Innate immune repsonses to TREM-1 activation

TREM-1 is an orphan immunoreceptor expressed on monocytes, macrophages, and neutrophils. TREM-1 associates with and signals via the adapter protein DAP12/TYROBP, which contains an immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif (ITAM). TREM-1 activation by receptor cross-linking is pro-inflammatory, and can amplify cellular responses to Toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands such as bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS). To investigate the cellular consequences of TREM-1 activation, we have characterized global gene expression changes in human monocytes in response to TREM-1 cross-linking in comparison to and combined with LPS. Both TREM-1 activation and LPS up-regulate chemokines, cytokines, matrix metalloproteases, and PTGS/COX2, consistent with a core inflammatory response. However, other immunomodulatory factors are selectively induced, including SPP1 and CSF1 (i.e., M-CSF) by TREM-1 activation and IL-23 and CSF3 (i.e., G-CSF) by LPS. Additionally, cross-talk between TREM-1 activation and LPS occurs on multiple levels. While synergy in GM-CSF protein production is reflected in commensurate mRNA abundance, comparable synergy in IL-1b protein production is not. TREM-1 activation also attenuates the induction of some LPS target genes, including those that encode IL-12 cytokine family subunits. Whereas positive TREM-1 outputs are abolished by the PI3K inhibitor wortmannin, this attenuation is largely PI3K-independent. These experiments provide a detailed analysis of the cellular consequences of TREM-1 activation, and highlight some of the complexity in signal integration between ITAM- and TLR-mediated signaling.

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Dower K, Ellis DK, Saraf K, Jelinsky SA, Lin LL