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Nieuwenhuizen NE, Nouailles G, Sutherland JS, Zyla J, Pasternack AH, Heyckendorf J, Frye BC, Höhne K, Zedler U, Bandermann S, Abu Abed U, Brinkmann V, Gutbier B, Witzenrath M, Suttorp N, Zissel G, Lange C, Ritvos O, Kaufmann SHE. Activin A levels are raised during human tuberculosis and blockade of the activin signaling axis influences murine responses to M. tuberculosis infection. mBio 2024; 15:e0340823. [PMID: 38376260 PMCID: PMC10936190 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.03408-23] [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: 01/17/2024] [Accepted: 01/26/2024] [Indexed: 02/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Activin A strongly influences immune responses; yet, few studies have examined its role in infectious diseases. We measured serum activin A levels in two independent tuberculosis (TB) patient cohorts and in patients with pneumonia and sarcoidosis. Serum activin A levels were increased in TB patients compared to healthy controls, including those with positive tuberculin skin tests, and paralleled severity of disease, assessed by X-ray scores. In pneumonia patients, serum activin A levels were also raised, but in sarcoidosis patients, levels were lower. To determine whether blockade of the activin A signaling axis could play a functional role in TB, we harnessed a soluble activin type IIB receptor fused to human IgG1 Fc, ActRIIB-Fc, as a ligand trap in a murine TB model. The administration of ActRIIB-Fc to Mycobacterium tuberculosis-infected mice resulted in decreased bacterial loads and increased numbers of CD4 effector T cells and tissue-resident memory T cells in the lung. Increased frequencies of tissue-resident memory T cells corresponded with downregulated T-bet expression in lung CD4 and CD8 T cells. Altogether, the results suggest a disease-exacerbating role of ActRIIB signaling pathways. Serum activin A may be useful as a biomarker for diagnostic triage of active TB or monitoring of anti-tuberculosis therapy. IMPORTANCE Tuberculosis remains the leading cause of death by a bacterial pathogen. The etiologic agent of tuberculosis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, can remain dormant in the infected host for years before causing disease. Significant effort has been made to identify biomarkers that can discriminate between latently infected and actively diseased individuals. We found that serum levels of the cytokine activin A were associated with increased lung pathology and could discriminate between active tuberculosis and tuberculin skin-test-positive healthy controls. Activin A signals through the ActRIIB receptor, which can be blocked by administration of the ligand trap ActRIIB-Fc, a soluble activin type IIB receptor fused to human IgG1 Fc. In a murine model of tuberculosis, we found that ActRIIB-Fc treatment reduced mycobacterial loads. Strikingly, ActRIIB-Fc treatment significantly increased the number of tissue-resident memory T cells. These results suggest a role for ActRIIB signaling pathways in host responses to Mycobacterium tuberculosis and activin A as a biomarker of ongoing disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalie E. Nieuwenhuizen
- Department of Immunology, Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Chariteplatz, Berlin, Germany
- Institute for Hygiene and Microbiology, Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Geraldine Nouailles
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Respiratory Medicine and Critical Care, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
| | - Jayne S. Sutherland
- Vaccines and Immunity Theme, Medical Research Council Unit The Gambia at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Fajara, The Gambia
| | - Joanna Zyla
- Department of Data Science and Engineering, Silesian University of Technology, Gliwice, Poland
| | - Arja H. Pasternack
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Jan Heyckendorf
- Department of Medicine I, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel, Germany
| | - Björn C. Frye
- Department of Pneumology, Clinic, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Kerstin Höhne
- Department of Pneumology, Clinic, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Ulrike Zedler
- Department of Immunology, Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Chariteplatz, Berlin, Germany
| | - Silke Bandermann
- Department of Immunology, Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Chariteplatz, Berlin, Germany
| | - Ulrike Abu Abed
- Microscopy Core Facility, Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Chariteplatz, Berlin, Germany
| | - Volker Brinkmann
- Microscopy Core Facility, Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Chariteplatz, Berlin, Germany
| | - Birgitt Gutbier
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Respiratory Medicine and Critical Care, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
| | - Martin Witzenrath
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Respiratory Medicine and Critical Care, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
- CAPNETZ STIFTUNG, Hannover, Germany
- German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Berlin, Germany
| | - Norbert Suttorp
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Respiratory Medicine and Critical Care, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
- CAPNETZ STIFTUNG, Hannover, Germany
- German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Berlin, Germany
| | - Gernot Zissel
- Department of Pneumology, Clinic, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Christoph Lange
- Division of Clinical Infectious Diseases, Research Center Borstel, Borstel, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Hamburg-Lübeck-Borstel-Riems, Borstel, Germany
- Respiratory Medicine and International Health, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
- Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children´s Hospital, Global TB Program, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Olli Ritvos
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Stefan H. E. Kaufmann
- Department of Immunology, Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Chariteplatz, Berlin, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Emeritus Group Systems Immunology, Göttingen, Germany
- Hagler Institute for Advanced Study, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
| | - the CAPNETZ Study group
- Department of Immunology, Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Chariteplatz, Berlin, Germany
- Institute for Hygiene and Microbiology, Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Respiratory Medicine and Critical Care, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
