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Bruning, Ulrike
Preferred name
Bruning, Ulrike
Official Name
Bruning, Ulrike
Research Output
Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
- PublicationRegulation of IL-1β-induced NF-κB by hydroxylases links key hypoxic and inflammatory signaling pathways(National Academy of Sciences, 2013-10)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; Hypoxia is a prominent feature of chronically inflamed tissues. Oxygen-sensing hydroxylases control transcriptional adaptation to hypoxia through the regulation of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) and nuclear factor κB (NF-κB), both of which can regulate the inflammatory response. Furthermore, pharmacologic hydroxylase inhibitors reduce inflammation in multiple animal models. However, the underlying mechanism(s) linking hydroxylase activity to inflammatory signaling remains unclear. IL-1β, a major proinflammatory cytokine that regulates NF-κB, is associated with multiple inflammatory pathologies. We demonstrate that a combination of prolyl hydroxylase 1 and factor inhibiting HIF hydroxylase isoforms regulates IL-1β-induced NF-κB at the level of (or downstream of) the tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 6 complex. Multiple proteins of the distal IL-1β-signaling pathway are subject to hydroxylation and form complexes with either prolyl hydroxylase 1 or factor inhibiting HIF. Thus, we hypothesize that hydroxylases regulate IL-1β signaling and subsequent inflammatory gene expression. Furthermore, hydroxylase inhibition represents a unique approach to the inhibition of IL-1β-dependent inflammatory signaling.223Scopus© Citations 121 - PublicationHypercapnia Induces Cleavage and Nuclear Localization of RelB Protein, Giving Insight into CO2 Sensing and Signaling(American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 2012-03-06)
; ; ; Carbon dioxide (CO2) is increasingly being appreciated as an intracellular signaling molecule that affects inflammatory and immune responses. Elevated arterial CO2 (hypercapnia) is encountered in a range of clinical conditions, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and as a consequence of therapeutic ventilation in acute respiratory distress syndrome. In patients suffering from this syndrome, therapeutic hypoventilation strategy designed to reduce mechanical damage to the lungs is accompanied by systemic hypercapnia and associated acidosis, which are associated with improved patient outcome. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects of hypercapnia and the relative contribution of elevated CO2 or associated acidosis to this response remain poorly understood. Recently, a role for the non-canonical NF-κB pathway has been postulated to be important in signaling the cellular transcriptional response to CO2. In this study, we demonstrate that in cells exposed to elevated CO2, the NF-κB family member RelB was cleaved to a lower molecular weight form and translocated to the nucleus in both mouse embryonic fibroblasts and human pulmonary epithelial cells (A549). Furthermore, elevated nuclear RelB was observed in vivo and correlated with hypercapnia-induced protection against LPS-induced lung injury. Hypercapnia-induced RelB processing was sensitive to proteasomal inhibition by MG-132 but was independent of the activity of glycogen synthase kinase 3β or MALT-1, both of which have been previously shown to mediate RelB processing. Taken together, these data demonstrate that RelB is a CO2-sensitive NF-κB family member that may contribute to the beneficial effects of hypercapnia in inflammatory diseases of the lung.287Scopus© Citations 34 - PublicationNFκB and HIF display synergistic behaviour during hypoxic inflammationThe oxygen-sensitive transcription factor hypoxia inducible factor (HIF) is a key regulator of gene expression during adaptation to hypoxia. Crucially, inflamed tissue often displays regions of prominent hypoxia. Recent studies have shown HIF signalling is intricately linked to that of the pro-inflammatory transcription factor nuclear factor kappa B (NFκB) during hypoxic inflammation. We describe the relative temporal contributions of each to hypoxia-induced inflammatory gene expression and investigate the level of crosstalk between the two pathways using a novel Gaussia princeps luciferase (Gluc) reporter system. Under the control of an active promoter, Gluc is expressed and secreted into the cell culture media, where it can be sampled and measured over time. Thus, Gluc constructs under the control of either HIF or NFκB were used to resolve their temporal transcriptional dynamics in response to hypoxia and to cytokine stimuli, respectively. We also investigated the interactions between HIF and NFκB activities using a construct containing the sequence from the promoter of the inflammatory gene cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2), which includes functionally active binding sites for both HIF and NFκB. Finally, based on our experimental data, we constructed a mathematical model of the binding affinities of HIF and NFκB to their respective response elements to analyse transcriptional crosstalk. Taken together, these data reveal distinct temporal HIF and NFκB transcriptional activities in response to hypoxic inflammation. Furthermore, we demonstrate synergistic activity between these two transcription factors on the regulation of the COX-2 promoter, implicating a co-ordinated role for both HIF and NFκB in the expression of COX-2 in hypoxic inflammation.
520Scopus© Citations 59 - PublicationHypercapnia Induces Cleavage and Nuclear Localization of RelB Protein, Giving Insight into CO2 Sensing and Signaling(American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 2012-03-06)
; ; ; Carbon dioxide (CO2) is increasingly being appreciated as an intracellular signaling molecule that affects inflammatory and immune responses. Elevated arterial CO2 (hypercapnia) is encountered in a range of clinical conditions, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and as a consequence of therapeutic ventilation in acute respiratory distress syndrome. In patients suffering from this syndrome, therapeutic hypoventilation strategy designed to reduce mechanical damage to the lungs is accompanied by systemic hypercapnia and associated acidosis, which are associated with improved patient outcome. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects of hypercapnia and the relative contribution of elevated CO2 or associated acidosis to this response remain poorly understood. Recently, a role for the non-canonical NF-κB pathway has been postulated to be important in signaling the cellular transcriptional response to CO2. In this study, we demonstrate that in cells exposed to elevated CO2, the NF-κB family member RelB was cleaved to a lower molecular weight form and translocated to the nucleus in both mouse embryonic fibroblasts and human pulmonary epithelial cells (A549). Furthermore, elevated nuclear RelB was observed in vivo and correlated with hypercapnia-induced protection against LPS-induced lung injury. Hypercapnia-induced RelB processing was sensitive to proteasomal inhibition by MG-132 but was independent of the activity of glycogen synthase kinase 3β or MALT-1, both of which have been previously shown to mediate RelB processing. Taken together, these data demonstrate that RelB is a CO2-sensitive NF-κB family member that may contribute to the beneficial effects of hypercapnia in inflammatory diseases of the lung.283Scopus© Citations 34