Dectin-2 Recognizes Mannosylated O-antigens of Human Opportunistic Pathogens and Augments Lipopolysaccharide Activation of Myeloid Cells.

Wittmann A., Lamprinaki D., Bowles K. M., Katzenellenbogen E., Knirel Y. A., Whitfield C., Nishimura T., Matsumoto N., Yamamoto K., Iwakura Y., Saijo S., Kawasaki N.. (2016)

Journal of Biological Chemistry, 291, 17629-38


LPS consists of a relatively conserved region of lipid A and core oligosaccharide and a highly variable region of O-antigen polysaccharide. Whereas lipid A is known to bind to the Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)-myeloid differentiation factor 2 (MD2) complex, the role of the O-antigen remains unclear. Here we report a novel molecular interaction between dendritic cell-associated C-type lectin-2 (Dectin-2) and mannosylated O-antigen found in a human opportunistic pathogen, Hafnia alvei PCM 1223, which has a repeating unit of [-Man-a1,3-Man-a1,2-Man-a1,2-Man-a1,2-Man-a1,3-]. H. alvei LPS induced higher levels of TNFa and IL-10 from mouse bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BM-DCs), when compared with Salmonella enterica O66 LPS, which has a repeat of [-Gal-a1,6-Gal-a1,4-[Glc-ß1,3]GalNAc-a1,3-GalNAc-ß1,3-]. In a cell-based reporter assay, Dectin-2 was shown to recognize H. alvei LPS. This binding was inhibited by mannosidase treatment of H. alvei LPS and by mutations in the carbohydrate-binding domain of Dectin-2, demonstrating that H. alvei LPS is a novel glycan ligand of Dectin-2. The enhanced cytokine production by H. alvei LPS was Dectin-2-dependent, because Dectin-2 knock-out BM-DCs failed to do so. This receptor cross-talk between Dectin-2 and TLR4 involved events including spleen tyrosine kinase (Syk) activation and receptor juxtaposition. Furthermore, another mannosylated LPS from Escherichia coli O9a also bound to Dectin-2 and augmented TLR4 activation of BM-DCs. Taken together, these data indicate that mannosylated O-antigens from several Gram-negative bacteria augment TLR4 responses through interaction with Dectin-2.


Journal of Biological Chemistry, 291, 17629-38


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