Roca Soler, Francisco José

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Roca Soler, Francisco José

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Roca Soler, Francisco José

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Universidad de Murcia. Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular"B" e Inmunología

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Open Access
Chaperone-mediated autophagy sustains pericyte stemness necessary for brain tissue homeostasis
(Elsevier, 2025-04-24) Martínez, Carlos M.; Martínez-Morga, Marta; Rodríguez-Madoz, Juan R.; Prósper, Felipe; Zapata, Agustín G.; Moraleda, José María; Martínez, Salvador; García Bernal, David; Roca Soler, Francisco José; Salinas Hidalgo, María Dolores; Valdor Alonso, Rut; Bioquímica y Biología Molecular B e Inmunología
Introduction: Pericytes (PCs) are mural cells exhibiting some mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) properties and contribute to tissue regeneration after injury. We have previously shown that glioblastoma cancer cells induce in PCs, a pathogenic upregulation of chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA) which modulates immune functions and MSC-like properties to support tumor growth. Objectives: The aim of the study was to interrogate the role of CMA-regulated MSC properties in PCs in the context of tissue repair during inflammation triggered by a demyelinating injury. Methods: Studies of RNA-seq were done PCs with (WT) and without (LAMP-2A KO) CMA. Cell characterization related to stemness, lineage and morphology was done in WT and KO PCs. Secretome analysis and cell differentiation assay using the supernatants from CMA-efficient and deficient PCs cultures was done in mesenchymal cells. Inflammatory response of brain cells was assessed with WT and KO PCs secretome. To corroborate in vitro results, CMA modulation in response to inflammation in PCs and tissue repair markers were measured in the lesion areas of a demyelination mouse model and correlated with the tissue reparation after intravenous PC administration. An inflammatory mediator was used to study effects on PC-CMA activity. Results We found that inflammatory mediators such as IFNγ downregulate CMA in PCs, suppressing PC stemness and promoting a pro-inflammatory secretome. Restoration of PC CMA activity during inflammation maintains PC MSC properties and induces an MSC-like proteome which decreases inflammation and promotes tissue repair. We identified secreted proteins involved in regenerative and protective processes, and therefore, necessary to restore brain tissue homeostasis after inflammation induced by a demyelinating injury. Conclusion: we show that manipulation of CMA activity in host PCs could be a useful therapeutical approach in the context of brain inflammation, which might be extended to other diseases where the pericyte has a key role in response to inflammation.
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The colony-stimulating factor-1 receptor is a specific marker of macrophages from the bony fish gilthead seabream
(Elsevier, 2005-08-30) Lopez-Castejón, Gloria; Meseguer Peñalver, J.; Mulero Méndez, Victoriano Francisco; Sepulcre Cortés, María Pilar; Roca Soler, Francisco José; Bioquímica y Biología Molecular B e Inmunología
We report the molecular cloning of the colony-stimulating factor-1 receptor gene from the bony fish gilthead seabream (sbCSF-1R). The deduced sbCSF-1R shows a predicted signal sequence, a transmembrane domain and a tyrosine kinase domain, all in conserved positions. A transcript showing a premature stop codon that predicted the removal of 84 C-terminal amino acids was also found. RT-PCR expression studies demonstrate that, although the sbCSF-1R transcripts are found in different immune tissues, including gill, liver, spleen, blood, peritoneal exudate, thymus and head-kidney (HK), their expression is confined to the monocyte/macrophage lineage. Furthermore, the expression of sbCSF-1R might be modulated by the activation stage of the macrophages, since both the infection of fish and the in vitro activation of leukocytes resulted in the down-regulation of gene expression. These data indicate that the CSF-1R may be used as a specific probe for cells of the monocyte/macrophage lineage in the gilthead seabream, an immunological tractable fish model. In addition, the functional characterisation of the CSF-1R and its ligand may shed light into the mechanisms of proliferation and the pathways of differentiation of macrophages in bony fish.
