Cellular FLIP Inhibits Myeloid Cell Activation by Suppressing Selective Innate Signaling

Cellular FLIP (c-FLIP) specifically inhibits caspase-8 and suppresses death receptor-induced apoptosis. c-FLIP has also been reported to transmit activation signals. In this study, we report a novel function of c-FLIP involving inhibition of myeloid cell activation through antagonizing the selective innate signaling pathway. We found that conditional knockout of c-FLIP in dendritic cells (DCs) led to neutrophilia and splenomegaly. Peripheral DC populations, including CD11b(+) conventional DCs (cDCs), CD8(+) cDCs, and plasmacytoid DCs, were not affected by c-FLIP deficiency. We also found that c-FLIP knockout cDCs, plasmacytoid DCs, and bone marrow-derived DCs (BMDCs) displayed enhanced production of TNF-alpha, IL-2, or G-CSF in response to stimulation of TLR4, TLR2, and dectin-1. Consistent with the ability of c-FLIP to inhibit the activation of p38 MAPK, the enhanced activation of c-FLIP-deficient BMDCs could be partly linked to an elevated activation of p38 MAPK after engagement of innate receptors. Increased activation was also found in c-FLIP+/- macrophages. Additionally, the increased activation in c-FLIP-deficient DCs was independent of caspase-8. Our results reveal a novel inhibitory role of c-FLIP in myeloid cell activation and demonstrate the unexpected anti-inflammatory activity of c-FLIP. Additionally, our observations suggest that cancer therapy targeting c-FLIP downregulation may facilitate DC activation and increase T cell immunity.