Original Article
Copyright ©2011 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Nov 21, 2011; 17(43): 4772-4778
Published online Nov 21, 2011. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v17.i43.4772
Lipopolysaccharide induces and activates the Nalp3 inflammasome in the liver
Michal Ganz, Timea Csak, Bharath Nath, Gyongyi Szabo
Michal Ganz, Timea Csak, Bharath Nath, Gyongyi Szabo, Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, United States
Author contributions: Ganz M, Szabo G designed the research; Ganz M, Csak T and Nath B performed the research; Ganz M analyzed the data; and Ganz M and Szabo G wrote the paper.
Supported by NIH grant RO1 DK075635
Correspondence to: Gyongyi Szabo, MD, PhD, Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, LRB215, 364 Plantation Street, Worcester, MA 01605, United States. gyongyi.szabo@umassmed.edu
Telephone: +1-508-8565275 Fax: +1-508-8564770
Received: November 20, 2010
Revised: May 26, 2011
Accepted: May 30, 2011
Published online: November 21, 2011
Abstract

AIM: To examine the activation of the Nalp3 inflammasome and its downstream targets following lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced stimulation in the liver.

METHODS: Six-to-eight-week-old C57BL/6 chow fed mice were injected intraperitoneally with 0.5 μg/g bodyweight LPS and sacrificed 2, 4, 6, 18 or 24 h later. LPS-induced liver damage was confirmed by a biochemical assay to detect alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels. To determine if LPS stimulation in the liver led to activation of the inflammasome, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to evaluate the mRNA expression of components of the Nalp3 inflammasome. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays were used to determine the protein expression levels of several downstream targets of the Nalp3 inflammasome, including caspase-1 and two cytokine targets of caspase-1, interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-18.

RESULTS: We found that LPS injection resulted in liver damage as indicated by elevated ALT levels. This was associated with a significant increase in both mRNA and protein levels of the proinflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α in the liver, as well as increased levels of TNFs in serum. We showed that LPS stimulation led to upregulation of mRNA levels in the liver for all the receptor components of the inflammasome, including Nalp3, Nalp1, pannexin-1 and the adaptor molecule apoptosis-associated speck-like, caspase recruitment domain-domain containing protein. We also found increased levels of mRNA and protein for caspase-1, a downstream target of the inflammasome. In addition, LPS challenge led to increased levels of both mRNA and protein in the liver for two cytokine targets of caspase-1, IL-1β and IL-18. Interestingly, substantial baseline expression of pre-IL-1β and pre-IL-18 was found in the liver. Inflammasome and caspase-1 activation was indicated by the significant increase in the active forms of IL-1β and IL-18 after LPS stimulation.

CONCLUSION: Our results show that the Nalp3 inflammasome is upregulated and activated in the liver in response to LPS stimulation.

Keywords: Endotoxin, Nod-like receptor, Interleukin-1β, Interleukin-18, Caspase-1