Tanshinone IIA sodium sulfonate facilitates endocytic HMGB1 uptake

Our seminal discovery of high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) as a late mediator of lethal systemic inflammation has prompted a new field of investigation for the development of experimental therapeutics. We previously reported that a major Danshen ingredient, tanshinone IIA sodium sulfonate (TSN-SS), selectively inhibited endotoxin-induced HMGB1 release and conferred protection against lethal endotoxemia and sepsis. To investigate the underlying mechanisms by which TSN-SS effectively inhibits HMGB1 release, we examined whether TSN-SS stimulates HMGB1 uptake by macrophages and whether genetic depletion of HMGB1 receptors [e.g., toll-like receptors (TLR)2, TLR4, or the receptor for advanced glycation end product (RAGE)] or pharmacological inhibition of endocytosis impairs TSN-SS-facilitated HMGB1 cellular uptake. TSN-SS stimulated internalization of exogenous HMGB1 protein into macrophage cytoplasmic vesicles that subsequently co-localized with microtubule-associated protein light chain 3 (LC3)-positive punctate structures (likely amphisomes). Meanwhile, it time-dependently elevated cellular levels of internalized HMGB1, leading to elevated LC3-II production and aggregation. Although genetic depletion of TLR2, TLR4, and/or RAGE did not impair TSN-SS-mediated HMGB1 uptake, specific inhibitors of the clathrin- and caveolin-dependent endocytosis significantly impaired TSN-SS-mediated HMGB1 uptake. Co-treatment with a lysosomal inhibitor, bafilomycin A1, led to enhanced accumulation of endogenous LC3-II and internalized exogenous HMGB1 in TSN-SS/rHMGB1-treated macrophages. Taken together, these findings suggest that TSN-SS may facilitate HMGB1 endocytic uptake, and subsequently delivered it to LC3-positive vacuoles (possibly amphisomes) for degradation via a lysosome-dependent pathway.

TSN-SS facilitates clathrin- or caveolin-dependent endocytosis of exogenous HMGB1, triggering a cellular degradation process, autophagy. Subsequently, endosomes merge with autophagosomes to form amphisomes, which then fuse with lysosomes to degrade the amphisome contents.