Open Access
Tumor Necrosis Factor and Schistosoma mansoni egg antigen omega-1 shape distinct aspects of the early egg-induced granulomatous response
(Public Library of Science, 2021-01-19) Schramm, Gabriele; Wilbers, Ruud H. P. ; Ittiprasert, Wannaporn ; Brindley, Paul J. ; Rinaldi, Gabriel ; Berriman, Matthew ; Ramakrishnan, Lalita; Pagan, Antonio J. ; Takaki, Kevin K. ; Roca Soler, Francisco José; Bioquímica y Biología Molecular B e Inmunología
Infections by schistosomes result in granulomatous lesions around parasite eggs entrapped within the host tissues. The host and parasite determinants of the Schistosoma mansoni egg-induced granulomatous response are areas of active investigation. Some studies in mice implicate Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) produced in response to the infection whereas others fail to find a role for it. In addition, in the mouse model, the S. mansoni secreted egg antigen omega-1 is found to induce granulomas but the underlying mechanism remains unknown. We have recently developed the zebrafish larva as a model to study macrophage recruitment and granuloma formation in response to Schistosoma mansoni eggs. Here we use this model to investigate the mechanisms by which TNF and omega-1 shape the early granulomatous response. We find that TNF, specifically signaling through TNF receptor 1, is not required for macrophage recruitment to the egg and granuloma initiation but does mediate granuloma enlargement. In contrast, omega-1 mediates initial macrophage recruitment, with this chemotactic activity being dependent on its RNase activity. Our findings further the understanding of the role of these host- and parasite-derived factors and show that they impact distinct facets of the granulomatous response to the schistosome egg.
Open Access
The Mycobacterium marinum-zebrafish model to study host-pathogen interactions in tuberculosis
(2018) Roca Soler, Francisco José; Bioquímica y Biología Molecular B e Inmunología
While Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) is host protective in mycobacterial infections, its excess is pathogenic. TNF excess triggers production of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) that cause programmed necrosis (necroptosis) of infected macrophages through the participation of the mitochondrial protein cyclophilin D, a regulator of mitochondrial permeability transition. Here we show that mitochondrial ROS mediate necrosis through a signaling pathway that traverses the lysosome, cytosol, and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) before returning to the mitochondrion to execute cell death. We have identified the specific proteins, including Ca2+ channels, which orchestrate this pathway, which we will present. In summary, we find that mitochondrial Ca2+ overload is the ultimate feature in the pathway responsible for TNF-mediated programmed necrosis in infected macrophages. We identify currently used calcium channel blockers as well as drugs that specifically inhibit ER calcium release as pharmacological interventions that prevent pathogenic necrosis in tuberculosis.
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Evolution of Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) Recognition and Signaling: Fish TLR4 Does Not Recognize LPS and Negatively Regulates NF-κB Activation
(American Association of Immunologists Oxford University Press, 2009-02-15) Alcaraz-Perez, Francisca; López-Muñoz, Azucena; Meseguer Peñalver, J.; Cayuela Fuentes, Maria Luisa; Mulero Méndez, Victoriano Francisco; Sepulcre Cortés, María Pilar; Roca Soler, Francisco José; Bioquímica y Biología Molecular B e Inmunología
It has long been established that lower vertebrates, most notably fish and amphibians, are resistant to the toxic effect of LPS. Furthermore, the lack of a TLR4 ortholog in some fish species and the lack of the essential costimulatory molecules for LPS activation via TLR4 (i.e., myeloid differentiation protein 2 (MD-2) and CD14) in all the fish genomes and expressed sequence tag databases available led us to hypothesize that the mechanism of LPS recognition in fish may be different from that of mammals. To shed light on the role of fish TLRs in LPS recognition, a dual-luciferase reporter assay to study NF-κB activation in whole zebrafish embryos was developed and three different bony fish models were studied: 1) the gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata, Perciformes), an immunological-tractable teleost model in which the presence of a TLR4 ortholog is unknown; 2) the spotted green pufferfish (Tetraodon nigroviridis, Tetraodontiformes), which lacks a TLR4 ortholog; and 3) the zebrafish (Danio rerio, Cypriniformes), which possesses two TLR4 orthologs. Our results show that LPS signaled via a TLR4- and MyD88-independent manner in fish, and, surprisingly, that the zebrafish TLR4 orthologs negatively regulated the MyD88-dependent signaling pathway. We think that the identification of TLR4 as a negative regulator of TLR signaling in the zebrafish, together with the absence of this receptor in most fish species, explains the resistance of fish to endotoxic shock and supports the idea that the TLR4 receptor complex for LPS recognition arose after the divergence of fish and tetrapods.
