Abstract
Aeromonas spp. are Gram-negative bacteria that cause serious infectious disease in humans. Such bacteria have been shown to induce apoptosis in infected macrophages, yet the host responses triggered by macrophage death are largely unknown. In this study, we demonstrate that the infection of mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages with Aeromonas veronii biotype sobria triggers activation of caspase-1 with the ensuing release of IL-1β and pyroptosis. Caspase-1 activation in response to A. veronii infection requires the adaptor apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a caspase recruitment domain and both the NLRP3 and NLRC4 inflammasomes. Furthermore, caspase-1 activation requires aerolysin and a functional type III secretion system in A. veronii. Aerolysin-inducing caspase-1 activation is mediated through the NLRP3 inflammasome, with aerolysin-mediated cell death being largely dependent on the NLRP3 inflammasome. In contrast, the type III secretion system activates both the NLRP3 and NLRC4 inflammasomes. Inflammasome-mediated caspase-1 activation is also involved in host defenses against systemic A. veronii infection in mice. Our results indicated that multiple factors from both the bacteria and the host play a role in eliciting caspase-1 activation during A. veronii infection.