The Staphylococcus aureus lipoprotein SitC colocalizes with Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) in murine keratinocytes and elicits intracellular TLR2 accumulation

Infect Immun. 2010 Oct;78(10):4243-50. doi: 10.1128/IAI.00538-10. Epub 2010 Aug 2.

Abstract

SitC is one of the predominant lipoproteins in Staphylococcus aureus. Recently, SitC was shown to be capable of stimulating Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2), but the mechanism of TLR2 activation by SitC has not been analyzed in detail so far. In this study, we purified C-terminally His-tagged SitC (SitC-His) from Staphylococcus aureus. SitC-His induced interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) release in human monocytes and also NF-κB activation in TLR2-transfected HEK293 cells, indicating TLR2-specific activation. SitC not only induced a TLR2-dependent release of IL-6 in primary murine keratinocytes (MKs) but also induced intracellular accumulation of TLR2, which was time and concentration dependent. Cy2-labeled SitC-His colocalized specifically with TLR2 in MKs and was also internalized in TLR2 knockout MKs, suggesting a TLR2-independent uptake. Neither activation nor colocalization of SitC-His was observed with TLR4 or Nod2. The results show that the native lipoprotein SitC-His specifically colocalizes with TLR2, is internalized by host cells, induces proinflammatory cytokines, and triggers intracellular accumulation of TLR2.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Bacterial Proteins / genetics
  • Bacterial Proteins / metabolism*
  • Cell Line
  • Cytokines / genetics
  • Cytokines / metabolism
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial
  • Humans
  • Keratinocytes / metabolism*
  • Lipoproteins / genetics
  • Lipoproteins / metabolism*
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Mice, Knockout
  • Nod2 Signaling Adaptor Protein / genetics
  • Nod2 Signaling Adaptor Protein / metabolism
  • Protein Transport / physiology
  • Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms
  • Staphylococcus aureus / genetics
  • Staphylococcus aureus / metabolism*
  • Toll-Like Receptor 2 / genetics
  • Toll-Like Receptor 2 / metabolism*

Substances

  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Cytokines
  • Lipoproteins
  • Nod2 Signaling Adaptor Protein
  • Nod2 protein, mouse
  • Tlr2 protein, mouse
  • Toll-Like Receptor 2