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The Dorothy M. Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute and Pulmonary and Critical Care Division, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210
| Abstract |
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and IL-8 were not released during spontaneous monocyte apoptosis. In summary, our data demonstrate that monocytes contain IL-16 that is released during spontaneous apoptosis. | Introduction |
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In the present research, we demonstrate that 1) IL-16 protein is constitutively expressed in human CD14-positive monocytes; 2) the release of IL-16 by monocytes is paralleled by the activation of caspase-3; and 3) the activation of caspase-3 and release of IL-16 can be blocked by proinflammatory stimuli such as bacterial LPS.
| Materials and Methods |
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Fresh human blood was obtained from normal donors and diluted 1/1 with sterile saline solution. The solution was subsequently centrifuged through a Histopaque-1077 gradient column (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO) at 600 x g for 20 min at 4°C. The mononuclear layer was removed, washed, spun twice in RPMI 1640 (Life Technologies, Grand Island, NY), and the cells were counted. From this purified population of PBMC, monocytes were positively selected using anti-CD14-coated magnetic beads (Miltenyi Biotec, Auburn, CA) following the instructions of the manufacturer. This procedure consistently leads to a >98% pure population of CD14-positive cells. Where indicated, LPS (LPS Westphal preparation, Escherichia coli 0127:B8; Difco, Detroit, MI) was added to the freshly isolated monocytes at a concentration of 1 ng/ml. All of our media and reagents have been documented to have subpicogram amounts of endotoxin contamination. In all experiments, monocytes were incubated at a concentration of 1 x 106 cells/ml in serum-free RPMI 1640 at 37°C in 5% CO2. Monocytes were cultured in suspension in 5-ml polystyrene tubes (no. 14959-10A; Fisher Scientific, Hampton, NH) to prevent sticking and activation of the cells.
Flow cytometry analysis
Isolated monocytes were cultured at 106 cells/ml in serum-free RPMI 1640 alone or in serum-free RPMI 1640 containing LPS (1 ng/ml) for the indicated time periods. For flow cytometric analysis, cells were stained with an APC-conjugated Ab to CD14 (clone M
P9; BD Biosciences, Mountain View, CA) and then permeabilized to allow intracellular staining with a PE-conjugated Ab to IL-16 (clone 14.1; BD Biosciences) and FITC-conjugated Ab to active caspase-3 (clone C92605; BD Biosciences). Extra- and intracellular staining was done using Cytofix/Cytoperm (BD Biosciences) as described in the manufacturers protocol. Briefly, CD14-positive monocytes were washed with PBS and resuspended at a concentration of 2 x 107/ml in blocking buffer (cold PBS containing 1% FBS and 200 µg/ml human total IgG) and incubated for 15 min on ice. After gentle mixing, the cells were divided into individual tubes containing 1 x 106 cells each and 20 µl of APC-conjugated anti-CD14 or isotype control was added and incubated for 30 min on ice. After 2 washes with blocking buffer, cells were resuspended in 250 µl of Cytofix/Cytoperm and incubated for 20 min on ice. Cells were washed 2 times with Perm/Wash buffer provided by the kit, before resuspending them in Perm/Wash buffer containing 20 µl of PE-conjugated anti-IL-16 and, where indicated, 20 µl of FITC-conjugated anti-caspase-3. Alternatively, the appropriate isotype controls were added. After incubation for 30 min on ice, cells were washed 2 times with Perm/Wash buffer and finally resuspended with 200 µl of blocking buffer. Flow cytometric analysis was performed using FACSCalibur (BD Biosciences).
Western blot analysis of IL-16
CD14-positive monocytes were washed once with PBS, lysed in protein lysis buffer (50 mM Tris-Cl, pH 8.0, 150 mM NaCl, 2 mM EDTA, and 1% Nonidet P-40) and run on a SDS gel. Proteins were electrophoretically transferred to a nitrocellulose membrane. After blocking nonspecific sites with 5% nonfat dry milk in PBS containing 0.05% Tween 20 for 1 h at room temperature, the nitrocellulose membrane was probed with rabbit polyclonal anti-human-rIL-16 Ab (0.2 µg/ml; R&D Systems, Minneapolis, MN) in PBS/Tween for 2 h at room temperature. The secondary reagent, a streptavidin labeled with HRP (Amersham, Arlington Heights, IL), was used at a dilution of 1/10,000 in PBS/Tween for 45 min at room temperature. The signal was visualized by ECL (Amersham Pharmacia Biotech, Piscataway, NJ).
