Nicholas J. Gay

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are important sentinels of bacterial and viral infection and thus fulfil a critical sensory role in innate immunity. Polo-like kinases (PLKs), a five membered family of Ser/Thr protein kinases, have long been studied for their role in mitosis and thus represent attractive therapeutic targets in cancer therapy. Recently, PLKs were implicated in TLR signaling in mice but the role of PLKs in TLR signaling in untransformed primary immune cells has not been addressed, even though PLK inhibitors are in clinical trials. We here identified several phospho-serine and phospho-threonine residues in the known TLR pathway kinases, Interleukin-1 receptor-associated kinase (IRAK) 2 and IRAK4. These sites lie in canonical polo-box motifs (PBM), sequence motifs known to direct recruitment of PLKs to client proteins. Interestingly, PLK1 was phosphorylated and PLK 2 and 3 mRNA induced upon TLR stimulation in primary immune cells, respectively. In whole blood, PLK inhibition disparately affected TLR mediated cytokine responses in a donor- and inhibitor-dependent fashion. Collectively, PLKs may thus potentially interface with TLR signaling in humans. We propose that temporary PLK inhibitor-mediated blockade of TLR-signaling in certain patients receiving such inhibitors during cancer treatment may cause adverse effects such as an increased risk of infections due to a then compromised ability of the TLR recognition system to sense and initiate cytokine responses to invading microbes.

Neurotrophism, structural plasticity, learning and long-term memory in mammals critically depend on neurotrophins binding Trk receptors to activate tyrosine kinase (TyrK) signalling, but Drosophila lacks full-length Trks, raising the question of how these processes occur in the fly. Paradoxically, truncated Trk isoforms lacking the TyrK predominate in the adult human brain, but whether they have neuronal functions independently of full-length Trks is unknown. Drosophila has TyrK-less Trk-family receptors, encoded by the kekkon (kek) genes, suggesting that evolutionarily conserved functions for this receptor class may exist. Here, we asked whether Keks function together with Drosophila neurotrophins (DNTs) at the larval glutamatergic neuromuscular junction (NMJ). Starting with an unbiased approach, we tested the evelen LRR and Ig-containing (LIG) proteins encoded in the Drosophila genome for expression in the central nervous system (CNS) and potential interaction with DNTs. Kek-6 was expressed in the CNS, could interact genetically with DNTs and could bind DNT2 both in signaling essays and in co-immunoprecipitations. There is promiscuity in ligand binding, as Kek-6 could also bind DNT1, and Kek-5 could also bind DNT2. In vivo, Kek-6 is found presynaptically in motoneurons, and binds DNT2 produced by the muscle, which functions as a retrograde factor at the NMJ. Kek-6 and DNT2 regulate NMJ growth, bouton formation and active zone homeostasis. Kek-6 does not antagonise the alternative DNT2 receptor Toll-6, but rather the two receptors contribute in distinct manners to NMJ structural plasticity. Using pull-down assays, we identified and validated CaMKII and VAP33A as intracellular partners of Kek-6, and show that together they regulate NMJ growth and active zone formation. These functions of Kek-6 could be evolutionarily conserved, raising the intriguing possibility that a novel mechanism of structural synaptic plasticity involving truncated Trk-family receptors independently of TyrK signaling may also operate in the human brain. AUTHOR SUMMARY: A long-standing paradox had been to explain how brain structural plasticity, learning and long-term memory might occur in Drosophila in the absence of canonical Trk receptors for neurotrophin (NT) ligands. NTs link structure and function in the brain enabling adjustments in cell number, dendritic, axonal and synaptic patterns, in response to neuronal activity. These events are essential for brain development, learning and long-term memory, and are thought to depend on the tyrosine-kinase function of the NT Trk receptors. However, paradoxically, the most abundant Trk isoforms in the adult human brain lack the tyrosine kinase, and their neuronal function is unknown. Remarkably, Drosophila has kinase-less receptors of the Trk family encoded by the kekkon (kek) genes, suggesting that deep evolutionary functional conservation for this receptor class could be unveiled. Here, we show that Kek-6 is a receptor for Drosophila neurotrophin 2 (DNT2) that regulates structural synaptic plasticity via CaMKII and VAP33A, well-known factors regulating synaptic structure and plasticity, and vesicle release. Our findings suggest that in mammals truncated Trk-family receptors could also have synaptic functions in neurons independently of Tyrosine kinase signalling. This might reveal a novel mechanism of brain plasticity, with important implications for understanding also the human brain, in health and disease.

