Brucella abortus infection elicited hepatic stellate cells (HSC) fibrosis through inflammasome-dependent IL-1B production

ARRIOLA BENITEZ, P. CONSTANZA; PESCE VIGLIETTI, AYELÉN IVANA; COMERCI, DIEGO; GIAMBARTOLOMEI, GUILLERMO H; DELPINO, M. VICTORIA

Congreso; LXI reunión anual de la sociedad argentina de investigación clínica (SAIC) LXIV Reunión anual de la sociedad argentina de inmunología (SAI) XLVIII Reunión anual de la sociedad argentina de farmacología experimental (SAFE); 2016

The liver is affected in human brucellosis. B. abortus (Ba) triggers on HSC a profibrotic response characterized by inhibition of MMP-9 with concomitant collagen deposition and TGF-β1 secretion in a way that involved a functional T4SS. Taking into account that it has been reported that inflammasome is necessary to induce a fibrotic phenotype in HSC, we hypothesized that Brucella infection might create a microenvironment that would promote inflammasome activation and a concomitant profibrogenic phenotype in HSC. Our results indicate that Ba infection induces IL-1β secretion (ELISA) by LX-2 cells by a mechanism dependent on a functional T4SS (p