Quantification of IL-16, IL-1
, and IL-8
IL-16 was quantified by immunoassay using a monoclonal (clone 70719.111; R&D Systems) and a biotinylated rabbit polyclonal Ab (R&D Systems), following the instructions of the manufacturer.
Sandwich ELISAs were developed in our laboratory to detect mature IL-1
as described (10, 20). The coating Ab for the IL-1
ELISA has been modified since the previous description. Briefly, anti-human mouse monoclonal IL-1
Ab (clone 8516; R&D Systems) was used as a coating Ab, and a rabbit polyclonal mature IL-1
Ab (raised against entire 17-kDa mature IL-1) as sandwich Ab. HRP-conjugated goat anti-rabbit Ab (Bio-Rad, Hercules, CA) was used as a developing Ab.
Detection of enzymatic caspase-3 activity with amino trifluoromethyl coumarin (AFC)3
For all AFC preparations, monocytes (3 x 106 cells) were collected by centrifugation and washed with KPM buffer (50 mM KCl, 50 mM PIPES, 10 mM EGTA, 1.92 mM MgCl2, pH 7.0, 1 mM DTT, 0.1 mM PMSF, 10 µg/ml cytochalasin B, and 2 µg/ml protease inhibitors: chymostatin, pepstatin, leupeptin, and antipain). Cells were snap frozen in liquid nitrogen and lysed by four cycles of freeze thawing. The presence of active caspases was determined by AFC assay using a specific fluoro-substrate, as described (10, 19). Lysates were incubated with Asp-Glu-Val-Asp (DEVD)-AFC in a cyto-buffer (10% glycerol, 50 mM PIPES, pH 7, and 1 mM EDTA) containing 1 mM DTT and 20 µM DEVD-AFC (Enzyme Systems Products, Livermore, CA). Release of free AFC was determined using a Cytofluor 4000 fluorometer (filters: 400 nm excitation; 505 nm emission; PerSeptive Biosystems, Framingham, MA).
Statistical analysis
All data were expressed as mean ± SEM. Statistics were performed using Microsoft Excel (Microsoft, Redmond, WA) in combination with Winstat statistical software (R. Fitch Software, Staufen, Germany). Comparisons of groups for statistical difference were done using the Students t test or the Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-ranks test in case of the test for a normal distribution failed. Statistical significance was defined as a p value <0.05.
| Results |
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Since we have previously shown the spontaneous activation of caspase-3 in monocytes (10), we were interested to know whether one of the recognized substrates of caspase-3 is present in fresh monocytes. To do this, freshly isolated human blood monocytes were analyzed by flow cytometry using a fluorochrome-conjugated Ab to cell surface CD14 (Fig. 1). After permeabilization of the cells, a fluorochrome-conjugated Ab to IL-16 was added. We found that 97.7 ± 1.0% (n = 3) of the total cells were positive for CD14. From the CD14-positive cells, 98.5 ± 0.6% (n = 3) were positive for IL-16 as well. Fig. 1A shows the result of one representative donor. As controls, either the anti-IL-16 Ab used was preincubated with rIL-16, or the cells were preincubated with unlabeled Ab of the same clone. In both cases, the fluorescence intensity for IL-16 shifted significantly to the background level (Fig. 1B).
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It has been previously described that pro-IL-16 has to be cleaved by caspase-3 to its active form (11). If not activated, e.g., by bacterial LPS, monocytes undergo spontaneous apoptosis which is orchestrated by the activation of caspases. Within the caspase cascade, caspase-3 plays a central role in executing monocyte apoptosis (10). Significant caspase-3 activity can be detected in CD14-positive monocytes after 4 h in culture (Fig. 3). Using flow cytometry (Fig. 4), we analyzed the coexpression of active caspase-3 with IL-16 in CD14-positive monocytes and found that as early as 4 h after isolation of fresh monocytes, active caspase-3 was found (data not shown). Significant activation of caspase-3 coincided with the loss of IL-16 at 6 and 8 h (Fig. 4, left panels).
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As previously shown (10), the spontaneous activation of caspase-3 in monocytes can be effectively blocked by LPS. We found that this was also true for monocytes that were selected with anti-CD14-coated magnetic beads (Fig. 3). Moreover, stimulation of the cells with 1 ng/ml LPS resulted in a marked inhibition of caspase-3 activation as well as preservation of intracellular IL-16 (Figs. 3 and 4, right panels).
