NLRC4 regulates caspase-1 and IL-1beta production in a CD11blowLy6Glow population of cells required for resistance to Pseudomonas aeruginosa keratitis

Psbetaeudomonas (P.) aeruginosa infection of the cornea in BALB/c mice does not result in perforation and the mice have been classified as resistant. However, regulation of this response via inflammasome activation remained untested. Therefore, BALB/c mice were infected with P. aeruginosa ATCC strain 19660 and NLRP3 and NLRC4 protein tested by ELISA. Since NLRC4 vs NLRP3 protein levels were significantly higher in the corneas of BALB/c at 1 and 5 days postinfection we used silencing to knockdown NLRC4. Silencing NLRC4 vs scrambled siRNA treatment exacerbated disease in BALB/c mice, reduced myeloperoxidase levels and elevated bacterial plate counts at 5 days postinfection. It also increased pro IL-1beta, but reduced total protein for IL-1beta and IL-18 at 5 days postinfection. Flow cytometry to identify cells affected by silencing, showed reduced caspase-1 levels in a CD11blowLy6Glow population of cells, (but not PMN or macrophages) from the infected cornea of siNLRC4 treated mice that produced less mature IL-1beta. These data provide evidence that the NLRC4 inflammasome contributes to resistance through regulation of caspase-1, IL-1beta and IL-18 in a CD11blowLy6Glow population of cells.