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Leishmania Infection Induces Macrophage Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A Production in an ARNT/HIF-Dependent Manner. Infect Immun 2019; 87:IAI.00088-19. [PMID: 31451620 PMCID: PMC6803331 DOI: 10.1128/iai.00088-19] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2019] [Accepted: 08/12/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Cutaneous leishmaniasis is characterized by vascular remodeling. Following infection with Leishmania parasites, the vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A)/VEGF receptor 2 (VEGFR-2) signaling pathway mediates lymphangiogenesis, which is critical for lesion resolution. Therefore, we investigated the cellular and molecular mediators involved in VEGF-A/VEGFR-2 signaling using a murine model of infection. We found that macrophages are the predominant cell type expressing VEGF-A during Leishmania major infection. Given that Leishmania parasites activate hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) and this transcription factor can drive VEGF-A expression, we analyzed the expression of HIF-1α during infection. We showed that macrophages were also the major cell type expressing HIF-1α during infection and that infection-induced VEGF-A production is mediated by ARNT/HIF activation. Furthermore, mice deficient in myeloid ARNT/HIF signaling exhibited larger lesions without differences in parasite numbers. These data show that L. major infection induces macrophage VEGF-A production in an ARNT/HIF-dependent manner and suggest that ARNT/HIF signaling may limit inflammation by promoting VEGF-A production and, thus, lymphangiogenesis during infection.
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Martins Gomes SF, Westermann AJ, Sauerwein T, Hertlein T, Förstner KU, Ohlsen K, Metzger M, Shusta EV, Kim BJ, Appelt-Menzel A, Schubert-Unkmeir A. Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Brain Endothelial Cells as a Cellular Model to Study Neisseria meningitidis Infection. Front Microbiol 2019; 10:1181. [PMID: 31191497 PMCID: PMC6548865 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.01181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2019] [Accepted: 05/09/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Meningococcal meningitis is a severe central nervous system infection that occurs when Neisseria meningitidis (Nm) penetrates brain endothelial cells (BECs) of the meningeal blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier. As a human-specific pathogen, in vivo models are greatly limited and pose a significant challenge. In vitro cell models have been developed, however, most lack critical BEC phenotypes limiting their usefulness. Human BECs generated from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) retain BEC properties and offer the prospect of modeling the human-specific Nm interaction with BECs. Here, we exploit iPSC-BECs as a novel cellular model to study Nm host-pathogen interactions, and provide an overview of host responses to Nm infection. Using iPSC-BECs, we first confirmed that multiple Nm strains and mutants follow similar phenotypes to previously described models. The recruitment of the recently published pilus adhesin receptor CD147 underneath meningococcal microcolonies could be verified in iPSC-BECs. Nm was also observed to significantly increase the expression of pro-inflammatory and neutrophil-specific chemokines IL6, CXCL1, CXCL2, CXCL8, and CCL20, and the secretion of IFN-γ and RANTES. For the first time, we directly observe that Nm disrupts the three tight junction proteins ZO-1, Occludin, and Claudin-5, which become frayed and/or discontinuous in BECs upon Nm challenge. In accordance with tight junction loss, a sharp loss in trans-endothelial electrical resistance, and an increase in sodium fluorescein permeability and in bacterial transmigration, was observed. Finally, we established RNA-Seq of sorted, infected iPSC-BECs, providing expression data of Nm-responsive host genes. Altogether, this model provides novel insights into Nm pathogenesis, including an impact of Nm on barrier properties and tight junction complexes, and suggests that the paracellular route may contribute to Nm traversal of BECs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara F Martins Gomes
- Institute of Hygiene and Microbiology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Alexander J Westermann
- Institute of Molecular Infection Biology (IMIB), University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.,Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI), Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), Würzburg, Germany
| | - Till Sauerwein
- Institute of Molecular Infection Biology (IMIB), University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.,ZB MED, Information Centre for Life Sciences, Cologne, Germany.,TH Köln, University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Information Science and Communication Studies, Cologne, Germany
| | - Tobias Hertlein
- Institute of Molecular Infection Biology (IMIB), University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Konrad U Förstner
- Institute of Molecular Infection Biology (IMIB), University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.,ZB MED, Information Centre for Life Sciences, Cologne, Germany.,TH Köln, University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Information Science and Communication Studies, Cologne, Germany
| | - Knut Ohlsen
- Institute of Molecular Infection Biology (IMIB), University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Marco Metzger
- Chair Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.,Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research ISC, Translational Center Regenerative Therapies (TLC-RT), Würzburg, Germany
| | - Eric V Shusta
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States
| | - Brandon J Kim
- Institute of Hygiene and Microbiology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.,Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States
| | - Antje Appelt-Menzel
- Chair Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.,Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research ISC, Translational Center Regenerative Therapies (TLC-RT), Würzburg, Germany
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