Developmental LTbR synergistically activates TLR4 mediated inflammatory RelA/NF-kB response

Developmental signals are known to modulate inflammation. How ever, the mechanistic insight that links developmental and inflammatory signaling remains elusive. In the current study, we identifya critical role of NF-kB system in mediating stimulus specific crosstalk that allows developmental LTbR signals to sustain inflammatory TLR4 induced RelA/NF-kB response and gene expression. LTbR activated non-canonical signaling targets canonical TLR4 induced, nfkb2 encoded p100 not only to deplete inhibitory IkBd/(p100)2, but also to supplement RelA:p52/NF-kB dimers. Robust crosstalk in the gut epithelial cells are important, as crosstalk-defective nfkb2-/- mice succumbed to gut infection by Citrobacter rodentium due to hypo-inflammatory responses. Finally, we present evidence for a crosstalk motif that integrates tissue microenvironment derived developmental cues to ameliorate the pathogen response. Total RNA from WT early passage MEFs stimulated with ligands LPS, LTbR and LPS+LTbR for 24hrs were analyzed for global gene expression levels