Tübingen, Univ., Diss., 2007.

Ulm, Univ. Diss., 2007.

Tübingen, Univ., Diss., 2006.

Techn. Universiẗat, Diss., 2005--München.

Regensburg, Univ., Diss., 2005.

München, Techn. Univ., Diss., 2004.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Case Western Reserve University, 2007. / [School of Medicine] Department of Pathology. Includes bibliographical references.

Tierärztl. Hochsch., Diss., 2003--Hannover.

Toll-like receptors (TLR) are a family of pattern recognition receptors crucial for pathogen pattern recognition. Upon activation, TLRs induce innate immune responses such as cytokine production. However irregular TLR activities can provide fatal, hence fine tuning of the TLR induced responses are necessary. The TLR mediated immune responses are controlled by the positive/negative regulation of TLR signalling pathways, relocation of TLR proteins and modulation of TLR transcription. Systematic analyses of the agonist-induced transcriptional changes of TLRs were shown for the first time in my thesis. In my experiments, I have shown that each agonist induced a unique pattern of TLR transcription. Following PAM stimulation, mRNA levels of the cognate TLR1/2 increased whereas mRNA levels of the cross-regulating TLR4, 7/8/9 reduced in both cell lines and splenic macrophages from different mice strains. Through investigation of the signalling pathways responsible for mediating such TLR transcriptional changes, I then discovered the balancing effect between NFÎoB and MAPK signalling pathways. PAM induced TLR transcriptional changes were controlled by the additive and/or antagonistic interference between MAPK signalling cascades, ERK, JNK, P38 and NFÎoB signalling pathways. This was the first time that signalling synergy between MAPK and NFÎoB pathways were shown. Furthermore, PAM induced transcription of TLR1 and TLR8 may be partially regulated by the indirect feedback mediated by protein production. Importantly, the maintenance of the basal TLR mRNA expression also required activation of both MAPK and NFÎoB signalling pathways. In addition, signalling control for TLR transcription induced by different agonists (PAM vs. LPS) or in different species (chicken vs. mice) was compared. LPS induced transcriptional changes of the cross-regulating TLR1/2 and 3 but not the cognate TLR4 in RAW cells. The LPS induced TLR transcriptional changes required activation of a combination of MAPK and NFÎoB signalling pathways which shared both similarities and differences to the PAM induced signalling activation. In chicken, PAM induced more potent signalling activation, regulating the TLR transcriptional changes at a lower concentration than in mice. Overall, this thesis demonstrates that the transcriptional regulation of TLRs is complex, mediated by the coordination between MAPK and NFÎoB signalling pathways. These studies have significant implications in providing detailed insight of TLR transcriptional regulation which plays an important role in the regulation of TLR mediated innate immune responses. Please watch the following videos that I made for: A short introduction about TLR regulation - https://youtu.be/LTDdEZ3S97o A short explanation about TLR signalling - https://youtu.be/51IY5XhdJR8.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:25:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2009-07-28Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T18:53:48Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 carrenho_lca_me_araca.pdf: 1197310 bytes, checksum: 3d5470911a8b6fe2c7996a8ec61a673a (MD5) / A endotoxemia é um importante distúrbio sistêmico que se origina da resposta do hospedeiro a um componente das bactérias Gram-negativas, o lipopolissacarídeo (LPS) ou endotoxina, que é liberado após bacteriólise ou rápida multiplicação. A ativação do sistema imune inato pelo LPS é um fator chave para o disparo da resposta inflamatória pelo hospedeiro e que acarreta a produção de mediadores inflamatórios, responsáveis pelos eventos patológicos da endotoxemia. A interação dos receptores Toll-like (TLRs) com antígenos específicos deflagram a resposta inflamatória, sendo que o receptor Toll-like-4 (TLR-4) é ativado pela ação das endotoxinas, enquanto o receptor Toll-like-2 (TLR-2) interage com uma variedade de componentes microbianos. Uma exposição prévia a baixas concentrações de LPS pode tornar os cavalos “tolerantes” a um desafio letal subsequente, acarretando uma diminuição na produção de citocinas inflamatórias por um período transitório. Pouco se sabe a respeito do mecanismo celular deste fenômeno em equinos, supondo-se o envolvimento dos receptores Toll-like semelhante ao encontrado em outras espécies. Com este estudo investigaram-se os mecanismos celulares da tolerância à endotoxina em um modelo ex vivo com sangue total. Foi demonstrado redução na síntese de citocinas pró-inflamatórias (TNF-α, IL-1 e IL-6), aumento da expressão gênica da citocina anti-inflamatória IL-10, e ausência de expressão do TGF-β, após o desafio secundário com LPS. A maior expressão dos receptores TLR-2 e -4 após o segundo estímulo de LPS demonstrou que a tolerância à endotoxina não acarreta diminuição da expressão de ambos os receptores em equinos. / Endotoxemia is an important systemic disease originated from host response to a component of Gram-negative bacteria, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or endotoxin, which is released after bacteria death or quick replication. The innate immune recognition of LPS has a key role triggering host inflammatory answer and is due to inflammatory mediator’s synthesis, which are responsible for pathologic events of endotoxemia. Signs initiated by interaction of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) with specific products induce the inflammatory response. Toll-like receptor-4 (TLR- 4) is activated by endotoxin action while Toll-like receptor-2 (TLR-2) interacts with a range of microbial compounds. Some studies demonstrate that both can act like LPS receptors, although by independent pathways. It was demonstrated that a previous exposition to low concentrations of LPS can render horses “tolerant” to a lethal subsequent challenge with endotoxin, leading to a diminished release of inflammatory cytokines during a transient period. However, little is known about the cellular mechanisms involved in this phenomenon in horses, suspecting that there is involvement of cell surface receptors, similarly to other species. This study investigated cellular mechanisms of endotoxin tolerance in a whole blood ex vivo model, demonstrating a reduction on pro-inflammatory cytokines synthesis (TNF- α, IL-1 and IL-6), increased gene expression of anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 and no alteration in TGF-β expression, after a secondary stimulus with LPS. The Toll-like receptors-2 and -4 increased expression after a second stimulus with LPS showed that endotoxin tolerance does not lead to a decreased expression of both receptors in horses.