title: Mouse toll-like receptor 4.MD-2 complex mediates lipopolysaccharide-mimetic signal transduction by Taxol.
abstract: Taxol, an antitumor agent derived from a plant, mimics the action of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in mice but not in humans. Although Taxol is structurally unrelated to LPS, Taxol and LPS are presumed to share a receptor or signaling molecule. The LPS-mimetic activity of Taxol is not observed in LPS-hyporesponsive C3H/HeJ mice, which possess a point mutation in Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4); therefore, TLR4 appears to be involved in both Taxol and LPS signaling. In addition, TLR4 was recently shown to physically associate with MD-2, a molecule that confers LPS responsiveness on TLR4. To determine whether TLR4.MD-2 complex mediates a Taxol-induced signal, we constructed transformants of the mouse pro-B cell line, Ba/F3, expressing mouse TLR4 alone, both mouse TLR4 and mouse MD-2, and both mouse MD-2 and mouse TLR4 lacking the cytoplasmic portion, and then examined whether Taxol induced NFkappaB activation in these transfectants. Noticeable NFkappaB activation by Taxol was detected in Ba/F3 expressing mouse TLR4 and mouse MD-2 but not in the other transfectants. Coexpression of human TLR4 and human MD-2 did not confer Taxol responsiveness on Ba/F3 cells, suggesting that the TLR4. MD-2 complex is responsible for the species specificity with respect to Taxol responsiveness. Furthermore, Taxol-induced NFkappaB activation via TLR4.MD-2 was blocked by an LPS antagonist that blocks LPS-induced NFkappaB activation via TLR4.MD-2. These results demonstrated that coexpression of mouse TLR4 and mouse MD-2 is required for Taxol responsiveness and that the TLR4.MD-2 complex is the shared molecule in Taxol and LPS signal transduction in mice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Toyama, 1-23-1, Shinjyuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8640, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kawasaki
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Akashi
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Shimazu
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Miyake
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nishijima
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001769:Blood; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D006801:Humans; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism*; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D008809:Mice, Inbred C3H; D018716:Molecular Mimicry; D016328:NF-kappa B / Q000378:metabolism; D017239:Paclitaxel / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000502:physiology*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D051197:Toll-Like Receptor 4; D051193:Toll-Like Receptors
chemical_list: D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D016328:NF-kappa B; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; C495345:TLR4 protein, human; D051197:Toll-Like Receptor 4; D051193:Toll-Like Receptors; D017239:Paclitaxel