N-3 docosapentaenoic acid–derived resolvin D5 (RvD5n-3 DPA) is diurnally regulated in peripheral blood and exerts tissue-protective actions during inflammatory arthritis. Here, using an orphan GPCR screening approach coupled with functional readouts, we investigated the receptor(s) involved in mediating the leukocyte-directed actions of RvD5n-3 DPA and identified GPR101 as the top candidate. RvD5n-3 DPA bound to GPR101 with high selectivity and stereospecificity, as demonstrated by a calculated KD of approximately 6.9 nM. In macrophages, GPR101 knockdown limited the ability of RvD5n-3 DPA to upregulate cyclic adenosine monophosphate, phagocytosis of bacteria, and efferocytosis. Inhibition of this receptor in mouse and human leukocytes abrogated the pro-resolving actions of RvD5n-3 DPA, including the regulation of bacterial phagocytosis in neutrophils. Knockdown of the receptor in vivo reversed the protective actions of RvD5n-3 DPA in limiting joint and gut inflammation during inflammatory arthritis. Administration of RvD5n-3 DPA during E. coli–initiated inflammation regulated neutrophil trafficking to the site of inflammation, increased bacterial phagocytosis by neutrophils and macrophages, and accelerated the resolution of infectious inflammation. These in vivo protective actions of RvD5n-3 DPA were limited when Gpr101 was knocked down. Together, our findings demonstrate a fundamental role for GPR101 in mediating the leukocyte-directed actions of RvD5n-3 DPA.
Magdalena B. Flak, Duco S. Koenis, Agua Sobrino, James Smith, Kimberly Pistorius, Francesco Palmas, Jesmond Dalli
Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an arbovirus capable of causing a severe and often debilitating rheumatic syndrome in humans. CHIKV replicates in a wide variety of cell types in mammals, which has made attributing pathologic outcomes to replication at specific sites difficult. To assess the contribution of CHIKV replication in skeletal muscle cells to pathogenesis, we engineered a CHIKV strain exhibiting restricted replication in these cells via incorporation of target sequences for skeletal muscle cell-specific miR-206. This virus, which we term SKE, displayed diminished replication in skeletal muscle cells in a mouse model of CHIKV disease. Mice infected with SKE developed less severe disease signs, including diminished swelling in the inoculated foot and less necrosis and inflammation in the interosseous muscles. SKE infection was associated with diminished infiltration of T cells into the interosseous muscle as well as decreased production of IL-1b, IL-6, IP-10, and TNFa. Importantly, blockade of the IL-6 receptor led to diminished swelling of a control CHIKV strain capable of replication in skeletal muscle, reducing swelling to levels observed in mice infected with SKE. These data implicate replication in skeletal muscle cells and release of IL-6 as important mediators of CHIKV disease.
Anthony J. Lentscher, Mary K. McCarthy, Nicholas A. May, Bennett J. Davenport, Stephanie A. Montgomery, Krishnan Raghunathan, Nicole McAllister, Laurie A. Silva, Thomas E. Morrison, Terence S. Dermody
Unconventional T cells that recognize mycobacterial antigens are of great interest as potential vaccine targets against tuberculosis (TB). This includes donor-unrestricted T cells (DURTs), such as mucosa-associated invariant T cells (MAITs), CD1-restricted T cells, and γδ T cells. We exploited the distinctive nature of DURTs and γδ T cell receptors (TCRs) to investigate the involvement of these T cells during TB in the human lung by global TCR sequencing. Making use of surgical lung resections, we investigated the distribution, frequency, and characteristics of TCRs in lung tissue and matched blood from individuals infected with TB. Despite depletion of MAITs and certain CD1-restricted T cells from the blood, we found that the DURT repertoire was well preserved in the lungs, irrespective of disease status or HIV coinfection. The TCRδ repertoire, in contrast, was highly skewed in the lungs, where it was dominated by Vδ1 and distinguished by highly localized clonal expansions, consistent with the nonrecirculating lung-resident γδ T cell population. These data show that repertoire sequencing is a powerful tool for tracking T cell subsets during disease.
