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All-trans retinoic acid increases NF-κB activity in PMA-stimulated THP-1 cells upon unmethylated CpG challenge by enhancing cell surface TLR9 expression

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Abstract

An active metabolite of vitamin A, all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA), is known to exert immunomodulatory functions. This study investigates the possible immune potentiating effect of ATRA on NF-κB activity in human monocytic THP-1 cells after exposure to unmethylated CpG DNA ODN2006. We observed that challenge with ODN2006 significantly enhanced the NF-κB activity of PMA-differentiated THP-1 cells. ATRA synergistically enhanced NF-κB activity of cells, in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. The enhanced NF-κB activity of PMA-differentiated THP-1 cells after ODN2006 challenge was dependent on the RAR/RXR pathway. To determine the mechanism involved in increasing in the NF-κB activity of stimulated THP-1 cells, we examined the effects of PMA and ATRA on the expression of TLR9 (a receptor of ODN2006) in THP-1 cells. PMA treatment significantly enhanced both the intracellular and cell surface expression of TLR9, while ATRA alone showed no effect. However, ATRA synergistically enhanced the cell surface TLR9 expression of PMA-differentiated cells. To determine whether the ATRA-enhanced NF-κB activity is due to the enhanced cell surface TLR9 expression, we examined NF-κB activity after treatment with anti-TLR9 blocking antibody. Results revealed that the anti-TLR9 antibody treatment almost completely reverses the ATRA-enhanced NF-κB activity, suggesting that ATRA enhances NF-κB activity through upregulation of the cell surface TLR9 expression in PMA-differentiated and unmethylated CpG challenged THP-1 cells.

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Data availability

The data used to support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon request.

Abbreviations

ATRA:

All-trans retinoic acid

RAR:

Retinoic acid receptor

RXR:

Retinoid X receptor

TLR9:

Toll-like receptor 9

PMA:

Phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (NRF-2018R1D1A1A09083908).

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  1. Tam-Anh Trinh and Thi Xoan Hoang have contributed equally to this work and should be considered co-first authors.

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  1. Department of Life Science, Gachon University, Seongnam, Kyeonggi-Do, 461-701, Korea

    Tam-Anh Trinh, Thi Xoan Hoang & Jae Young Kim

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Trinh, TA., Hoang, T.X. & Kim, J.Y. All-trans retinoic acid increases NF-κB activity in PMA-stimulated THP-1 cells upon unmethylated CpG challenge by enhancing cell surface TLR9 expression. Mol Cell Biochem 473, 167–177 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11010-020-03817-4

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