Cisplatin Toxicity Is Mediated by Direct Binding to Toll-Like Receptor 4 through a Mechanism That Is Distinct from Metal Allergens

Abstract

Cisplatin is an effective chemotherapeutic agent, yet its use is limited by several adverse drug reactions, known as cisplatin-induced toxicities (CITs). We recently demonstrated that cisplatin could elicit proinflammatory responses associated with CITs through Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4). TLR4 is best recognized for binding bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) via its coreceptor, MD-2. TLR4 is also proposed to directly bind transition metals, such as nickel. Little is known about the nature of the cisplatin-TLR4 interaction. Here, we show that soluble TLR4 was capable of blocking cisplatin-induced, but not LPS-induced, TLR4 activation. Cisplatin and nickel, but not LPS, were able to directly bind soluble TLR4 in a microscale thermophoresis binding assay. Interestingly, TLR4 histidine variants that abolish nickel binding reduced, but did not eliminate, cisplatin-induced TLR4 activation. This was corroborated by binding data that showed cisplatin, but not nickel, could directly bind mouse TLR4 that lacks these histidine residues. Altogether, our findings suggest that TLR4 can directly bind cisplatin in a manner that is enhanced by, but not dependent on, histidine residues that facilitate binding to transition metals. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: This work describes how the xenobiotic cisplatin interacts with Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) to initiate proinflammatory signaling that underlies cisplatin toxicities, which are severe adverse outcomes in cisplatin treatment. Here, this study provides a mechanistic bridge between cisplatin extracellular interactions with TLR4 and previous observations that genetic and chemical inhibition of TLR4 mitigates cisplatin-induced toxicity.