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New insights into the evolution of IFNs: zebrafish group II IFNs induce a rapid and transient expression of IFN-dependent genes and display powerful antiviral activities
(American Association of Immunologists, Oxford University Press, 2009-03-15) López-Muñoz, Azucena; Meseguer Peñalver, J.; Mulero Méndez, Victoriano Francisco; Roca Soler, Francisco José; Bioquímica y Biología Molecular B e Inmunología
The IFNs and their receptors have existed in early chordates for ∼500 million years and represent the early elements in innate and adaptive immunity. Both types I and II IFNs have been discovered in fish, and type I has recently been classified into two groups based on their primary protein sequences. However, the biological activities of fish IFNs and their roles in infection are largely unknown. Using the zebrafish and manageable bacterial (Streptococcus iniae) and viral (spring viremia of carp virus) infection models, we are reporting in this study that zebrafish IFN (zfIFN) γ failed to induce antiviral and proinflammatory genes when administered in vivo, which correlates with its inability to protect the fish against bacterial and viral infections. We also found that, although both group I (i.e., zfIFN1) and group II zfIFNs (i.e., zfIFN2 and zfIFN3) displayed strong in vivo antiviral activities, only group I zfIFN was able to protect the fish against bacterial infection, which may reflect the different patterns and kinetics of immune-related genes elicited by these two groups of IFNs. Thus, group II zfIFNs induced a rapid and transient expression of antiviral genes, whereas group I zfIFN exerted a slow but more powerful induction of several antiviral and proin-flammatory genes. Collectively, our results suggest nonredundant, complementary roles of type I zfIFNs in viral infections and provide evidence for a pivotal role of the recently identified group II IFN of fish in the early stages of viral infections.
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Characterization of macrophages from the bony fish gilthead seabream using an antibody against the macrophage colony-stimulating factor receptor
(Elsevier, 2008-04-07) Mulero Méndez, Iván; Meseguer Peñalver, J.; García Ayala, Alfonsa; Mulero Méndez, Victoriano Francisco; Sepulcre Cortés, María Pilar; Roca Soler, Francisco José; Bioquímica y Biología Molecular B e Inmunología
Two major professional phagocyte populations have been described in fish, namely granulocytes and monocytes/macrophages. Although the distribution and localization of macrophages have been documented in several teleost species using mainly light and/or electron microscopy, the lack of appropriate markers for these cells has hampered our in-depth knowledge of their biology. We report here the generation of a monospecific rabbit polyclonal antibody against the gilthead seabream macrophage colony-stimulating factor receptor (Mcsfr), which is an excellent marker of macrophages in mammals and the zebrafish. The anti-Mcsfr has been found to be very useful in immunohistochemistry (IHC) to specifically immunostain the purified macrophages (adherent cells) obtained from the head-kidney as well as different cell populations in paraffin-embedded organs, including the head-kidney, spleen, thymus, gills and liver. Unexpectedly, however, no Mcsfr immunoreactive (Mcsfr+) cells were observed in the brain and intestine of the gilthead seabream. We also show that the distribution of Mcsfr+ cells in the head-kidney and the spleen is unaltered following infection with the fish pathogenic bacterium Vibrio anguillarum and that the Il1b-producing cells in these two organs after infection are exclusively acidophilic granulocytes. Finally, as the epitope recognized by the anti-Mcsfr is well conserved, we illustrate the potential usefulness of this antibody in other teleost species, such as the European seabass.
