Rickettsia rickettsii infection of cultured human endothelial cells induces NF-kappaB activation.

AUTOR(ES)

Sporn, L A

RESUMO

Rickettsia rickettsii, the etiologic agent of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, is an obligate intracellular bacterial organism that infects primarily the vascular endothelial cells (EC). A component of the EC response to infection is transcriptional activation, which may contribute to the thrombotic and inflammatory consequences of disease. In this study, we explore R. rickettsii-induced activation of the nuclear factor-kappaB/Rel (NF-kappaB) family of transcription factors involved in early transcriptional responses to injurious stimuli. Two NF-kappaB species were activated by infection and reacted with a double-stranded oligonucleotide probe corresponding to the kappaB binding domain of the murine kappa light-chain gene enhancer. Gel supershift analysis demonstrated the reactivity of these complexes with antibodies against p65 and p50, and the induced species were tentatively identified as p50-p50 homodimers and p50-p65 heterodimers. Semiquantitative reverse transcription-PCR analysis revealed dramatic increases in the steady-state levels of mRNA coding for the inhibitory subunit of NF-kappaB (IkappaB alpha), transcription of which is enhanced by the binding of NF-kappaB within the IkappaB alpha promoter region. NF-kappaB activation was first detected 1.5 h following infection and was biphasic, with an early peak of activation at approximately 3 h, a return to baseline levels at 14 h, and even higher levels of activation at 24 h. It is likely that NF-kappaB activation requires cellular uptake of R. rickettsii, since treatment of EC with cytochalasin B during infection to block entry inhibited activation by only 70% at 3 h. R. rickettsii-induced activation of NF-kappaB may be an important controlling factor in the transcriptional responses of EC to infection with this obligate intracellular organism.

Documentos Relacionados

• Bradykinin stimulates NF-kappaB activation and interleukin 1beta gene expression in cultured human fibroblasts.
• Rickettsia rickettsii Infection of Cultured Human Endothelial Cells Induces Heme Oxygenase 1 Expression
• rac1 regulates a cytokine-stimulated, redox-dependent pathway necessary for NF-kappaB activation.
• The role of NF-kappaB in the angiogenic response of coronary microvessel endothelial cells.
• Involvement of the transcription factor NF-kappaB in tubular morphogenesis of human microvascular endothelial cells by oxidative stress.