title: Theiler's virus infection induces TLR3-dependent upregulation of TLR2 critical for proinflammatory cytokine production.
abstract: Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV) infection directly induces many proinflammatory genes, including type I interferon (IFN) and a variety of cytokine genes. These virus-induced cytokines are a critical factor in developing TMEV-induced demyelinating disease. We have previously reported that the major activation signal for the cytokine genes is mediated via TLR3. In this study, we describe that TLR2 is upregulated via TLR3 signal and cooperatively participates in the expression of IL-6, IL-1beta, CCL2, and CCL5 genes following TMEV infection. The expression of these genes was significantly impaired in both TLR2-deficient and TLR3-deficient primary astrocytes. However, the induction of type I IFNs was not affected by TLR2 deficiency in the primary cells. TMEV infection led to TLR2-mediated NF-kappaB activation, but not IRF3 or IRF7 activation, critical for type I IFN production. More importantly, TLR3 was required for TMEV-induced early TLR2 upregulation in primary astrocytes leading to the production of TLR2-dependent cytokines such as IL-6. Interestingly, soluble factor(s) produced via TLR2/3-dependent signals appears to be partially associated with the downstream cytokine production. These results indicate that TMEV utilizes TLR3-induced TLR2 to induce inflammatory cytokines, which are critical to the development of immune-mediated demyelinating disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, Illinois 60611, USA.
authors.forename: Eui Young
authors.initials: EY
authors.lastname: So
authors.forename: Byung S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001253:Astrocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D018188:Cardiovirus Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D018932:Chemokine CCL2 / Q000378:metabolism; D018946:Chemokine CCL5 / Q000378:metabolism; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism*; D050838:Interferon Regulatory Factor-3 / Q000378:metabolism; D050839:Interferon Regulatory Factor-7 / Q000378:metabolism; D007370:Interferon Type I / Q000378:metabolism; D053583:Interleukin-1beta / Q000378:metabolism; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D016328:NF-kappa B / Q000378:metabolism; D017945:Theilovirus; D051195:Toll-Like Receptor 2 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D051196:Toll-Like Receptor 3 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D051197:Toll-Like Receptor 4 / Q000235:genetics; D015854:Up-Regulation
chemical_list: C491768:Ccl2 protein, mouse; C503460:Ccl5 protein, mouse; D018932:Chemokine CCL2; D018946:Chemokine CCL5; D016207:Cytokines; D050838:Interferon Regulatory Factor-3; D050839:Interferon Regulatory Factor-7; D007370:Interferon Type I; D053583:Interleukin-1beta; D015850:Interleukin-6; C494233:Irf3 protein, mouse; C494235:Irf7 protein, mouse; D016328:NF-kappa B; C519703:TLR3 protein, mouse; C493486:Tlr2 protein, mouse; C493487:Tlr4 protein, mouse; D051195:Toll-Like Receptor 2; D051196:Toll-Like Receptor 3; D051197:Toll-Like Receptor 4