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Evolution of the inflammatory response in vertebrates: fish TNF-α is a powerful activator of endothelial cells but hardly activates phagocytes
(2008-10-01) Mulero Méndez, Iván; López-Muñoz, Azucena; Renshaw, Stephen A.; Meseguer Peñalver, J.; Mulero Méndez, Victoriano Francisco; Sepulcre Cortés, María Pilar; Roca Soler, Francisco José; Bioquímica y Biología Molecular B e Inmunología
TNF-α is conserved in all vertebrate classes and has been identified in all taxonomic groups of teleost fish. However, its biological activities and its role in infection are largely unknown. Using two complementary fish models, gilthead seabream and zebrafish, we report here that the main proinflammatory effects of fish TNF-α are mediated through the activation of endothelial cells. Thus, TNF-α promotes the expression of E-selectin and different CC and CXC chemokines in endothelial cells, thus explaining the recruitment and activation of phagocytes observed in vivo in both species. We also found that TLR ligands, and to some extent TNF-α, were able to increase the expression of MHC class II and CD83 in endothelial cells, which might suggest a role for fish endothelial cells and TNF-α in Ag presentation. Lastly, we found that TNF-α increases the susceptibility of the zebrafish to viral (spring viremia of carp virus) and bacterial (Streptococcus iniae) infections. Although the powerful actions of fish TNF-α on endothelial cells suggest that it might facilitate pathogen dissemination, it was found that TNF-α increased antiviral genes and, more importantly, had little effect on the viral load in early infection. In addition, the stimulation of ZF4 cells with TNF-α resulted in increased viral replication. Together, these results indicate that fish TNF-α displays different sorts of bioactivity to their mammalian counterparts and point to the complexity of the evolution that has taken place in the regulation of innate immunity by cytokines.
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TNF dually mediates resistance and susceptibility to mycobacteria via mitochondrial reactive oxygen species
(Cell Press, 2013-04-11) Roca Soler, Francisco José; Ramakrishnan, Lalita; Bioquímica y Biología Molecular B e Inmunología
Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) constitutes a critical host defense against tuberculosis, but its excess is also implicated in tuberculosis pathogenesis in zebrafish and humans. Using the zebrafish, we elucidate the pathways by which TNF mediates tuberculosis pathogenesis. TNF excess induces mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) in infected macrophages through RIP1-RIP3-dependent pathways. While initially increasing macrophage microbicidal activity, ROS rapidly induce programmed necrosis (necroptosis) and release mycobacteria into the growth-permissive extracellular milieu. TNF-induced necroptosis occurs through two pathways: modulation of mitochondrial cyclophilin D, implicated in mitochondrial permeability transition pore formation, and acid sphingomyelinase-mediated ceramide production. Combined genetic blockade of cyclophilin D and acid sphingomyelinase renders the high TNF state hyperresistant by preventing macrophage necrosis while preserving increased microbicidal activity. Similarly, the cyclophilin D-inhibiting drug alisporivir and the acid sphingomyelinase-inactivating drug, desipramine, synergize to reverse susceptibility, suggesting the therapeutic potential of these orally active drugs against tuberculosis and possibly other TNF-mediated diseases.
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Post-transcriptional regulation of cytokine genes in fish: A role for conserved AU-rich elements located in the 3′-untranslated region of their mRNAs
(Elsevier, 2006-04-03) Cayuela Fuentes, Maria Luisa; Secombes, Chris. J.; Meseguer Peñalver, J.; Mulero Méndez, Victoriano Francisco; Roca Soler, Francisco José; Bioquímica y Biología Molecular B e Inmunología
The overproduction of cytokines, such us interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha), contributes to the pathological complications observed in many inflammatory diseases caused by bacterial endotoxins. The synthesis of these cytokines is tightly regulated at both transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels. Post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression depends on specific cis-acting sequences and trans-acting factors. Thus, the presence of adenylate- and uridylate-rich (AU-rich) elements (AREs) has been described in the 3'-untranslated regions (UTRs) of many unstable mammalian mRNAs. Although, it represents the most widespread, phylogenetically conserved and efficient determinant of mRNA stability among those so far characterized in mammalian cells, no studies are available on the functional relevance of this sequence in non-mammalian vertebrates. In this contribution, we study the enzymatic activity of various luciferase reporter constructs, containing or lacking the 3'UTR of IL-1beta and TNFalpha from different fish species, and report the finding that bony fish AREs are able to decrease luciferase activity but are less potent than their mammalian counterparts. Surprisingly, the 3'UTR of the IL-1beta from the cartilaginous fish small spotted catshark had the greatest ability to decrease luciferase activity. Lastly, the functional significance of the above was confirmed by measuring the half-life of IL-1beta and TNFalpha mRNAs in gilthead seabream leukocytes by blocking transcription with actinomycin D. Both cytokine mRNAs were unstable with an estimated half-life of about 45 min in control and activated cells.