STUDY OF THE NUCLEAR RECEPTORS NR4A PARTICIPATION IN THE IMMUNE-ENDOCRINE RESPONSE DURING TUBERCULOSIS

GALLUCCI, GEORGINA; D'ATTILIO LUCIANO; DÍAZ, ARIANA; BONGIOVANNI, BETTINA; FERNÁNDEZ, ROCÍO DEL VALLE; LIOI, SUSANA; BÉRTOLA, DIEGO; GARDEÑEZ, WALTER; ARMANDO, MELISA; BAY, MARÍA LUISA; BOTTASSO, OSCAR; SANTUCCI, NATALIA

Congreso; Reunión de sociedades de Biociencias 2021; 2021

Tuberculosis (TB) is a major infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis that infects alveolar macrophages and hence promotes a cellular immune response, which becomes harmful when prolonged over time. Nuclear receptors (NRs) are factors that may modulate the immune response (IR) and inflammation, with a role in the regulation of homeostasis and bacterial pathogenesis. Within the NRs, NR4As orphan receptors have emerged as important regulators of immune cell polarization and NF-κB signaling, which can lead to a switch from acute to chronic inflammatory responses. NR4A receptors modulate NF-κB activity in a dynamic manner, either repressing or enhancing target gene expression. In this sense, this work aimed to evaluate the RNAm expression of NR4A1 and 2, NFKB1 (Nuclear Factor Kappa B Subunit 1) and its inhibitors, NFKBIA and B, in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells from TB patients, who were classified according to the severity of the disease into mild, moderate and severe. Besides, possible associations between them and other plasma mediators of the immune-endocrine response were also analyzed (IL-6, IL-10, IFNϒ, and DHEA). With regards to NR41 RNAm levels, they were diminished in TB patients with respect to Healthy Controls (HCo) (p=0.03), meanwhile, NR4A2 transcript levels in severe TB patients were higher than in HCo (p=0.01). On the other hand, NFKBIA and B transcripts were also augmented in TB patients (p