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Bourgeois JS, You SS, Clendenen LH, Shrestha M, Petnicki-Ocwieja T, Telford SR, Hu LT. Comparative reservoir competence of Peromyscus leucopus, C57BL/6J, and C3H/HeN for Borrelia burgdorferi B31. Appl Environ Microbiol 2024; 90:e0082224. [PMID: 38899883 PMCID: PMC11267898 DOI: 10.1128/aem.00822-24] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2024] [Accepted: 06/01/2024] [Indexed: 06/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Borrelia burgdorferi, a Lyme disease spirochete, causes a range of acute and chronic maladies in humans. However, a primary vertebrate reservoir in the United States, the white-footed deermouse Peromyscus leucopus, is reported not to have reduced fitness following infection. Although laboratory strains of Mus musculus mice have successfully been leveraged to model acute human Lyme disease, the ability of these rodents to model B. burgdorferi-P. leucopus interactions remains understudied. Here, we compared infection of P. leucopus with B. burgdorferi B31 with infection of the traditional B. burgdorferi murine models-C57BL/6J and C3H/HeN Mus musculus, which develop signs of inflammation akin to human disease. We find that B. burgdorferi was able to reach much higher burdens (10- to 30-times higher) in multiple M. musculus skin sites and that the overall dynamics of infection differed between the two rodent species. We also found that P. leucopus remained transmissive to larval Ixodes scapularis for a far shorter period than either M. musculus strain. In line with these observations, we found that P. leucopus does launch a modest but sustained inflammatory response against B. burgdorferi in the skin, which we hypothesize leads to reduced bacterial viability and rodent-to-tick transmission in these hosts. Similarly, we also observe evidence of inflammation in infected P. leucopus hearts. These observations provide new insight into reservoir species and the B. burgdorferi enzootic cycle.IMPORTANCEA Lyme disease-causing bacteria, Borrelia burgdorferi, must alternate between infecting a vertebrate host-usually rodents or birds-and ticks. In order to be successful in that endeavor, the bacteria must avoid being killed by the vertebrate host before it can infect a new larval tick. In this work, we examine how B. burgdorferi and one of its primary vertebrate reservoirs, Peromyscus leucopus, interact during an experimental infection. We find that B. burgdorferi appears to colonize its natural host less successfully than conventional laboratory mouse models, which aligns with a sustained seemingly anti-bacterial response by P. leucopus against the microbe. These data enhance our understanding of P. leucopus host-pathogen interactions and could potentially serve as a foundation to uncover ways to disrupt the spread of B. burgdorferi in nature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey S. Bourgeois
- Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Tufts University, Tufts Lyme Disease Initiative, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Stephanie S. You
- Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Tufts University, Tufts Lyme Disease Initiative, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Luke H. Clendenen
- Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Tufts University, Tufts Lyme Disease Initiative, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Muskan Shrestha
- Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Tufts University, Tufts Lyme Disease Initiative, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Tanja Petnicki-Ocwieja
- Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Tufts University, Tufts Lyme Disease Initiative, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Sam R. Telford
- Tufts University, Tufts Lyme Disease Initiative, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Infectious Disease and Global Health, Tufts University, North Grafton, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Linden T. Hu
- Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Tufts University, Tufts Lyme Disease Initiative, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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Milovic A, Duong JV, Barbour AG. The infection-tolerant white-footed deermouse tempers interferon responses to endotoxin in comparison to the mouse and rat. eLife 2024; 12:RP90135. [PMID: 38193896 PMCID: PMC10945503 DOI: 10.7554/elife.90135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2024] Open
Abstract
The white-footed deermouse Peromyscus leucopus, a long-lived rodent, is a key reservoir in North America for agents of several zoonoses, including Lyme disease, babesiosis, anaplasmosis, and a viral encephalitis. While persistently infected, this deermouse is without apparent disability or diminished fitness. For a model for inflammation elicited by various pathogens, the endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was used to compare genome-wide transcription in blood by P. leucopus, Mus musculus, and Rattus norvegicus and adjusted for white cell concentrations. Deermice were distinguished from the mice and rats by LPS response profiles consistent with non-classical monocytes and alternatively-activated macrophages. LPS-treated P. leucopus, in contrast to mice and rats, also displayed little transcription of interferon-gamma and lower magnitude fold-changes in type 1 interferon-stimulated genes. These characteristics of P. leucopus were also noted in a Borrelia hermsii infection model. The phenomenon was associated with comparatively reduced transcription of endogenous retrovirus sequences and cytoplasmic pattern recognition receptors in the deermice. The results reveal a mechanism for infection tolerance in this species and perhaps other animal reservoirs for agents of human disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Milovic
- Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics, University of California, IrvineIrvineUnited States
| | - Jonathan V Duong
- Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics, University of California, IrvineIrvineUnited States
| | - Alan G Barbour
- Departments of Medicine, Microbiology & Molecular Genetics, and Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of California, IrvineIrvineUnited States
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Milovic A, Duong JV, Barbour AG. The white-footed deermouse, an infection-tolerant reservoir for several zoonotic agents, tempers interferon responses to endotoxin in comparison to the mouse and rat. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.06.06.543964. [PMID: 37745581 PMCID: PMC10515768 DOI: 10.1101/2023.06.06.543964] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/26/2023]
Abstract
The white-footed deermouse Peromyscus leucopus, a long-lived rodent, is a key reservoir for agents of several zoonoses, including Lyme disease. While persistently infected, this deermouse is without apparent disability or diminished fitness. For a model for inflammation elicited by various pathogens, the endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was used to compare genome-wide transcription in blood by P. leucopus, Mus musculus and Rattus norvegicus and adjusted for white cell concentrations. Deermice were distinguished from the mice and rats by LPS response profiles consistent with non-classical monocytes and alternatively-activated macrophages. LPS-treated P. leucopus, in contrast to mice and rats, also displayed little transcription of interferon-gamma and lower magnitude fold-changes in type 1 interferon-stimulated genes. This was associated with comparatively reduced transcription of endogenous retrovirus sequences and cytoplasmic pattern recognition receptors in the deermice. The results reveal a mechanism for infection tolerance in this species and perhaps other animal reservoirs for agents of human disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Milovic
- Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics, University of California Irvine
| | - Jonathan V. Duong
- Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics, University of California Irvine
| | - Alan G. Barbour
- Departments of Medicine, Microbiology & Molecular Genetics, and Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of California Irvine
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Gorshkova EA, Gubernatorova EO, Dvorianinova EM, Yurakova TR, Marey MV, Averina OA, Holtze S, Hildebrandt TB, Dmitriev AA, Drutskaya MS, Vyssokikh MY, Nedospasov SA. Macrophages from naked mole-rat possess distinct immunometabolic signatures upon polarization. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1172467. [PMID: 37153552 PMCID: PMC10154529 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1172467] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2023] [Accepted: 04/04/2023] [Indexed: 05/09/2023] Open
Abstract
The naked mole-rat (NMR) is a unique long-lived rodent which is highly resistant to age-associated disorders and cancer. The immune system of NMR possesses a distinct cellular composition with the prevalence of myeloid cells. Thus, the detailed phenotypical and functional assessment of NMR myeloid cell compartment may uncover novel mechanisms of immunoregulation and healthy aging. In this study gene expression signatures, reactive nitrogen species and cytokine production, as well as metabolic activity of classically (M1) and alternatively (M2) activated NMR bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDM) were examined. Polarization of NMR macrophages under pro-inflammatory conditions led to expected M1 phenotype characterized by increased pro-inflammatory gene expression, cytokine production and aerobic glycolysis, but paralleled by reduced production of nitric oxide (NO). Under systemic LPS-induced inflammatory conditions NO production also was not detected in NMR blood monocytes. Altogether, our results indicate that NMR macrophages are capable of transcriptional and metabolic reprogramming under polarizing stimuli, however, NMR M1 possesses species-specific signatures as compared to murine M1, implicating distinct adaptations in NMR immune system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ekaterina A. Gorshkova
- Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
- Belozersky Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
- Center for Precision Genome Editing and Genetic Technologies for Biomedicine, Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - Ekaterina O. Gubernatorova
- Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
- Center for Precision Genome Editing and Genetic Technologies for Biomedicine, Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | | | - Taisiya R. Yurakova
- Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - Maria V. Marey
- Federal State Budget Institution “National Medical Research Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology Named after Academician V.I. Kulakov”, Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation, Moscow, Russia
| | - Olga A. Averina
- Belozersky Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
| | - Susanne Holtze
- Department of Reproduction Management, Leibnitz Institute for Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany
| | - Thomas B. Hildebrandt
- Department of Reproduction Management, Leibnitz Institute for Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany
| | - Alexey A. Dmitriev
- Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
- Center for Precision Genome Editing and Genetic Technologies for Biomedicine, Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - Marina S. Drutskaya
- Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
- Center for Precision Genome Editing and Genetic Technologies for Biomedicine, Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - Mikhail Yu. Vyssokikh
- Belozersky Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
- Federal State Budget Institution “National Medical Research Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology Named after Academician V.I. Kulakov”, Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation, Moscow, Russia
| | - Sergei A. Nedospasov
- Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
- Belozersky Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
- Center for Precision Genome Editing and Genetic Technologies for Biomedicine, Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
- Division of Immunobiology and Biomedicine, Center of Genetics and Life Sciences, Sirius University of Science and Technology, Federal Territory Sirius, Krasnodar Krai, Russia
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Gaber AM, Mandric I, Nitirahardjo C, Piontkivska H, Hillhouse AE, Threadgill DW, Zelikovsky A, Rogovskyy AS. Comparative transcriptome analysis of Peromyscus leucopus and C3H mice infected with the Lyme disease pathogen. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2023; 13:1115350. [PMID: 37113133 PMCID: PMC10126474 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2023.1115350] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2022] [Accepted: 03/23/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Lyme disease (LD), the most prevalent tick-borne disease of humans in the Northern Hemisphere, is caused by the spirochetal bacterium of Borreliella burgdorferi (Bb) sensu lato complex. In nature, Bb spirochetes are continuously transmitted between Ixodes ticks and mammalian or avian reservoir hosts. Peromyscus leucopus mice are considered the primary mammalian reservoir of Bb in the United States. Earlier studies demonstrated that experimentally infected P. leucopus mice do not develop disease. In contrast, C3H mice, a widely used laboratory strain of Mus musculus in the LD field, develop severe Lyme arthritis. To date, the exact tolerance mechanism of P. leucopus mice to Bb-induced infection remains unknown. To address this knowledge gap, the present study has compared spleen transcriptomes of P. leucopus and C3H/HeJ mice infected with Bb strain 297 with those of their respective uninfected controls. Overall, the data showed that the spleen transcriptome of Bb-infected P. leucopus mice was much more quiescent compared to that of the infected C3H mice. To date, the current investigation is one of the few that have examined the transcriptome response of natural reservoir hosts to Borreliella infection. Although the experimental design of this study significantly differed from those of two previous investigations, the collective results of the current and published studies have consistently demonstrated very limited transcriptomic responses of different reservoir hosts to the persistent infection of LD pathogens. Importance The bacterium Borreliella burgdorferi (Bb) causes Lyme disease, which is one of the emerging and highly debilitating human diseases in countries of the Northern Hemisphere. In nature, Bb spirochetes are maintained between hard ticks of Ixodes spp. and mammals or birds. In the United States, the white-footed mouse, Peromyscus leucopus, is one of the main Bb reservoirs. In contrast to humans and laboratory mice (e.g., C3H mice), white-footed mice rarely develop clinical signs (disease) despite being (persistently) infected with Bb. How the white-footed mouse tolerates Bb infection is the question that the present study has attempted to address. Comparisons of genetic responses between Bb-infected and uninfected mice demonstrated that, during a long-term Bb infection, C3H mice reacted much stronger, whereas P. leucopus mice were relatively unresponsive.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alhussien M. Gaber
- Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
| | - Igor Mandric
- Department of Computer Science, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Caroline Nitirahardjo
- Department of Biological Sciences, and School of Biomedical Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, OH, United States
| | - Helen Piontkivska
- Department of Biological Sciences, and School of Biomedical Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, OH, United States
- Brain Health Research Institute, Kent State University, Kent, OH, United States
| | - Andrew E. Hillhouse
- Texas A&M Institute for Genomics Sciences and Society, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
| | - David W. Threadgill
- Texas A&M Institute for Genomics Sciences and Society, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Medicine, Texas A&M University Health Science Center, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
| | - Alex Zelikovsky
- Department of Computer Science, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Artem S. Rogovskyy
- Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
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Graham AL, Schrom EC, Metcalf CJE. The evolution of powerful yet perilous immune systems. Trends Immunol 2021; 43:117-131. [PMID: 34949534 PMCID: PMC8686020 DOI: 10.1016/j.it.2021.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2021] [Revised: 12/03/2021] [Accepted: 12/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
The mammalian immune system packs serious punch against infection but can also cause harm: for example, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) made headline news of the simultaneous power and peril of human immune responses. In principle, natural selection leads to exquisite adaptation and therefore cytokine responsiveness that optimally balances the benefits of defense against its costs (e.g., immunopathology suffered and resources expended). Here, we illustrate how evolutionary biology can predict such optima and also help to explain when/why individuals exhibit apparently maladaptive immunopathological responses. Ultimately, we argue that the evolutionary legacies of multicellularity and life-history strategy, in addition to our coevolution with symbionts and our demographic history, together explain human susceptibility to overzealous, pathology-inducing cytokine responses. Evolutionary insight thereby complements molecular/cellular mechanistic insights into immunopathology.
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