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    Proteinase-activated receptor-2 agonist activates anti-influenza mechanisms and modulates IFNγ induced antiviral pathways in human neutrophils
    (London : Hindawi, 2013) Feld, Micha; Shpacovitch, Victoria; Ehrhardt, Christina; Fastrich, Michaela; Goerge, Tobias; Ludwig, Stephan; Steinhoff, Martin
    Proteinase-activated receptor-2 (PAR2) is expressed by human leukocytes and participates in the development of inflammatory diseases. Recent studies demonstrated an ability of PAR2 agonist to enhance IFNγ-induced antiviral responses of human leukocytes. However, the precise cellular antiviral defense mechanisms triggered in leukocytes after stimulation with IFNγ and/or PAR2 agonist remain elusive. Therefore, we aimed to identify neutrophil defense mechanisms involved in antiviral resistance. Here we demonstrated that PAR2 agonist enhanced IFNγ-related reduction of influenza A virus (IAV) replication in human neutrophils. PAR2-mediated decrease in IAV replication was associated with reduced NS-1 transcription. Moreover, PAR2-dependent neutrophil activation resulted in enhanced myeloperoxidase degranulation and extracellular myeloperoxidase disrupted IAV. The production of ROS was elevated in response to PAR2 activation. Interestingly, IFNγ did not influence both effects: PAR2 agonist-triggered myeloperoxidase (MPO) release and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, which are known to limit IAV infections. In contrast, orthomyxovirus resistance gene A (MxA) protein expression was synergistically elevated through PAR2 agonist and IFNγ in neutrophils. Altogether, these findings emphasize two PAR2-controlled antiviral mechanisms that are independent of or modulated by IFNγ.
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    Cytomegalovirus downregulates IRE1 to repress the unfolded protein response
    (San Francisco, CA : Public Library of Science, 2013) Stahl, Sebastian; Burkhart, Julia M.; Hinte, Florian; Tirosh, Boaz; Mohr, Hermine; Zahedi, René P.; Sickmann, Albert; Ruzsics, Zsolt; Budt, Matthias; Brune, Wolfram
    During viral infection, a massive demand for viral glycoproteins can overwhelm the capacity of the protein folding and quality control machinery, leading to an accumulation of unfolded proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). To restore ER homeostasis, cells initiate the unfolded protein response (UPR) by activating three ER-to-nucleus signaling pathways, of which the inositol-requiring enzyme 1 (IRE1)-dependent pathway is the most conserved. To reduce ER stress, the UPR decreases protein synthesis, increases degradation of unfolded proteins, and upregulates chaperone expression to enhance protein folding. Cytomegaloviruses, as other viral pathogens, modulate the UPR to their own advantage. However, the molecular mechanisms and the viral proteins responsible for UPR modulation remained to be identified. In this study, we investigated the modulation of IRE1 signaling by murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) and found that IRE1-mediated mRNA splicing and expression of the X-box binding protein 1 (XBP1) is repressed in infected cells. By affinity purification, we identified the viral M50 protein as an IRE1-interacting protein. M50 expression in transfected or MCMV-infected cells induced a substantial downregulation of IRE1 protein levels. The N-terminal conserved region of M50 was found to be required for interaction with and downregulation of IRE1. Moreover, UL50, the human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) homolog of M50, affected IRE1 in the same way. Thus we concluded that IRE1 downregulation represents a previously undescribed viral strategy to curb the UPR.
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    Proteome-wide analysis reveals an age-associated cellular phenotype of in situ aged human fibroblasts
    (Orchard Park : Impact Journals, 2014) Waldera-Lupa, Daniel M.; Kalfalah, Faiza; Florea, Ana-Maria; Sass, Steffen; Kruse, Fabian; Rieder, Vera; Tigges, Julia; Fritsche, Ellen; Krutmann, Jean; Busch, Hauke; Boerries, Melanie; Meyer, Helmut E.; Boege, Fritz; Theis, Fabian; Reifenberger, Guido; Stühle, Kai
    We analyzed an ex vivo model of in situ aged human dermal fibroblasts, obtained from 15 adult healthy donors from three different age groups using an unbiased quantitative proteome-wide approach applying label-free mass spectrometry. Thereby, we identified 2409 proteins, including 43 proteins with an age-associated abundance change. Most of the differentially abundant proteins have not been described in the context of fibroblasts' aging before, but the deduced biological processes confirmed known hallmarks of aging and led to a consistent picture of eight biological categories involved in fibroblast aging, namely proteostasis, cell cycle and proliferation, development and differentiation, cell death, cell organization and cytoskeleton, response to stress, cell communication and signal transduction, as well as RNA metabolism and translation. The exhaustive analysis of protein and mRNA data revealed that 77 % of the age-associated proteins were not linked to expression changes of the corresponding transcripts. This is in line with an associated miRNA study and led us to the conclusion that most of the age-associated alterations detected at the proteome level are likely caused post-transcriptionally rather than by differential gene expression. In summary, our findings led to the characterization of novel proteins potentially associated with fibroblast aging and revealed that primary cultures of in situ aged fibroblasts are characterized by moderate age-related proteomic changes comprising the multifactorial process of aging.