The Wingless homolog WNT5A and its receptor Frizzled-5 regulate inflammatory responses of human mononuclear cells induced by microbial stimulation

A Blumenthal, S Ehlers, J Lauber, J Buer, C Lange… - Blood, 2006 - ashpublications.org
Blood, 2006ashpublications.org
Microarray-assisted gene-expression screens of human macrophages revealed WNT5A, a
homolog of Wingless, a key regulator of Drosophila melanogaster embryonic segmentation
and patterning, to be consistently up-regulated following stimulation with different
mycobacterial species and conserved bacterial structures. The expression of WNT5A
required Toll-like receptor signaling and NF-κB activation, which identifies a novel induction
pathway for a Wingless homolog. We show that human peripheral-blood mononuclear cells …
Abstract
Microarray - assisted gene - expression screens of human macrophages revealed WNT5A, a homolog of Wingless, a key regulator of Drosophila melanogaster embryonic segmentation and patterning, to be consistently up-regulated following stimulation with different mycobacterial species and conserved bacterial structures. The expression of WNT5A required Toll-like receptor signaling and NF-κB activation, which identifies a novel induction pathway for a Wingless homolog. We show that human peripheral-blood mononuclear cells express the WNT5A receptor Frizzled-5 (FZD5). Both WNT5A and FZD5 also were detected in granulomatous lesions in the lungs of Mycobacterium tuberculosis–infected patients. Functional studies showed that WNT5A and FZD5 regulate the microbially induced interleukin-12 response of antigen-presenting cells and interferon-γ production by mycobacterial antigenstimulated T cells. Our findings implicate the evolutionarily conserved WNT/Frizzled signaling system in bridging innate and adaptive immunity to infections.
ashpublications.org