Crucial involvement of xanthine oxidase in the intracellular signalling networks associated with human myeloid cell function.

Xanthine oxidase (XOD) is an enzyme which plays a central role in purine catabolism by converting hypoxanthine into xanthine and then further into uric acid. Here we report that XOD is activated in THP-1 human myeloid cells in response to pro-inflammatory and growth factor stimulation. This effect occurred following stimulation of THP-1 cells with ligands of plasma membrane associated TLRs 2 and 4, endosomal TLRs 7 and 8 as well as stem cell growth factor (SCF).

The involvement of sphingosine kinase 1 in LPS-induced Toll-like receptor 4-mediated accumulation of HIF-1α protein, activation of ASK1 and production of the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-6.

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) lie in the core of resistance to infectious diseases allowing host immune cells to specifically detect pathogens by recognising their specific molecular patterns. Cell membrane-associated TLR4 (recognises lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of Gram-negative bacteria) and endosomal TLR7/8 (recognise viral single-stranded RNA) are known to activate hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) protein (necessary for cellular adaptation to the inflammatory stress) via redox-dependent mechanism. TLR4 triggers the cross talk between HIF-1α and apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 (ASK1), whereas TLR7/8 activates HIF-1α in the ASK1-independent manner.

HIF-1alpha protein is an essential factor for protection of myeloid cells against LPS-induced depletion of ATP and apoptosis that supports Toll-like receptor 4-mediated production of IL-6.

Sepsis is the leading cause of death in intensive care units, which reflects detrimental host response to infection where lipopolysaccharide (LPS) shared by Gram-negative bacteria acts as a potent activator of immune cells via Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4). Recently it was found that TLR4 downstream signalling leads to the accumulation of hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF-1alpha), which is important for TLR4-dependent expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, however, basic biochemical mechanisms of involvement of this protein in TLR4 downstream signalling remains unclear. Here we found that knockdown of the expression of HIF-1alpha protein by siRNA led to the depletion of ATP, which corresponded to the constant increase in the activity of apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 (ASK1) and therefore apoptosis as estimated based on the increase in the activity of caspase 3.