LncRNA LNCGM1082-mediated NLRC4 activation resists against infection by intracellular bacteria

Abstract The activation of NLRC4 is a major host response against the infection by intracellular bacteria. However, there still remain challenges in understanding the activation upon sensing of diverse stimuli. We here found that lncRNA LNCGM1082 plays a critical role in the activation of NLRC4. LNCGM1082 in macrophages could affect maturation of interleukin (IL)-1β and pyroptotic cell death only after exposed to NLRC4 ligand. Similar to NLRC4-/- mice, LNCGM1082-/- mice were high sensitive to Salmonella typhimurium infection. LNCGM1082 deficiency in mouse or human macrophages had reduced IL-1β maturation and pyroptosis. Mechanistically, LNCGM1082 could induce the combination of PKCδ with NLRC4 in both mice and human. There was absence of binding of NLRC4 with PKCδ in LNCGM1082-/- macrophages. This lncRNA could be induced by Salmonella typhimurium through TLR5 in the macrophages of both mice and human. Thus, our data indicate that LNCGM1082 induced by TLR5 can mediate the binding of PKCδ with NLRC4 to cause the activation of NLRC4.