Transcription profiling of human monocytes after treatment vehicle, isotype control antibody, TREM1 antibody, LPS, isotype control antibody plus LPS and TREM1 antibody plus LP to invesigate innate immune responses to TREM-1 activation

TREM-1 is an orphan immunoreceptor expressed on monocytes, macrophages, and neutrophils. TREM-1 associates with and signals via the adapter protein DAP12/TYROBP, which contains an immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif (ITAM). TREM-1 activation by receptor cross-linking is pro-inflammatory, and can amplify cellular responses to Toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands such as bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS). To investigate the cellular consequences of TREM-1 activation, we have characterized global gene expression changes in human monocytes in response to TREM-1 cross-linking in comparison to and combined with LPS. Both TREM-1 activation and LPS up-regulate chemokines, cytokines, matrix metalloproteases, and PTGS/COX2, consistent with a core inflammatory response. However, other immunomodulatory factors are selectively induced, including SPP1 and CSF1 (i.e., M-CSF) by TREM-1 activation and IL-23 and CSF3 (i.e., G-CSF) by LPS. Additionally, cross-talk between TREM-1 activation and LPS occurs on multiple levels. While synergy in GM-CSF protein production is reflected in commensurate mRNA abundance, comparable synergy in IL-1b protein production is not. TREM-1 activation also attenuates the induction of some LPS target genes, including those that encode IL-12 cytokine family subunits. Whereas positive TREM-1 outputs are abolished by the PI3K inhibitor wortmannin, this attenuation is largely PI3K-independent. These experiments provide a detailed analysis of the cellular consequences of TREM-1 activation, and highlight some of the complexity in signal integration between ITAM- and TLR-mediated signaling. Experiment Overall Design: 11 anonymous donors were treated with Vehicle, isotype control antibody, TREM1 antibody, LPS, isotype control antibody plus LPS and TREM1 antibody plus LPS