ca-074-methyl-ester and Inflammation

NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) is a cytoplasmic pattern recognition receptor that regulates innate immune responses by forming a protein complex, the inflammasome. It leads to production of proinflammatory cytokine productions such as interleukin 1β (IL-1β). We and others demonstrated that an induction of activated NLRP3 also induced cell death. However, little is known about the characteristics and mechanisms of the cell death and its involvement in the pathogenesis of inflammatory conditions. In this study, we established cell lines in which NLRP3 was induced by doxycycline using a tetracycline-inducible expression (Tet-on) system. Using this system, the expression of NLRP3 mutants in cryopyrin-associated periodic syndrome (CAPS) patients was sufficient for the induction of necrotic cell death without lipopolysaccharide stimulation or generation of mature IL-1β. We also found that CA074-Me, a cathepsin B inhibitor, blocked cell death before oligomerization of apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a CARD (ASC), whereas Z-VAD-fmk, a pan-caspase inhibitor, blocked the cell death after the oligomerization. Silencing of the ASC gene (Pycard) by small hairpin RNA treatment inhibited the NLRP3 mutant-induced cell death, but silencing of the caspase-1 gene (Casp1) did not. Taken together, these results indicated that ASC was indispensable for NLRP3-mediated programmed necrotic cell death, and that this type of cell death was distinct from 'pyroptosis', which requires caspase-1. Finally, we demonstrated in an in vivo model that the programmed necrotic cell death induced by activated NLRP3 could cause neutrophil infiltration, indicating a possible role of cell death in neutrophil infiltration of skin lesions in CAPS patients.

Topics: Amino Acid Chloromethyl Ketones; Animals; Apoptosis; Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins; CARD Signaling Adaptor Proteins; Carrier Proteins; Caspase 1; Caspase Inhibitors; Cytoskeletal Proteins; Dipeptides; Doxycycline; Humans; Inflammation; Interleukin-1beta; Mice; Necrosis; Neutrophils; NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein; RNA Interference; RNA, Small Interfering

Polymyositis (PM) cause pain and weakness of muscle, even threatens patient's lives, but the etiology and pathogenesis of it remains partially understood. Previous studies have proved Cathepsin B (CB) was strongly stained in muscle tissues of PM patients. But no further studies were performed to investigate the role of CB in PM.. To investigate the protective effects of CB inhibitor CA-074Me in PM.. CB expression, inflammation and apoptosis were analyzed in muscle tissues from patients with PM. Guinea pigs were inoculated intraperitoneally with Coxsackie virus B1 (CVB1) and were then immunized with completely emulsified 0.6ml rabbit muscle homogenates in Freund's Complete Adjuvant (FCA) once a week for consecutive three weeks. The effects of CB inhibitor CA-074Me on CB expression, inflammation and apoptosis were then investigated. Inflammation was assessed by histological examination. Both immunohistochemistry and western blot were used to determine the protein expression. The mRNA levels of CB were measured by Real-Time RT-PCR. The apoptosis was determined by TUNEL assay.. In patients with PM, the protein levels of CB were significantly up-regulated in muscle tissues compared with healthy controls, which correlated with increases in inflammation score and apoptotic rate in PM patients. Consistently, the expression of CB, inflammation score, CD8(+) T-cell, CD68(+) cell, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) infiltration and apoptotic rate were significantly increased in the guinea-pig model of CVB1-induced polymyositis. Administration of CA-074Me reduced CB expression, decreased inflammation score and attenuated apoptosis in muscle tissues of the guinea-pig model of CVB1-induced polymyositis. The inhibitory effect of CA-074Me on apoptosis was associated with down-regulation of Bax expression and consequent increase in the ratio of Bcl-2/Bax. However, CA-074Me had effect not on CD8(+) T-cells infiltrations but on CD68(+) cells and TNF-α(+) cells infiltrations in the guinea-pig model of CVB1-induced polymyositis.. This study confirms up-regulation of CB in PM patients and demonstrates that inhibition of CB provides protective effects in a guinea pig model of CVB1-induced PM. Thus, CB will be an important therapeutic target for PM.

