Publications

NAD⁺ Depletion Triggers Macrophage Necroptosis, a Cell Death Pathway Exploited by Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Pajuelo D, Gonzalez-Juarbe N, Tak U, Sun J, Orihuela CJ, Niederweis M

PMID: 29996103

Abstract

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) kills infected macrophages by inhibiting apoptosis and promoting necrosis. The tuberculosis necrotizing toxin (TNT) is a secreted nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) glycohydrolase that induces necrosis in infected macrophages. Here, we show that NAD depletion by TNT activates RIPK3 and MLKL, key mediators of necroptosis. Notably, Mtb bypasses the canonical necroptosis pathway since neither TNF-α nor RIPK1 are required for macrophage death. Macrophage necroptosis is associated with depolarized mitochondria and impaired ATP synthesis, known hallmarks of Mtb-induced cell death. These results identify TNT as the main trigger of necroptosis in Mtb-infected macrophages. Surprisingly, NAD depletion itself was sufficient to trigger necroptosis in a RIPK3- and MLKL-dependent manner by inhibiting the NAD salvage pathway in THP-1 cells or by TNT expression in Jurkat T cells. These findings suggest avenues for host-directed therapies to treat tuberculosis and other infectious and age-related diseases in which NAD deficiency is a pathological factor.

---

This publication is listed for reference purposes only. It may be included to present a more complete view of a JCVI employee's body of work, or as a reference to a JCVI sponsored project.