Superoxide Induces Neutrophil Extracellular Trap Formation in a TLR-4 and NOX-Dependent Mechanism

Neutrophils constitute the early innate immune response to perceived infectious and sterile threats. Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) are a novel mechanism to counter pathogenic invasion and sequelae of ischemia, including cell death and oxidative stress. Superoxide is a radical intermediate of oxygen metabolism produced by parenchymal and nonparenchymal hepatic cells, and is a hallmark of oxidative stress after liver ischemia-reperfusion (I/R). While extracellular superoxide recruits neutrophils to the liver and initiates sterile inflammatory injury, it is unknown whether superoxide induces the formation of NETs. We hypothesize that superoxide induces NET formation through a signaling cascade involving Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR-4) and neutrophil NADPH oxidase (NOX). We treated neutrophils with extracellular superoxide and observed NET DNA release, histone H3 citrullination and increased levels of MPO-DNA complexes occurring in a TLR-4-dependent manner. Inhibition of superoxide generation by allopurinol and inhibition of NOX by diphenyleneiodonium prevented NET formation. When mice were subjected to warm liver I/R, we found significant NET formation associated with liver necrosis and increased serum ALT in TLR-4 WT but not TLR-4 KO mice. To reduce circulating superoxide, we pretreated mice undergoing I/R with allopurinol and N-acetylcysteine, which resulted in decreased NETs and ameliorated liver injury. Our study demonstrates a requirement for TLR-4 and NOX in superoxide-induced NETs, and suggests involvement of superoxide-induced NETs in pathophysiologic settings.