Membrane microdomains regulate NLRP10- and NLRP12-dependent signalling in A549 cells challenged with cigarette smoke extract.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is predicted to become the third leading cause of death and disability worldwide by 2030; with cigarette smoking (active or passive) being one of the chief cause of its occurrence. Cigarette smoke exposure has been found to result in excessive inflammation and tissue injury, which might lead to COPD, although the exact pathophysiology of the disease remains elusive. While previous studies have demonstrated the role of membrane-bound Toll-like receptors (TLRs) in cigarette smoke (CS)-induced inflammation, scant information is available about the role of cytosolic NOD-like receptors (NLRs) in regulating CS-mediated inflammatory responses. Thus, we investigated the role of NLRP10 and NLRP12 in regulating inflammatory responses in human alveolar type II epithelial cells (A549) and human monocytic cells (THP-1) in response to a challenge with cigarette smoke extract (CSE). We observed CSE-mediated increase in caspase-1 activity; production of IL-1β and IL-18; and expression of NLRP10 and NLRP12 in A549 and THP-1 cells. Interestingly, immunofluorescence imaging results demonstrated an increase in the membrane recruitment of NLRP10 and NLRP12 proteins in CSE-challenged A549 cells. We also observed an increase in the expression of lipid raft proteins (caveolin-1, caveolin-2, and flotillin-1) and an induction of lipid raft assembly following CSE-exposure in A549 cells. Lipid rafts are cholesterol-rich membrane microdomains well known to act as harbours for signalling molecules. Here we demonstrate  the recruitment of NLRP10 and NLRP12 in lipid raft entities as well as the interaction of NLRP12 with the lipid raft protein caveolin-1 in CSE-challenged A549 cells. Furthermore, enrichment of lipid raft entities with poly-unsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) rescued A549 cells from CSE-mediated membrane recruitment of NLRP10 and NLRP12, and also from inflammatory responses and inflammasome activation. Enrichment of membrane microdomains with PUFA was able to reverse filipin (chemical agent used for disrupting lipid rafts)-mediated enhanced inflammation in CSE-challenged A549 cells. Overall, our findings unveil a novel mechanism by identifying an important role of membrane microdomains (lipid rafts) in regulating CSE-induced inflammation and NLRP10/NLRP12-dependent signalling in A549 cells.