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Harding AT, Crossen AJ, Reedy JL, Basham KJ, Hepworth OW, Zhang Y, Shah VS, Harding HB, Surve MV, Simaku P, Kwaku GN, Jensen KN, Otto Y, Ward RA, Thompson GR, Klein BS, Rajagopal J, Sen P, Haber AL, Vyas JM. Single-cell analysis of human airway epithelium identifies cell type-specific responses to Aspergillus and Coccidioides. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.09.09.612147. [PMID: 39314271 PMCID: PMC11418999 DOI: 10.1101/2024.09.09.612147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/25/2024]
Abstract
Respiratory fungal infections pose a significant threat to human health. Animal models do not fully recapitulate human disease, necessitating advanced models to study human-fungal pathogen interactions. In this study, we utilized primary human airway epithelial cells (hAECs) to recapitulate the lung environment in vitro and investigate cellular responses to two diverse, clinically significant fungal pathogens, Aspergillus fumigatus and Coccidioides posadasii. To understand the mechanisms of early pathogenesis for both fungi, we performed single-cell RNA sequencing of infected hAECs. Analysis revealed that both fungi induced cellular stress and cytokine production. However, the cell subtypes affected and specific pathways differed between fungi, with A. fumigatus and C. posadasii triggering protein-folding-related stress in ciliated cells and hypoxia responses in secretory cells, respectively. This study represents one of the first reports of single-cell transcriptional analysis of hAECs infected with either A. fumigatus or C. posadasii, providing a vital dataset to dissect the mechanism of disease and potentially identify targetable pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alfred T. Harding
- Institute for Medical Engineering and Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge MA
- Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge MA
| | - Arianne J. Crossen
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jennifer L. Reedy
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Kyle J. Basham
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Olivia W. Hepworth
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Yanting Zhang
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA USA
| | - Viral S. Shah
- Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Center for Regenerative Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Klarman Cell Observatory, Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Hannah Brown Harding
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Manalee V. Surve
- Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Center for Regenerative Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Patricia Simaku
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Geneva N. Kwaku
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Kristine Nolling Jensen
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Yohana Otto
- Center for Regenerative Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Rebecca A. Ward
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - George R. