Roman Dziarski

The life-threatening complications of sepsis in humans are elicited by infection with Gram-negative as well as Gram-positive bacteria. Recently, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a major biologically active agent of Gram-negative bacteria, was shown to mediate cellular activation by a member of the human Toll-like receptor family, Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2. Here we investigate the mechanism of cellular activation by soluble peptidoglycan (sPGN) and lipoteichoic acid (LTA), main stimulatory components of Gram-positive bacteria. Like LPS, sPGN and LTA bind to the glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored membrane protein CD14 and induce activation of the transcription factor NF-kappaB in host cells like macrophages. We show that whole Gram-positive bacteria, sPGN and LTA induce the activation of NF-kappaB in HEK293 cells expressing TLR2 but not in cells expressing TLR1 or TLR4. The sPGN- and LTA-induced NF-kappaB activation was not inhibited by polymyxin B, an antibiotic that binds and neutralizes LPS. Coexpression together with membrane CD14 enhances sPGN signal transmission through TLR2. In contrast to LPS signaling, activation of TLR2 by sPGN and LTA does not require serum. These findings identify TLR2 as a signal transducer for sPGN and LTA in addition to LPS.

Invasive infection with Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria often results in septic shock and death. The basis for the earliest steps in innate immune response to Gram-positive bacterial infection is poorly understood. The LPS component of the Gram-negative bacterial cell wall appears to activate cells via CD14 and Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2 and TLR4. We hypothesized that Gram-positive bacteria might also be recognized by TLRs. Heterologous expression of human TLR2, but not TLR4, in fibroblasts conferred responsiveness to Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae as evidenced by inducible translocation of NF-kappaB. CD14 coexpression synergistically enhanced TLR2-mediated activation. To determine which components of Gram-positive cell walls activate Toll proteins, we tested a soluble preparation of peptidoglycan prepared from S. aureus. Soluble peptidoglycan substituted for whole organisms. These data suggest that the similarity of clinical response to invasive infection by Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria is due to bacterial recognition via similar TLRs.

The innate immune system recognizes microorganisms through a series of pattern recognition receptors that are highly conserved in evolution. Insects have a family of 12 peptidoglycan recognition proteins (PGRPs) that recognize peptidoglycan, a ubiquitous component of bacterial cell walls. We report cloning of three novel human PGRPs (PGRP-L, PGRP-Ialpha, and PGRP-Ibeta) that together with the previously cloned PGRP-S, define a new family of human pattern recognition molecules. PGRP-L, PGRP-Ialpha, and PGRP-Ibeta have 576, 341, and 373 amino acids coded by five, seven, and eight exons on chromosomes 19 and 1, and they all have two predicted transmembrane domains. All mammalian and insect PGRPs have at least three highly conserved C-terminal PGRP domains located either in the extracellular or in the cytoplasmic (or in both) portions of the molecules. PGRP-L is expressed in liver, PGRP-Ialpha and PGRP-Ibeta in esophagus (and to a lesser extent in tonsils and thymus), and PGRP-S in bone marrow (and to a lesser extent in neutrophils and fetal liver). All four human PGRPs bind peptidoglycan and Gram-positive bacteria. Thus, these PGRPs may play a role in recognition of bacteria in these organs.