Topics: Adult; Aged; Animals; Antigens, CD; Antigens, Differentiation, Myelomonocytic; Apoptosis; Cathepsin B; Dipeptides; Disease Models, Animal; Female; Guinea Pigs; Humans; Inflammation; Macrophages; Male; Middle Aged; Muscles; Polymyositis; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

Interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-18 play critical roles in the induction of chronic pain hypersensitivity. Their inactive forms are activated by caspase-1. However, little is known about the mechanism underlying the activation of pro-caspase-1. There is increasing evidence that cathepsin B (CatB), a typical lysosomal cysteine protease, is involved in the pro-caspase-1 activation and the subsequent maturation of IL-1β and IL-18. In this context, CatB is considered to be an important molecular target to control chronic pain. However, no information is currently available about the role of CatB in chronic pain hypersensitivity. We herein show that CatB deficiency or the intrathecal administration of CA-074Me, a specific CatB inhibitor, significantly inhibited the induction of complete Freund's adjuvant-induced tactile allodynia in mice without affecting peripheral inflammation. In contrast, CatB deficiency did not affect the nerve injury-induced tactile allodynia. Furthermore, CatB deficiency or CA-074Me treatment significantly inhibited the maturation and secretion of IL-1β and IL-18 by cultured microglia following treatment with the neuroactive glycoprotein chromogranin A (CGA), but not with ATP. Moreover, the IL-1β expression in spinal microglia and the induction of tactile allodynia following the intrathecal administration of CGA depended on CatB, whereas those induced by the intrathecal administration of ATP or lysophosphatidic acid were CatB independent. These results strongly suggest that CatB is an essential enzyme for the induction of chronic inflammatory pain through its activation of pro-caspase-1, which subsequently induces the maturation and secretion of IL-1β and IL-18 by spinal microglia. Therefore, CatB-specific inhibitors may represent a useful new strategy for treating inflammation-associated pain.

Topics: Adenosine Triphosphate; Amino Acid Chloromethyl Ketones; Analysis of Variance; Animals; Calcium-Binding Proteins; Carrier Proteins; Cathepsin B; CD11b Antigen; CD4 Antigens; Cells, Cultured; Chromogranin A; Chronic Pain; Cyclooxygenase 2; Dipeptides; Disease Models, Animal; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Enzyme Inhibitors; Freund's Adjuvant; Functional Laterality; Ganglia, Spinal; Gene Expression Regulation; Hyperalgesia; Inflammation; Interleukin-18; Interleukin-1beta; Lysophospholipids; Lysosomes; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mice, Knockout; Microfilament Proteins; Microglia; Motor Activity; Nerve Tissue Proteins; NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein; Pain Threshold; RNA, Small Interfering; Spinal Cord; Transfection

Mutations in the cold-induced autoinflammatory syndrome 1 (CIAS1) gene are associated with a spectrum of autoinflammatory diseases, including familial cold autoinflammatory syndrome, Muckle-Wells syndrome, and chronic infantile neurologic, cutaneous, articular syndrome, also known as neonatal-onset multisystem inflammatory disease. CIAS1 encodes cryopyrin, a protein that localizes to the cytosol and functions as pattern recognition receptor. Cryopyrin also participates in nuclear factor-kappaB regulation and caspase-1-mediated maturation of interleukin 10. In this study, we showed that disease-associated mutations in CIAS1 induced rapid cell death of THP-1 monocytic cells. The features of cell death, including 7-AAD staining, the presence of cellular edema, and early membrane damage resulting in lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, indicated that it was more likely to be necrosis than apoptosis, and was effectively blocked with the cathepsin B-specific inhibitor CA-074-Me. CA-074-Me also suppressed induced by disease-associated mutation lysosomal leakage and mitochondrial damage. In addition, R837, a recently identified activator of cryopyrin-associated inflammasomes, induced cell death in wild type CIAS1-transfected THP-1 cells. These results indicated that monocytes undergo rapid cell death in a cathepsin B-dependent manner upon activation of cryopyrin, which is also a specific phenomenon induced by disease-associated mutation of CIAS1.

Topics: Amino Acid Substitution; Aminoquinolines; Carrier Proteins; Cathepsin B; Cell Death; Cell Line; Dipeptides; Humans; Imiquimod; Inflammation; Lysosomes; Mitochondria; Models, Biological; Monocytes; Mutagenesis, Site-Directed; Mutation; Necrosis; NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein; Recombinant Proteins; Transfection