- Vaccines and Immunity Theme, Medical Research Council Unit The Gambia at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Fajara, The Gambia
- Department of Data Science and Engineering, Silesian University of Technology, Gliwice, Poland
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Department of Medicine I, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel, Germany
- Department of Pneumology, Clinic, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Microscopy Core Facility, Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Chariteplatz, Berlin, Germany
- CAPNETZ STIFTUNG, Hannover, Germany
- German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Berlin, Germany
- Division of Clinical Infectious Diseases, Research Center Borstel, Borstel, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Hamburg-Lübeck-Borstel-Riems, Borstel, Germany
- Respiratory Medicine and International Health, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
- Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children´s Hospital, Global TB Program, Houston, Texas, USA
- Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Emeritus Group Systems Immunology, Göttingen, Germany
- Hagler Institute for Advanced Study, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
| | - the DZIF TB study group
- Department of Immunology, Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Chariteplatz, Berlin, Germany
- Institute for Hygiene and Microbiology, Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Respiratory Medicine and Critical Care, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
- Vaccines and Immunity Theme, Medical Research Council Unit The Gambia at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Fajara, The Gambia
- Department of Data Science and Engineering, Silesian University of Technology, Gliwice, Poland
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Department of Medicine I, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel, Germany
- Department of Pneumology, Clinic, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Microscopy Core Facility, Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Chariteplatz, Berlin, Germany
- CAPNETZ STIFTUNG, Hannover, Germany
- German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Berlin, Germany
- Division of Clinical Infectious Diseases, Research Center Borstel, Borstel, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Hamburg-Lübeck-Borstel-Riems, Borstel, Germany
- Respiratory Medicine and International Health, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
- Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children´s Hospital, Global TB Program, Houston, Texas, USA
- Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Emeritus Group Systems Immunology, Göttingen, Germany
- Hagler Institute for Advanced Study, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
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MacDonnell S, Megna J, Ruan Q, Zhu O, Halasz G, Jasewicz D, Powers K, E H, del Pilar Molina-Portela M, Jin X, Zhang D, Torello J, Feric NT, Graziano MP, Shekhar A, Dunn ME, Glass D, Morton L. Activin A directly impairs human cardiomyocyte contractile function indicating a potential role in heart failure development. Front Cardiovasc Med 2022; 9:1038114. [PMID: 36440002 PMCID: PMC9685658 DOI: 10.3389/fcvm.2022.1038114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2022] [Accepted: 10/10/2022] [Indexed: 09/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Activin A has been linked to cardiac dysfunction in aging and disease, with elevated circulating levels found in patients with hypertension, atherosclerosis, and heart failure. Here, we investigated whether Activin A directly impairs cardiomyocyte (CM) contractile function and kinetics utilizing cell, tissue, and animal models. Hydrodynamic gene delivery-mediated overexpression of Activin A in wild-type mice was sufficient to impair cardiac function, and resulted in increased cardiac stress markers (N-terminal pro-atrial natriuretic peptide) and cardiac atrophy. In human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived (hiPSC) CMs, Activin A caused increased phosphorylation of SMAD2/3 and significantly upregulated SERPINE1 and FSTL3 (markers of SMAD2/3 activation and activin signaling, respectively). Activin A signaling in hiPSC-CMs resulted in impaired contractility, prolonged relaxation kinetics, and spontaneous beating in a dose-dependent manner. To identify the cardiac cellular source of Activin A, inflammatory cytokines were applied to human cardiac fibroblasts. Interleukin -1β induced a strong upregulation of Activin A. Mechanistically, we observed that Activin A-treated hiPSC-CMs exhibited impaired diastolic calcium handling with reduced expression of calcium regulatory genes (SERCA2, RYR2, CACNB2). Importantly, when Activin A was inhibited with an anti-Activin A antibody, maladaptive calcium handling and CM contractile dysfunction were abrogated. Therefore, inflammatory cytokines may play a key role by acting on cardiac fibroblasts, causing local upregulation of Activin A that directly acts on CMs to impair contractility. These findings demonstrate that Activin A acts directly on CMs, which may contribute to the cardiac dysfunction seen in aging populations and in patients with heart failure.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jake Megna
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Tarrytown, NY, United States
| | - Qin Ruan
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Tarrytown, NY, United States
| | - Olivia Zhu
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Tarrytown, NY, United States
| | - Gabor Halasz
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Tarrytown, NY, United States
| | - Dan Jasewicz
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Tarrytown, NY, United States
| | - Kristi Powers
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Tarrytown, NY, United States
| | - Hock E
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Tarrytown, NY, United States
| | | | - Ximei Jin
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Tarrytown, NY, United States
| | - Dongqin Zhang
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Tarrytown, NY, United States
| | | | - Nicole T. Feric
- TARA Biosystems Inc., Alexandria Center for Life Sciences, New York, NY, United States
| | - Michael P. Graziano
- TARA Biosystems Inc., Alexandria Center for Life Sciences, New York, NY, United States
| | | | | | - David Glass
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Tarrytown, NY, United States
| | - Lori Morton
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Tarrytown, NY, United States
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