Cutting Edge: Bacterial Flagellin Activates Basolaterally Expressed TLR5 to Induce Epithelial Proinflammatory Gene Expression

TLDR

Flagellin, the structural component of bacterial flagella, is secreted by both pathogenic and commensal bacteria. Epithelial cells detect flagellin through basolateral TLR5, whose extracellular leucine‑rich repeats and intracellular Toll/IL‑1R homology domain recruit MyD88 to activate NF‑κB signaling. Only flagellin that reaches the basolateral surface induces proinflammatory gene expression, and pathogenic Salmonella—but not commensal E.

Abstract

Abstract Flagellin, the structural component of bacterial flagella, is secreted by pathogenic and commensal bacteria. Flagellin activates proinflammatory gene expression in intestinal epithelia. However, only flagellin that contacts basolateral epithelial surfaces is proinflammatory; apical flagellin has no effect. Pathogenic Salmonella, but not commensal Escherichia coli, translocate flagellin across epithelia, thus activating epithelial proinflammatory gene expression. Investigating how epithelia detect flagellin revealed that cell surface expression of Toll-like receptor 5 (TLR5) conferred NF-κB gene expression in response to flagellin. The response depended on both extracellular leucine-rich repeats and intracellular Toll/IL-1R homology region of TLR5 as well as the adaptor protein MyD88. Furthermore, immunolocalization and cell surface-selective biotinylation revealed that TLR5 is expressed exclusively on the basolateral surface of intestinal epithelia, thus providing a molecular basis for the polarity of this innate immune response. Thus, detection of flagellin by basolateral TLR5 mediates epithelial-driven inflammatory responses to Salmonella.