Ing of BALB (allele 1) Nlrp1b by introducing the V988D substitution (from NOD, allele 3), and this mutation prevented the protein from being activated by LT [10]. Intriguingly, the authors were unable to restore LF responsiveness to the LT-nonresponsive NOD (R) Nlrp1b protein even after restoration of its autoproteolytic processing. These results, in combination with the findings reported here, suggest that the resistance of NOD (R) Nlrp1b to LF is not due to absence of a required LF cleavage event, or simply due to a deficiency in C-terminal autoproteolysis. It is possible, but unlikely, that preferential LF cleavage of NOD (R) Nlrp1b at residue K44, instead of K38, likely due to the IF formamidase from Helicobacter pylori (PDB accession code 2E2L), and presence of downstream polymorphisms altering folding in the N-terminus of this protein, is the reason for the defect in activation of this protein. It seems more likely that polymorphisms in other domains of this protein render it nonresponsive to LT. The truncated domain downstream of the leucine rich repeats in NOD Nlrp1b may result in altered conformation and folding of this protein in a manner that interferes with its unfolding to allow dimerization or caspase-1 recruitment. Thus, even when autoproteolysis at the C-terminus is restored and LT cleaves the N-terminus efficiently, the protein may be unable to act as an inflammasome platform. The deciphering of the mechanism for resistance to LT requires further experimentation. We propose, however, that cleavage of the N-terminus of both mouse and rat Nlrp1 proteins by LF may be required for activation of the inflammasome by LT, although it may be insufficient in the absence of other processing events.Materials and Methods Ethics StatementThis study was carried out in strict accordance with the recommendations in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals of the National Institutes of Health. All bone marrow harvests were performed in accordance to protocols approved by the NIAID Animal Care and Use Committee.MaterialsPA, LF, and LF E687C purification from avirulent Bacillus anthracis strains has been described [12]. Concentrations of LT correspond to the concentration of each toxin component (i.e., 1 mg/ml LT has 1 mg/ml PA and 1 mg/ml LF). GST-fusion proteins of BALB118 and NOD118 (described below) were expressed from pGEX-KG vectors in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3)Anthrax Toxin Cleaves Mouse Nlrp1band purified in a two-step process on glutathione-Sepharose and nickel chelate columns using standard purification protocols. High affinity S combinations, the sets of GPCR dimers are almost entirely unknown anti-HA (cat# 11867423001, Roche Diagnostics, Indianapolis, IN), anti-IL-1b 1407003 (cat# AF-401-NA, R D Systems, Minneapolis, MN) and various IR-dye conjugated secondary antibodies (Licor Biosciences, Lincoln, NE and Rockland Immunochemicals, Gilbertsville, PA) were purchased. Nigericin was purchased from Calbiochem (San Diego, CA).SDS-PAGE gel using the PhastSystem (GE Life Sciences, Piscataway, NJ) and visualized by Coomassie staining.Western Blots and ImmunoprecipitationWB were performed using either anti-HA (1:1000), anticaspase-1 (1:200), or anti-IL-1b (1:2,500) and proteins were detected using the Odyssey Infrared Imaging System (Licor Biosciences). For IP, anti-HA antibody (Roche Diagnostics) was added to cell lysates (5-15 mg/ml) and samples were continuously mixed by rotation at 4uC for 1 h, followed by Protein A/G agarose (Santa Cruz Biotechnology) addition and continued overnight 4uC incubation with rotation. Beads were centrifuged at 4,000 rpm for 2 min and w.Ing of BALB (allele 1) Nlrp1b by introducing the V988D substitution (from NOD, allele 3), and this mutation prevented the protein from being activated by LT [10]. Intriguingly, the authors were unable to restore LF responsiveness to the LT-nonresponsive NOD (R) Nlrp1b protein even after restoration of its autoproteolytic processing. These results, in combination with the findings reported here, suggest that the resistance of NOD (R) Nlrp1b to LF is not due to absence of a required LF cleavage event, or simply due to a deficiency in C-terminal autoproteolysis. It is possible, but unlikely, that preferential LF cleavage of NOD (R) Nlrp1b at residue K44, instead of K38, likely due to the presence of downstream polymorphisms altering folding in the N-terminus of this protein, is the reason for the defect in activation of this protein. It seems more likely that polymorphisms in other domains of this protein render it nonresponsive to LT. The truncated domain downstream of the leucine rich repeats in NOD Nlrp1b may result in altered conformation and folding of this protein in a manner that interferes with its unfolding to allow dimerization or caspase-1 recruitment. Thus, even when autoproteolysis at the C-terminus is restored and LT cleaves the N-terminus efficiently, the protein may be unable to act as an inflammasome platform. The deciphering of the mechanism for resistance to LT requires further experimentation. We propose, however, that cleavage of the N-terminus of both mouse and rat Nlrp1 proteins by LF may be required for activation of the inflammasome by LT, although it may be insufficient in the absence of other processing events.Materials and Methods Ethics StatementThis study was carried out in strict accordance with the recommendations in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals of the National Institutes of Health. All bone marrow harvests were performed in accordance to protocols approved by the NIAID Animal Care and Use Committee.MaterialsPA, LF, and LF E687C purification from avirulent Bacillus anthracis strains has been described [12]. Concentrations of LT correspond to the concentration of each toxin component (i.e., 1 mg/ml LT has 1 mg/ml PA and 1 mg/ml LF). GST-fusion proteins of BALB118 and NOD118 (described below) were expressed from pGEX-KG vectors in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3)Anthrax Toxin Cleaves Mouse Nlrp1band purified in a two-step process on glutathione-Sepharose and nickel chelate columns using standard purification protocols. High affinity anti-HA (cat# 11867423001, Roche Diagnostics, Indianapolis, IN), anti-IL-1b 1407003 (cat# AF-401-NA, R D Systems, Minneapolis, MN) and various IR-dye conjugated secondary antibodies (Licor Biosciences, Lincoln, NE and Rockland Immunochemicals, Gilbertsville, PA) were purchased. Nigericin was purchased from Calbiochem (San Diego, CA).SDS-PAGE gel using the PhastSystem (GE Life Sciences, Piscataway, NJ) and visualized by Coomassie staining.Western Blots and ImmunoprecipitationWB were performed using either anti-HA (1:1000), anticaspase-1 (1:200), or anti-IL-1b (1:2,500) and proteins were detected using the Odyssey Infrared Imaging System (Licor Biosciences). For IP, anti-HA antibody (Roche Diagnostics) was added to cell lysates (5-15 mg/ml) and samples were continuously mixed by rotation at 4uC for 1 h, followed by Protein A/G agarose (Santa Cruz Biotechnology) addition and continued overnight 4uC incubation with rotation. Beads were centrifuged at 4,000 rpm for 2 min and w.