Glycogen synthase kinase-3β inactivation is an intracellular marker and regulator for endotoxemic neutrophilia

J Mol Med (Berl). 2013 Feb;91(2):207-17. doi: 10.1007/s00109-012-0944-6. Epub 2012 Aug 18.

Abstract

Neutrophilia, defined as a large number of neutrophils in the circulating blood, is caused by increased differentiation and survival from activation-induced apoptosis. Regulation of apoptosis is essential for neutrophil homeostasis; however, the molecular signaling that regulates this process needs further investigation. Unlike TLR4 wild-type C3H/HeN mice, TLR4 mutated C3H/HeJ mice were insusceptible to LPS-induced blood neutrophilia. LPS prevented constitutive apoptosis in neutrophils and partly involved a blockade of the mitochondrial pathway including mitochondria transmembrane potential loss, myeloid cell leukemia sequence (Mcl) 1 degradation, and caspase-3 activation. In apoptotic neutrophils, glycogen synthase kinase (GSK)-3β was activated, and inhibiting GSK-3β decreased Mcl-1 degradation and apoptosis. LPS caused p38 MAPK-, JNK-, and PI3K/AKT-mediated Mcl-1 stabilization and prevented apoptosis, and LPS induced GSK-3β inactivation mainly through p38 MAPK and PI3K/AKT. Neutrophils in the neutrophilia showed increased GSK-3β inactivation and Mcl-1 stabilization accompanied by activation of p38 MAPK, JNK, and AKT. Notably, LPS-induced ROS generation can partly facilitate p38 MAPK/JNK/AKT activation to regulate GSK-3β-mediated Mcl-1 stability, apoptosis, and neutrophilia. These results demonstrate that the molecular basis of endotoxemic neutrophilia is through a direct action on neutrophils involving GSK-3β inactivation to prevent constitutive apoptosis.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cells, Cultured
  • Endotoxemia / immunology*
  • Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 / immunology*
  • Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 beta
  • Humans
  • Leukocyte Count
  • Leukocyte Disorders / immunology*
  • Lipopolysaccharides
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred Strains
  • Myeloid Cell Leukemia Sequence 1 Protein
  • Neutrophils / immunology*
  • Protein Kinases / immunology
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / immunology
  • Toll-Like Receptor 4 / immunology

Substances

  • Lipopolysaccharides
  • Mcl1 protein, mouse
  • Myeloid Cell Leukemia Sequence 1 Protein
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2
  • Tlr4 protein, mouse
  • Toll-Like Receptor 4
  • Protein Kinases
  • GSK3B protein, human
  • Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 beta
  • Gsk3b protein, mouse
  • Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3