Article abstract


Nature Immunology 10, 965 - 972 (2009)
Published online: 9 August 2009 | doi:10.1038/ni.1771

TANK is a negative regulator of Toll-like receptor signaling and is critical for the prevention of autoimmune nephritis

Tatsukata Kawagoe1,2,6, Osamu Takeuchi1,2,6, Yoshitsugu Takabatake3, Hiroki Kato1,2, Yoshitaka Isaka4, Tohru Tsujimura5 & Shizuo Akira1,2


The intensity and duration of immune responses are controlled by many proteins that modulate Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling. TANK has been linked to positive regulation of the transcription factors IRF3 and NF-kappaB. Here we demonstrate that TANK is not involved in interferon responses and is a negative regulator of proinflammatory cytokine production induced by TLR signaling. TLR-induced polyubiquitination of the ubiquitin ligase TRAF6 was upregulated in Tank-/- macrophages. Notably, Tank-/- mice spontaneously developed fatal glomerulonephritis owing to deposition of immune complexes. Autoantibody production in Tank-/- mice was abrogated by antibiotic treatment or the absence of interleukin 6 (IL-6) or the adaptor MyD88. Our results demonstrate that constitutive TLR signaling by intestinal commensal microflora is suppressed by TANK.

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  1. Laboratory of Host Defense, World Premier International Immunology Frontier Research Center, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan.
  2. Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan.
  3. Department of Nephrology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan.
  4. Department of Advanced Technology for Transplantation, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan.
  5. Department of Pathology, Hyogo College of Medicine, Hyogo, Japan.
  6. These authors contributed equally to this work.

Correspondence to: Shizuo Akira1,2 e-mail: sakira@biken.osaka-u.ac.jp



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