Affiliation:
1. Biological and Biomedical Sciences Program
2. Vascular Biology Program, Children's Hospital and the Department of Surgery, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Anthrax lethal toxin (LT) increases vascular leakage in a number of mammalian models and in human anthrax disease. Using a zebrafish model, we determined that vascular delivery of LT increased permeability, which was phenocopied by treatment with a selective chemical inhibitor of MEK1 and MEK2 (also known as mitogen-activated protein kinase [MAPK] kinase, MEK, or MKK). Here we investigate further the role of MEK1/phospho-ERK (pERK) in the action of LT. Overexpression of wild-type zebrafish MEK1 at high levels did not induce detrimental effects. However, a constitutively activated version, MEK1
S219D,S223D
(MEK1DD), induced early defects in embryonic development that correlated with increased ERK/MAPK phosphorylation. To bypass these early developmental defects and to provide a genetic tool for examining the action of lethal factor (LF), we generated inducible transgenic zebrafish lines expressing either wild-type or activated MEK1 under the control of a heat shock promoter. Remarkably, induction of MEK1DD transgene expression prior to LT delivery prevented vascular damage, while the wild-type MEK1 line did not. In the presence of both LT and MEK1DD transgene expression, cardiovascular development and function proceeded normally in most embryos. The resistance to microsphere leakage in transgenic animals demonstrated a protective role against LT-induced vascular permeability. A consistent increase in ERK phosphorylation among LT-resistant MEK1DD transgenic animals provided additional confirmation of transgene activation. These findings provide a novel genetic approach to examine mechanism of action of LT
in vivo
through one of its known targets. This approach may be generally applied to investigate additional pathogen-host interactions and to provide mechanistic insights into host signaling pathways affected by pathogen entry.
Publisher
American Society for Microbiology
Subject
Infectious Diseases,Immunology,Microbiology,Parasitology
Cited by
18 articles.
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