Absent in Melanoma 2 (AIM2) Expressed in Human Dental Pulp Mediates IL-1 beta Secretion in Response to Cytoplasmic DNA

作者：Huang, Shuheng; Song, Zhi; Jiang, Lan; Chen, Lingling; Wang, Runfu; Qin, Wei; Liu, Pengcheng; Lin, Zhengmei^*

来源：Inflammation, 2015, 38(2): 566-575.

DOI：10.1007/s10753-014-9963-5

• absent in melanoma 2 (AIM2)
• inflammasome
• cytoplasmic DNA
• IL-1 beta
• human dental pulp

The inflammasome has been determined to play an important role in inflammatory diseases in recent years. Absent in melanoma 2 (AIM2), an inflammasome that recognizes cytoplasmic DNA, has recently been identified as a critical regulator of immune responses. In this study, we explored whether AIM2 was expressed in human dental pulp and defined the role of AIM2 in regulating interleukin (IL)-1 beta secretion. We demonstrated that AIM2 was only detected in the odontoblast layer of healthy dental pulp, whereas strong expression was observed in inflamed dental pulp. Stimulation with interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) and cytoplasmic DNA significantly activated the AIM2 inflammasome and increased IL-1 beta secretion in human dental pulp cells (HDPCs) in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Moreover, the knockdown of AIM2 downregulated both cleaved-caspase-1 expression and IL-1 beta release in HDPCs. These results suggest that AIM2 expressed in human dental pulp plays an important role in the immune defense by activating the inflammasome signaling pathway.

• 出版日期2015-4
• 单位中山大学