Identification of Extracellular Actin As a Ligand for Triggering Receptor Expressed on Myeloid Cells-1 Signaling

Triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1 (TREM-1) is a potent amplifier of pro-inflammatory innate immune reactions, and it is an essential mediator of death in sepsis. However, the ligand for TREM-1 has not been fully identified. Previous research identified a natural ligand of TREM-1 distributed on platelets that contributed to the development of sepsis. However, the exact signal for TREM-1 recognition remains to be identified. Here, we identified actin as a TREM-1-interacting protein on platelets and found that recombinant actin could interact with recombinant TREM-1 extracellular domain directly. Furthermore, actin co-localized with TREM-1 on the surface of activated mouse macrophage RAW264.7 cells interacting with platelets. In addition, recombinant actin could enhance the inflammatory response of macrophages from wt mice but not from trem1 mice, and the enhancement could be inhibited by LP17 (a TREM-1 inhibitor) in a dose-dependent manner. Importantly, extracellular actin showed co-localization with TREM-1 in lung tissue sections from septic mice, which suggested that TREM-1 recognized actin during activation in sepsis. Therefore, the present study identified actin as a new ligand for TREM-1 signaling, and it also provided a link between both essential regulators of death in sepsis.