IL-17 primes airway epithelial cells lacking functional Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane conductance Regulator (CFTR) to increase NOD1 responses

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Abstract

In Cystic Fibrosis (CF), the absence of functional Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane conductance Regulator (CFTR) translates into chronic bacterial infection, excessive inflammation, tissue damage, impaired lung function and eventual death. Understanding the mechanisms underlying this vicious circle of inflammation is key to better therapies for CF. In this manuscript, we have found that the presence of IL-17 in the airways of CF patients not only exacerbates inflammation through the recruitment of neutrophils via secretion of CXCL8, but also by priming airway epithelial cells lacking functional CFTR to increase response to the bacterial sensor NOD1. IL-17 stimulation of airway epithelial cells (AECs) lacking functional CFTR increased the expression of NOD1, NOD2, TLR4 and its own receptors IL-17RA and IL-17RC. Moreover, prior stimulation of AECs expressing the CFTRΔF508 mutant with IL-17 showed much greater CXCL8 secretion in response to a NOD1 agonist and Pseudomonas aeruginosa diffusible material. Taken together our results show that IL-17 primes AECs expressing CFTRΔF508 to increase host defence response to bacteria through the up-regulation of PRRs, and in particular of NOD1, and identifies another mechanism of action through which the CFTRΔF508 mutation leads to increase inflammation in response to bacterial ligands. Therefore preventing IL-17 function in CF may prove an important strategy in decreasing lung inflammation due to both direct and indirect effects.

Section snippets

Background

Cystic Fibrosis is one of the most common fatal genetic diseases affecting Caucasians of European decent. It is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by mutations of the CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR). Defective CFTR function in the airway epithelium is responsible for CF lung disease, the most life-threatening complication of CF, characterized by mucus hypersecretion and neutrophil-dominated inflammation. Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) infections occur in 70% of individuals at an

Materials and methods

Materials. PD184352 was bought from USBiological (Swampscott, MA, USA). BIRB07896 was kindly provided by Professor Sir Philip Cohen (MRC PPU, University of Dundee, UK). Recombinant human IL-17A was purchased from Biovision (#4176-25; CA, USA). LPS from P. aeruginosa and C12-ie-DAP were bought from Invivogen (CA, USA). The diffusible PA material was prepared as previously reported [13]. Briefly, filtrates of late stationary phase PA (mucoid strain 508) were used. PA 508 is a stable mucoid

IL-17 up-regulates NOD1, NOD2, IL-17RA, IL-17RC and TLR4 expression in AECs lacking functional CFTR expression

In order to have a better understanding of the role of IL-17 in cystic fibrosis, we stimulated AECs expressing wild-type (NuLi) and ΔF508 (CuFi) CFTR with IL-17A and measured changes in gene expression. As previously reported [8], IL-17 up-regulated CXCL8 mRNA as determined by real-time PCR in a p38 MAPK and ERK1/ERK2-dependent manner (Fig. 1A). Although the effects of IL-17 on chemokine and cytokine gene expression have been studied, much less is known about its potential effects on the

Conclusion

In this manuscript we have discovered an unexpected function of IL-17 in the CF lungs, which is to prime AECs expressing CFTRΔF508 to increase host defence response to bacteria, like the well known CF pathogen P. aeruginosa, through the up-regulation of PRR and in particular of NOD1. Therefore preventing IL-17 function in CF may prove an important strategy in decreasing lung inflammation due to both direct and indirect effects. An important question that remains is how the presence of the

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Sir Philip Cohen (MRC PPU, University of Dundee, UK) for the kind gift of BIRB0796. The authors declare no conflict of interest. We acknowledge the financial support of the Department of Medicine, McGill University and the McGill University Health Centre Research Institute (MUHC-RI) and the Canadian Foundation for Innovation-leaders opportunities funds. The Meakins-Christie Laboratories – MUHC-RI, are supported by a Centre grant from Les Fonds de la Recherche en Santé du

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