Pseudomonas aeruginosa quorum-sensing molecule N-(3-oxododecanoyl) homoserine lactone induces calcium signaling-dependent crosstalk between autophagy and apoptosis in human macrophages.

N-(3-oxododecanoyl) homoserine lactone (3oc) is a Pseudomonas aeruginosa secreted quorum-sensing signal molecule playing a crucial role in regulating quorum-sensing (QS) dependent biofilm formation and secretion of virulence factors. In addition to regulating quorum sensing, 3oc also plays an immunomodulatory role in the host by triggering regulated cell death in immune cells. The molecular mechanisms of 3oc in modulating macrophage pathologies are still unclear. In this study, we hypothesized the novel 3oc mediated crosstalk between autophagy and apoptosis at the interphase of calcium signaling in human macrophages. The study showed that 3oc induces mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis in macrophages through elevating cytosolic Ca ([Ca]) levels. Pre-treatment with the calcium-specific chelator BAPTA-AM effectively abrogated 3oc-induced apoptotic events, like mitochondrial ROS generation (mROS), mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) drop, and phosphatidylserine (PS) exposure. The study also showed that 3oc induces autophagy, as assessed by the accumulation of autophagic vacuoles, induction of lysosomal biogenesis, upregulation of autophagy genes (LC3, BECLIN 1, STX17, PINK1, and TFEB), autophagosomes formation, and LC3 lipidation. Mechanistically, our study proved that 3oc-induced autophagy was [Ca] dependent as BAPTA-AM pre-treatment reduced autophagosome formation. Furthermore, inhibiting autophagy with chloroquine attenuated 3oc-induced apoptosis, while autophagy induction with rapamycin aggravated cell death, suggesting autophagy plays a role in cell death in 3oc-treated macrophages. In conclusion, our findings indicate that 3oc activates a multifaceted death signaling by activating autophagy and apoptosis through Ca signaling, and we propose pharmacological modulation of Ca signaling may act as a combinatorial therapeutic intervention in patients with Pseudomonas aeruginosa-associated infections.