Mitochondrial Reactive Oxygen Species: Double-Edged Weapon in Host Defense and Pathological Inflammation During Infection

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are essential components of the innate immune response against intracellular bacteria, and it is thought that professional phagocytes generate ROS primarily via the phagosomal NADPH oxidase (Phox) machinery 1 . However, recent studies have suggested that mitochondrial ROS (mROS) also contribute to macrophage bactericidal activity, although the mechanisms linking innate immune signaling to mitochondria for mROS generation remain unclear 2-4 . Here we demonstrate that engagement of a subset of Toll-like receptors (TLR1, TLR2 and TLR4) results in the recruitment of mitochondria to macrophage phagosomes and augments mROS production. This response involves translocation of the TLR signaling adapter tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 6 (TRAF6) to mitochondria where it engages evolutionarily conserved signaling intermediate in Toll pathways (ECSIT), a protein implicated in mitochondrial respiratory chain assembly 5 . Interaction with TRAF6 leads to ECSIT ubiquitination and enrichment at the mitochondrial periphery, resulting in increased mitochondrial and cellular ROS generation. ECSIT and TRAF6 depleted macrophages exhibit decreased levels of TLR-induced ROS and are significantly impaired in their ability to kill intracellular bacteria. Additionally, reducing macrophage mROS by expressing catalase in mitochondria results in defective bacterial killing, confirming the role of mROS in bactericidal activity. These results therefore reveal a novel pathway linking innate immune signaling to mitochondria, implicate mROS as important components of antibacterial responses, and further establish mitochondria as hubs for innate immune signaling.

Accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is an oxidative stress to which cells respond by activating various defense mechanisms or, finally, by dying. At low levels, however, ROS act as signaling molecules in various intracellular processes. Autophagy, a process by which eukaryotic cells degrade and recycle macromolecules and organelles, has an important role in the cellular response to oxidative stress. Here, we review recent reports suggesting a regulatory role for ROS of mitochondrial origin as signaling molecules in autophagy, leading, under different circumstances, to either survival or cell death. We then discuss the relationship between mitochondria and autophagosomes and propose that mitochondria have an essential role in autophagosome biogenesis.

Autophagy is a highly conserved process that maintains homeostasis by clearing damaged organelles and long-lived proteins. The consequences of deficiency in autophagy manifest in a variety of pathological states including neurodegenerative diseases, inflammatory disorders, and cancer. Here, we studied the role of autophagy in the homeostatic regulation of innate antiviral defense. Single-stranded RNA viruses are recognized by the members of the RIG-I-like receptors (RLRs) in the cytosol. RLRs signal through IPS-1, resulting in the production of the key antiviral cytokines, type I IFNs. Autophagy-defective Atg5(-/-) cells exhibited enhanced RLR signaling, increased IFN secretion, and resistance to infection by vesicular stomatitis virus. In the absence of autophagy, cells accumulated dysfunctional mitochondria, as well as mitochondria-associated IPS-1. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) associated with the dysfunctional mitochondria were largely responsible for the enhanced RLR signaling in Atg5(-/-) cells, as antioxidant treatment blocked the excess RLR signaling. In addition, autophagy-independent increase in mitochondrial ROS by treatment of cells with rotenone was sufficient to amplify RLR signaling in WT cells. These data indicate that autophagy contributes to homeostatic regulation of innate antiviral defense through the clearance of dysfunctional mitochondria, and revealed that ROS associated with mitochondria play a key role in potentiating RLR signaling.