By Western blot analysis with an anti-IL-16 Ab, we found that untreated monocytes and 6-h LPS-treated monocytes produced unique protein profiles (Fig. 5). In untreated monocytes, we found a more prominent band between 30 and 35 kDa compared with LPS-treated monocytes. In addition, a band was seen above the 15-kDa marker, indicating that in untreated monocytes undergoing spontaneous cell death, active IL-16 (17 kDa) is present within 6 h.
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Next we analyzed the supernatants of unstimulated CD14-positive monocytes for the release of IL-16 by ELISA. Consistent with the flow cytometry data, we found release of IL-16 after 3 h of culture. Stimulation of the cells with 1 ng/ml LPS significantly reduced the release of IL-16 (Fig. 6). In contrast to the release of IL-16 in unstimulated monocytes, no release of IL-1
or IL-8 could be detected for the corresponding time points (sensitivity IL-1
ELISA,
30 pg/ml; sensitivity IL-8 ELISA,
150 pg/ml).
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| Discussion |
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Pro-IL-16 is cleaved by caspase-3 to its bioactive mature form (11). In contrast, caspase-3 plays a central role in cell apoptosis. If not stimulated, blood monocytes undergo spontaneous apoptosis (1, 2, 3, 10). Because caspase-3 is the pivotal effector caspase in monocytes, we asked the question whether there is a relationship between spontaneous activation of the enzyme and the release of IL-16. We found that caspase-3 activation is paralleled by the loss of IL-16 in monocytes. At the same time, release of IL-16 into the supernatant was observed. Because we and others have previously shown that monocytes can evade apoptosis in the presence of LPS, we hypothesized that LPS would not only inhibit caspase-3 activation but also IL-16 release. As expected, stimulation with LPS not only inhibited caspase-3 activation but also blocked the release of IL-16. These findings indicate that the process of spontaneous monocyte apoptosis is closely associated with the release of IL-16. Interestingly, other cytokines like IL-1
and IL-8 are not released during monocyte apoptosis. Thus, it is unlikely that unspecific cell damage or permeabilization during the course of apoptosis leads to the release of IL-16.
Although a caspase-3-specific tetrapeptide inhibitor would be expected to block IL-16 processing and release, we have elected to not include caspase-3 inhibitor experiments. We were unable to culture our monocytes in the specific caspase-3 inhibitor, DEVD-chloromethyl ketone (cmk), without getting monocyte toxicity. The monocytes were not viable after only a few hours of tissue culture in the presence of 100 µM DEVD-cmk. In a prior publication, we demonstrated the ability of DEVD to prevent ladder formation in monocytes undergoing spontaneous apoptosis (10). However, it is conceivable that DEVD-cmk prevents the generation of ladders, which are dependent upon the generation of active caspase-3, but not the ultimate cell death. Indeed, DEVD-cmk did prevent cleavage of intracellular IL-16 (data not included in the manuscript) but it did not prevent release of pro-IL-16. Although we cannot absolutely exclude a reagent problem, it suggests the possibility that spontaneous monocyte apoptosis may convert to necrotic death if caspase-3 is inhibited. This question will need further investigation, but is not directly relevant to the current report.
It is intriguing to speculate about the meaning of apoptosis-induced activation of IL-16 for the in vivo situation. The expression of CD4 on the target cell is required for mature IL-16 bioactivity (18). IL-16 has been shown to chemoattract not only T cells, but also monocytes and dendritic cells, which also express CD4 on their cell surface. The concentrations of IL-16 we found in the supernatants were in the range of the effective dose as a T cell chemoattractant (EC50
1011 M) (22). Although IL-16 may be a proinflammatory cytokine, it is generally held that IL-16 has T cell immunomodulatory rather than proinflammatory functions. Cruikshank et al. (23) have shown that IL-16 stimulation results in inhibition of TCR stimulation and unresponsiveness in lymphocytes (24). In another study, IL-16 has been identified as an anti-inflammatory cytokine in rheumatoid synovitis (25). IL-16 released by dying unstimulated monocytes may hypothetically serve as a modulatory signal for T lymphocytes that inhibits induction of a T cell-mediated immune response. Further studies are needed to define the role of IL-16 release by monocytes.
| Footnotes |
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2 Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Mark D. Wewers, The Ohio State University, 201 Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute, 473 West 12th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210. E-mail address: wewers.2{at}osu.edu ![]()
3 Abbreviations used in this paper: AFC, amino trifluoromethyl coumarin; DEVD, Asp-Glu-Val-Asp; cmk, chloromethyl ketone. ![]()
Received for publication July 11, 2003. Accepted for publication April 14, 2004.
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