Human lysyl-tRNA synthetase is secreted to trigger proinflammatory response

SG Park, HJ Kim, YH Min, EC Choi… - Proceedings of the …, 2005 - National Acad Sciences
SG Park, HJ Kim, YH Min, EC Choi, YK Shin, BJ Park, SW Lee, S Kim
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2005National Acad Sciences
Although aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (ARSs) are essential for protein synthesis, they also
function as regulators and signaling molecules in diverse biological processes. Here, we
screened 11 different human ARSs to identify the enzyme that is secreted as a signaling
molecule. Among them, we found that lysyl-tRNA synthetase (KRS) was secreted from intact
human cells, and its secretion was induced by TNF-α. The secreted KRS bound to
macrophages and peripheral blood mononuclear cells to enhance the TNF-α production …
Although aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (ARSs) are essential for protein synthesis, they also function as regulators and signaling molecules in diverse biological processes. Here, we screened 11 different human ARSs to identify the enzyme that is secreted as a signaling molecule. Among them, we found that lysyl-tRNA synthetase (KRS) was secreted from intact human cells, and its secretion was induced by TNF-α. The secreted KRS bound to macrophages and peripheral blood mononuclear cells to enhance the TNF-α production and their migration. The mitogen-activated protein kinases, extracellular signal-regulated kinase and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase, and Gαi were determined to be involved in the signal transduction triggered by KRS. All of these activities demonstrate that human KRS may work as a previously uncharacterized signaling molecule, inducing immune response through the activation of monocyte/macrophages.
National Acad Sciences