Inflammatory responses following CRISPR modification of the nuclear localisation sequence in endogenous interleukin-1 alpha.

Interleukin (IL)-1α is a pro-inflammatory member of the IL-1 cytokine superfamily and is important for inflammatory responses to infection and injury. Unlike pro-IL-1β, pro-IL-1α is mainly localised to the nucleus upon expression. This is mediated by a nuclear localisation sequence (NLS) responsible for its importin-dependent transport into the nucleus. This nuclear localisation and the presence of histone acetyl transferase (HAT)-binding domains within the pro-domain suggest a role of this cytokine in gene transcription regulation. In addition, nuclear trafficking of pro-IL-1α is proposed to regulate its secretion. To date, studies on the nuclear role of pro-IL-1α have used overexpression systems. Here, we generated a mouse strain in which the endogenous Il1a gene was edited using CRISPR to disrupt the NLS, yielding a mutated NLS (mNLS). Using an in vitro approach with murine macrophages we found that this NLS mutation did not affect pro-IL-1α RNA expression levels in response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) but increased its protein expression levels. Moreover, we found that the transcriptional signature induced by LPS was not altered between WT and mNLS macrophages. Release of IL-1α in response to different stimuli such as ionomycin was not negatively impacted by disrupted nuclear localisation, although higher levels of IL-1α release were detected, potentially due to increased levels of pro-IL-1α. Inflammatory responses in an in vivo model of peritonitis and an influenza infection model were comparable between WT and mNLS mice. Thus, we have established a mouse model in which pro-IL-1α nuclear localisation is disrupted, although future research is required to reveal the importance of this nuclear localisation for IL-1α function.