Integrated proteomic and transcriptomic landscape of macrophages in mouse tissues.

Macrophages are involved in tissue homeostasis and are critical for innate immune responses, yet distinct macrophage populations in different tissues exhibit diverse gene expression patterns and biological processes. While tissue-specific macrophage epigenomic and transcriptomic profiles have been reported, proteomes of different macrophage populations remain poorly characterized. Here we use mass spectrometry and bulk RNA sequencing to assess the proteomic and transcriptomic patterns, respectively, of 10 primary macrophage populations from seven mouse tissues, bone marrow-derived macrophages and the cell line RAW264.

An RRx-001 Analogue With Potent Anti-NLRP3 Inflammasome Activity but Without High-Energy Nitro Functional Groups.

NLRP3 inflammasome is involved in the pathology of multiple human inflammatory diseases but there are still no clinically available medications targeting the NLRP3 inflammasome. We have previously identified RRx-001 as a highly selective and potent NLRP3 inhibitor, however, it contains high-energy nitro functional groups and may cause potential processing problems and generates highly toxic oxidants. Here, we show that compound 149-01, an RRx-001 analogue without high-energy nitro functional groups, is a potent, specific and covalent NLRP3 inhibitor.

ASC deglutathionylation is a checkpoint for NLRP3 inflammasome activation.

Activation of NLRP3 inflammasome is precisely controlled to avoid excessive activation. Although multiple molecules regulating NLRP3 inflammasome activation have been revealed, the checkpoints governing NLRP3 inflammasome activation remain elusive. Here, we show that activation of NLRP3 inflammasome is governed by GSTO1-promoted ASC deglutathionylation in macrophages.

GPR34-mediated sensing of lysophosphatidylserine released by apoptotic neutrophils activates type 3 innate lymphoid cells to mediate tissue repair.

Neutrophils migrate rapidly to damaged tissue and play critical roles in host defense and tissue homeostasis. Here we investigated the mechanisms whereby neutrophils participate in tissue repair. In an intestinal epithelia injury model, neutrophil depletion exacerbated colitis and associated with reduced interleukin (IL)-22 and limited activation of type 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3s).

RRx-001 ameliorates inflammatory diseases by acting as a potent covalent NLRP3 inhibitor.

The NLRP3 inflammasome plays a crucial role in innate immune-mediated inflammation and contributes to the pathogenesis of multiple autoinflammatory, metabolic and neurodegenerative diseases, but medications targeting the NLRP3 inflammasome are not available for clinical use. RRx-001 is a well-tolerated anticancer agent currently being investigated in phase III clinical trials, but its effects on inflammatory diseases are not known. Here, we show that RRx-001 is a highly selective and potent NLRP3 inhibitor that has strong beneficial effects on NLRP3-driven inflammatory diseases.

Commensal viruses maintain intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes via noncanonical RIG-I signaling.

Much attention has focused on commensal bacteria in health and disease, but the role of commensal viruses is understudied. Although metagenomic analysis shows that the intestine of healthy humans and animals harbors various commensal viruses and the dysbiosis of these viruses can be associated with inflammatory diseases, there is still a lack of causal data and underlying mechanisms to understand the physiological role of commensal viruses in intestinal homeostasis. In the present study, we show that commensal viruses are essential for the homeostasis of intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs).