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Relationship: 2202
Title
Covalent Binding, Protein leads to Activation, Inflammatory cytokines, chemokines, cytoprotective gene pathways
Upstream event
Downstream event
AOPs Referencing Relationship
Taxonomic Applicability
Sex Applicability
Life Stage Applicability
Covalent binding to proteins by electrophiles generates haptenated proteins which are able to activate cytoprotective pathways and ultimately elicit immune defenses. For respiratory sensitization, there is evidence to suggest binding to specific lysine residues of serum proteins may be the characteristic initiating event.
| ID | Experimental Design | Species | Upstream Observation | Downstream Observation | Citation (first author, year) | Notes |
|---|
| Title | First Author | Biological Plausibility |
Dose Concordance |
Temporal Concordance |
Incidence Concordance |
|---|
Biological Plausibility
Dose Concordance Evidence
Temporal Concordance Evidence
Incidence Concordance Evidence
Uncertainties and Inconsistencies
To elucidate which pathways respiratory sensitizers regulate, in vitro DNA microarray studies were performed in different human lung cell lines exposed to a limited set of respiratory sensitizers. These studies were not able to identify specific molecular pathways that were regulated by respiratory sensitizers. They could identify activation of genes, related to innate immune response. In human alveolar epithelial cells (A549 cell line), for example, genes encoding for TLR2, TNF-a, IL-1 receptor, and cytokine signaling pathways were upregulated by hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) and TMA. (Verstraelen et al., 2009) NLRP3 has been demonstrated to be important in respiratory sensitization by proteins, (Besnard et al., 2012) but the involvement in the induction of respiratory sensitization by low-molecular-weight chemicals is unknown. In human keratinocytes, the respiratory sensitizers MDI and TMA failed to elevate intracellular proinflammatory IL-18 levels. (Corsini et al., 2009) Conflicting reports as to whether IL-18 is associated with a Th1 or Th2 immune response hamper interpretation of this result.
Additionally, the canonical phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN)-signaling pathway might be relevant for respiratory sensitization. (Verstraelen et al., 2009) This pathway regulates cell survival signaling pathways and plays a protective role in the pathogenesis of asthma. (Kwak et al., 2003) In a mouse model of TDI-induced asthma, the PTEN pathway was shown to play a protective role in asthma pathogenesis, because it was involved in the regulation of IL-17 induction and NF-kB activation. (Kim et al., 2007) A more recent in vitro study showed that the PTEN pathway was not consistently induced by all respiratory sensitizers, since maleic anhydride and 7-aminocephalosporanic acid failed to induce this pathway but another diisocyanate, HDI, did. (Remy et al., 2014)
Respiratory sensitizers without intrinsic electrophilic activity have been observed, and this is attributed to in situ generation of electrophilic activity. Pre-haptens and pro-haptens are converted from inactive molecules into active electrophiles by UV light and metabolic enzymes, respectively. (Aptula et al., 2007)
(Taylor et al;, 2020) found that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genese regulating inflammation, calcium regulation and endothelial function, and serine/threonine protein kinsase signaling were associated with differences in plasma and urine levels of 1,6-hexamethylene diisocyanate monomer and 1,6-hexamethylene diisocyanate isocyanurate following occupational exposure.
Response-response Relationship
Time-scale
Haptenation is essentially instantaneous, and inflammatory responses to haptenated proteins are rapid. As a result, in vitro cytokine/chemokine secretion and redox responses may be quantifiable within minutes to a few hours, but sensitivity and precision vary based on the assay detection method. Haptenated peptides generated in vitro can be quantified after 15 minutes. (Hettick, et al., 2009) Most in vitro cellular assay protocols quantify inflammatory readouts after 24 – 48 hours of exposure.