a nonlethal dose of BLP, benefitted from an improved survival against a subsequent lethal BLP challenge, indicating BLP tolerance develops in the absence of the ST2 receptor. Taken together, our results demonstrate that ST2 acts as a negative regulator of TLR2 signaling, but is not required for BLP-induced tolerance.
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