TRAF1 meditates lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury by up regulating JNK activation

Abstract Acute lung injury (ALI) is served as a severe life-threatening disease. However, the pathogenesis that contributes to ALI has not been fully understood. Tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 1 (TRAF1) interacts with multiple regulators, performing its diverse role in biological functions. However, the effects of TRAF1 on ALI remain unknown. In this study, we attempted to explore the role of TRAF1 in ALI progression. The findings suggested that TRAF1-knockout (KO) markedly attenuated LPS-induced severe mortality rate in murine animals. LPS-elicited histological alterations in pulmonary tissues were significantly alleviated by TRAF1-deletion. Additionally, TRAF1 knockout effectively attenuated lung injury, as evidenced by the reduced lung wet/dry (W/D) weight ratio, as well as decreased bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) protein levels and neutrophil infiltration. Meanwhile, TRAF1 deletion markedly lessened inflammation, oxidative stress and apoptosis in BALF and/or lung tissues. The levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines stimulated by LPS were down-regulated by TRAF1 ablation, along with the inactivation of nuclear factor κB (NF-κB). LPS-promoted reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation was decreased in TRAF1-KO mice, partly through the improvement of anti-oxidants. Apoptosis was also inhibited by TRAF1 deletion in lung tissues of LPS-challenged mice through the suppression of cleaved Caspase-3. Moreover, TRAF1 knockout significantly decreased c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) activation and its down-streaming signal of c-Jun in pulmonary samples of LPS-induced mice. Importantly, the in vitro study suggested that promoting JNK activation markedly abrogated TRAF1 knockdown-attenuated inflammation, ROS production and apoptosis in LPS-exposed A549 cells. Therefore, our experimental results provided evidence that TRAF1 suppression effectively protected LPS-induced ALI against inflammation, oxidative stress and apoptosis through the suppression of JNK activity.