Paul Ogongo, Adrie J.C. Steyn, Farina Karim, Kaylesh J. Dullabh, Ismael Awala, Rajhmun Madansein, Alasdair Leslie, Samuel M. Behar
Background: Chronic HCV-infection is characterized by a severe impairment of HCV-specific CD4 T cell help that is driven by chronic antigen stimulation. We aimed to study the fate of HCV-specific CD4 T cells after viral elimination. Methods:HCV-specific CD4 T cell responses were longitudinally analyzed using MHC class II tetramer-technology, multicolor flow cytometry and RNA sequencing in a cohort of chronically HCV-infected patients undergoing therapy with direct-acting antivirals. In addition, HCV-specific neutralizing antibodies and CXCL13 levels were analyzed. Results: We observed that the frequency of HCV-specific CD4 T cells increased within two weeks after initiation of DAA therapy. Multicolor flow cytometry revealed a downregulation of exhaustion and activation markers and an upregulation of memory-associated markers. While cells with a Th1 phenotype were the predominant subset at baseline, cells with phenotypic and transcriptional characteristics of follicular T helper cells increasingly shaped the circulating HCV-specific CD4 T cell repertoire, suggesting antigen-independent survival of this subset. These changes were accompanied by a decline of HCV-specific neutralizing antibodies and the germinal center activity. Conclusion: We identified a population of HCV-specific CD4 T cells with a follicular T helper cell signature that is maintained after therapy-induced elimination of persistent infection and may constitute an important target population for vaccination efforts to prevent re-infection and immunotherapeutic approaches for persistent viral infections.
Maike Smits, Katharina Zoldan, Naveed Ishaque, Zuguang Gu, Katharina Jechow, Dominik Wieland, Christian Conrad, Roland Eils, Catherine Fauvelle, Thomas F. Baumert, Florian Emmerich, Bertram Bengsch, Christoph Neumann-Haefelin, Maike Hofmann, Robert Thimme, Tobias Boettler
Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major infectious disease worldwide. TB treatment displays a bi-phasic bacterial clearance, in which the majority of bacteria clear within the first month of treatment, but residual bacteria remains non-responsive to treatment and eventually may become resistant. Here, we have shown that Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) is taken up by mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), where it established dormancy and became highly non-responsive to isoniazid, a major constituent of Directly Observed Treatment Short-course (DOTS). Dormant M.tb induced quiescence in MSCs and promoted their long-term survival. Unlike macrophages, where M.tb resides in early-phagosomal compartments, in MSCs the majority of bacilli were found in the cytosol, where they promoted rapid lipid-synthesis, hiding within lipid-droplets. Inhibition of lipid-synthesis prevented dormancy and sensitized the organisms to isoniazid. Thus, we have established that M.tb gains dormancy in MSCs, which thus serve as a long-term natural-reservoir of dormant M.tb. Interestingly, in the murine-model of TB, induction of autophagy eliminated M.tb from MSCs and consequently, the addition of rapamycin to an isoniazid treatment regimen successfully attained sterile clearance and prevented disease reactivation.
Samreen Fatima, Shashank Shivaji Kamble, Ved Prakash Dwivedi, Debapriya Bhattacharya, Santosh Kumar, Anand Ranganathan, Luc Van Kaer, Sujata Mohanty, Gobardhan Das
Novel approaches for adjunctive therapy are urgently needed for infections complicated by antibiotic-resistant pathogens and for patients with compromised immunity. Necrotizing fasciitis (NF) is a destructive skin and soft tissue infection. Despite treatment with systemic antibiotics and radical debridement of necrotic tissue, lethality remains high. The key iron regulatory hormone hepcidin was originally identified as a cationic antimicrobial peptide (AMP), but its putative expression and role in the skin, a major site of AMP production, has never been investigated. We report here that hepcidin production is induced in the skin of patients with Group A Streptococcal (GAS) NF. In a GAS-induced NF model, mice lacking hepcidin in keratinocytes failed to restrict systemic spread of infection from an initial tissue focus. Unexpectedly, this effect was due its ability to promote production of the CXCL1 chemokine by keratinocytes resulting in neutrophil recruitment. Unlike CXCL1, hepcidin is resistant to degradation by major GAS proteases and could therefore serve as a reservoir to maintain steady state levels of CXCL1 in infected tissue. Finally, injection of synthetic hepcidin at the site of infection can limit or completely prevent systemic spread of GAS infection suggesting that hepcidin agonists could have a therapeutic role in NF.
Mariangela Malerba, Sabine Louis, Sylvain Cuvellier, Srikanth Mairpady Shambat, Camille Hua, Camille Gomart, Agnès Fouet, Nicolas Ortonne, Jean-Winoc Decousser, Annelies S. Zinkernagel, Jacques R.R. Mathieu, Carole Peyssonnaux
Essentially all Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) bacteria that gain access to the circulation are plucked out of the bloodstream by the intravascular macrophages of the liver — the Kupffer cells. It is also thought that these bacteria are disseminated via the bloodstream to other organs. Our data show that S. aureus inside Kupffer cells grew and escaped across the mesothelium into the peritoneal cavity and immediately infected GATA-binding factor 6–positive (GATA6+) peritoneal cavity macrophages. These macrophages provided a haven for S. aureus, thereby delaying the neutrophilic response in the peritoneum by 48 hours and allowing dissemination to various peritoneal and retroperitoneal organs including the kidneys. In mice deficient in GATA6+ peritoneal macrophages, neutrophils infiltrated more robustly and reduced S. aureus dissemination. Antibiotics administered i.v. did not prevent dissemination into the peritoneum or to the kidneys, whereas peritoneal administration of vancomycin (particularly liposomal vancomycin with optimized intracellular penetrance capacity) reduced kidney infection and mortality, even when administered 24 hours after infection. These data indicate that GATA6+ macrophages within the peritoneal cavity are a conduit of dissemination for i.v. S. aureus, and changing the route of antibiotic delivery could provide a more effective treatment for patients with peritonitis-associated bacterial sepsis.
