Role of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase in posttraumatic immunosuppression in mice

Immunosuppressive network promotes immunosenescence associated with aging and chronic inflammatory conditions

The functional competence of the immune system gradually declines with aging, a process called immunosenescence. The age-related remodelling of the immune system affects both adaptive and innate immunity. In particular, a chronic low-grade inflammation, termed inflammaging, is associated with the aging process. Immunosenescence not only is present in inflammaging state, but it also occurs in several pathological conditions in conjunction with chronic inflammation. It is known that persistent inflammation stimulates a counteracting compensatory immunosuppression intended to protect host tissues. Inflammatory mediators enhance myelopoiesis and induce the generation of immature myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) which in mutual cooperation stimulates the immunosuppressive network. Immunosuppressive cells, especially MDSCs, regulatory T cells (Treg), and M2 macrophages produce immunosuppressive factors, e.g., TGF-β, IL-10, ROS, arginase-1 (ARG1), and indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), which suppress the functions of CD4/CD8T and B cells as well as macrophages, natural killer (NK) cells, and dendritic cells. The immunosuppressive armament (i) inhibits the development and proliferation of immune cells, (ii) decreases the cytotoxic activity of CD8T and NK cells, (iii) prevents antigen presentation and antibody production, and (iv) suppresses responsiveness to inflammatory mediators. These phenotypes are the hallmarks of immunosenescence. Immunosuppressive factors are able to control the chromatin landscape, and thus, it seems that the immunosenescence state is epigenetically regulated.

TREM-2 promotes macrophage-mediated eradication of Pseudomonas aeruginosa via a PI3K/Akt pathway

Triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (TREM-2) is a cell surface receptor abundantly expressed on myeloid lineage cells such as macrophages and dendritic cells. It is reported that TREM-2 functions as an inflammatory inhibitor in macrophages and dendritic cells. However, the role of TREM-2 in bacterial killing remains unclear. This study explored the role of TREM-2 in bacterial eradication of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA), a Gram-negative bacterium which causes various opportunistic infections. Phagocytosis assay assessed by flow cytometry suggested that TREM-2 was not involved in the uptake of PA by macrophages, while bacterial plate count data showed that TREM-2 was required for macrophage-mediated intracellular killing of PA. Moreover, our results demonstrated that TREM-2 promoted macrophage killing by enhancing reactive oxygen species (ROS), but not nitric oxygen (NO) production. Treatment with N-acetylcysteine, a ROS scavenger, diminished the TREM-2-mediated intracellular killing of PA. To further investigate the underlined mechanisms of TREM-2-promoted bacterial killing, we examined the activation of downstream mitogen-activated protein kinases and PI3K/Akt pathway. Western blot data showed that silencing of TREM-2 inhibited phosphorylation of Akt, but not ERK, JNK or P38. In addition, pretreatment with PI3K active product PIP3 DiC16 reversed the elevation of intracellular bacterial load in TREM-2-silenced macrophages, while PI3K inhibitor wortmannin restored the decline of bacterial load in TREM-2-overexpressed macrophages. These data together suggested that the TREM-2-mediated bacterial killing is dependent on the activation of PI3K/Akt signalling, which may provide a better understanding of the host antibacterial immune defence.