Initiation of the innate immune response requires agonist recognition by pathogen-recognition receptors such as the Toll-like receptors (TLRs). Toll/interleukin-1 receptor (TIR) domain-containing adaptors are critical in orchestrating the signal transduction pathways after TLR and interleukin-1 receptor activation. Myeloid differentiation primary response gene 88 (MyD88) adaptor-like (MAL)/TIR domain-containing adaptor protein (TIRAP) is involved in bridging MyD88 to TLR2 and TLR4 in response to bacterial infection. Genetic studies have associated a number of unique single-nucleotide polymorphisms in MAL with protection against invasive microbial infection, but a molecular understanding has been hampered by a lack of structural information. The present study describes the crystal structure of MAL TIR domain. Significant structural differences exist in the overall fold of MAL compared with other TIR domain structures: A sequence motif comprising a β-strand in other TIR domains instead corresponds to a long loop, placing the functionally important “BB loop” proline motif in a unique surface position in MAL. The structure suggests possible dimerization and MyD88-interacting interfaces, and we confirm the key interface residues by coimmunoprecipitation using site-directed mutants. Jointly, our results provide a molecular and structural basis for the role of MAL in TLR signaling and disease protection.

Summary:  Initiation of the innate immune response requires agonist recognition by a pathogen recognition receptor. Following ligand binding, conformational rearrangement of the receptor creates a molecular scaffold from which signal transduction is propagated via complex cellular signaling pathways. This in turn leads to the induction of a pro‐inflammatory immune response. A critical component of these signaling pathways is the homotypic interaction of receptor and adapter proteins via specific protein interaction domains. Within the innate immune signaling cascade, homotypic interactions between members of the death domain family and the Toll/interleukin‐1 receptor domain are particularly important. Here we discuss the current understanding of the molecular basis of these homotypic receptor:adapter interactions and their role in innate immune signal transduction.

The ten human Toll-like receptors are able to respond to an extremely diverse range of microbial products ranging from di- and tri-acylated lipids to nucleic acids. An understanding of the molecular structure adopted by the receptor extracellular, transmembrane, and cytoplasmic domains and the way in which these structures interact with ligands and downstream signaling adapters can explain how recognition and signal transduction are achieved at a molecular level. In this article we discuss how the leucine-rich repeats of the receptor ectodomain have evolved to bind a wide variety of biological molecules. We also discuss how ligandbinding induces dimerization of two receptor chains and initiates a series of protein conformational changes that lead to a signaling event in the cytoplasm of the immune system cell. Thus, the signaling process of the TLRs can be viewed as a unidirectional molecular switch.

The Toll family of class I transmembrane receptors recognizes and responds to diverse structures associated with pathogenic microorganisms. These receptors mediate initial responses in innate immunity and are required for the development of the adaptive immune response. Toll receptor signaling pathways are also implicated in serious autoimmune diseases such as endotoxic shock and thus are important therapeutic targets. In this review we discuss how microbial structures as different as nucleic acids and lipoproteins can be recognized by the extracellular domains of Toll receptors. We review recent evidence that the mechanism of signal transduction is complex and involves sequential changes in the conformation of the receptor induced by binding of the ligand. Finally, we assess the emerging area of cross talk in the Toll pathways. Recent work suggests that signaling through TLR4 in response to endotoxin is modified by inputs from at least two other pathways acting through β2 integrins and protein kinase Cɛ.

Members of the Toll family of single-pass transmembrane receptors are key mediators of innate immunity in both vertebrates and invertebrates. They respond to various pathogen-associated stimuli and transduce the complex signalling responses that are required for inflammation and for the subsequent development of adaptive immunity. Here, we propose a molecular mechanism for signalling by the Toll and Toll-like receptors that involves a series of protein conformational changes initiated by dimerization of their extracellular domains. The initial dimerization event, which is triggered by the interaction of the receptor with its ligand, might disrupt a pre-formed but non-functional dimer. Formation of a stable receptor-ligand complex then relieves constitutive autoinhibition, enabling receptor-receptor association of the extracellular juxtamembrane regions and cytoplasmic signalling domains. This activation process constitutes a tightly regulated, unidirectional molecular switch.