Selina K. Jorch, Bas G.J. Surewaard, Mokarram Hossain, Moritz Peiseler, Carsten Deppermann, Jennifer Deng, Ania Bogoslowski, Fardau van der Wal, Abdelwahab Omri, Michael J. Hickey, Paul Kubes
HIV is a major driver of Tuberculosis (TB) reactivation. Depletion of CD4+ T cells is assumed to be the basis behind TB reactivation in individuals with latent tuberculosis Infection (LTBI) co-infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Non-human primates (NHPs) coinfected with a mutant simian immunodeficiency virus (SIVΔGY), that does not cause depletion of tissue CD4+ T cells during infection, failed to reactivate TB. To investigate the contribution of CD4+ T cell depletion relative to other mechanisms of SIV-induced reactivation of LTBI, we used CD4R1 antibody to deplete CD4+ T cells in animals with LTBI without lentiviral infection. We showed that the mere depletion of CD4+ T cells during LTBI was insufficient in generating reactivation of LTBI. Instead, direct cytopathic effects of SIV resulting in chronic immune activation, along with the altered effector T cell phenotypes and dysregulated T cell homeostasis, were likely mediators of reactivation of LTBI. These results revealed important implications for controlling TB in the HIV co-infected individuals.
Allison N. Bucşan, Ayan Chatterjee, Dhiraj K. Singh, Taylor W. Foreman, Tae-Hyung Lee, Breanna Threeton, Melanie G. Kirkpatrick, Mushtaq Ahmed, Nadia Golden, Xavier Alvarez, James A. Hoxie, Smriti Mehra, Jyothi Rengarajan, Shabaana A. Khader, Deepak Kaushal
The Toll-Like Receptor 8 (TLR8) has an important role in innate immune responses to RNA viral infections including respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). We reported previously that TLR8 expression was increased directly by the tumor suppressor and transcription factor p53 via a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP: rs3761624) in the TLR8 promoter, thereby placing TLR8 in the p53/immune axis. Because this SNP is in linkage disequilibrium with other SNPs associated with several infectious diseases, we addressed the combined influence of p53 and the SNP on downstream inflammatory signaling in response to a TLR8 cognate ssRNA ligand. Using human primary lymphocytes, p53 induction by chemotherapeutic agents such as ionizing radiation caused SNP-dependent synergistic increases in IL-6 following incubation with an ssRNA ligand, as well as TLR8 RNA and protein expression along with p53 binding at the TLR-p53 SNP site. Because TLR8 is X-linked, the increases were generally reduced in heterozygous females. We found a corresponding association of the p53-responsive allele with RSV disease severity in infants hospitalized with RSV infection. We conclude that p53 can strongly influence TLR8 mediated immune responses and that knowledge of the p53 responsive SNP can inform diagnosis and prognosis of RSV disease and other diseases that might have a TLR8 component, including cancer.
Daniel Menendez, Joyce Snipe, Jacqui Marzec, Cynthia L. Innes, Fernando P. Polack, Mauricio Caballero, Shepherd H. Schurman, Steven R. Kleeberger, Michael A. Resnick
Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) accounts for a substantial proportion of deaths attributable to antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the United States. Although C. difficile can be an asymptomatic colonizer, its pathogenic potential is most commonly manifested in patients with antibiotic-modified intestinal microbiomes. In a cohort of 186 hospitalized patients, we showed that host and microbe-associated shifts in fecal metabolomes had the potential to distinguish patients with CDI from those with non–C. difficile diarrhea and C. difficile colonization. Patients with CDI exhibited a chemical signature of Stickland amino acid fermentation that was distinct from those of uncolonized controls. This signature suggested that C. difficile preferentially catabolizes branched chain amino acids during CDI. Unexpectedly, we also identified a series of noncanonical, unsaturated bile acids that were depleted in patients with CDI. These bile acids may derive from an extended host-microbiome dehydroxylation network in uninfected patients. Bile acid composition and leucine fermentation defined a prototype metabolomic model with potential to distinguish clinical CDI from asymptomatic C. difficile colonization.
John I. Robinson, William H. Weir, Jan R. Crowley, Tiffany Hink, Kimberly A. Reske, Jennie H. Kwon, Carey-Ann D. Burnham, Erik R. Dubberke, Peter J. Mucha, Jeffrey P. Henderson
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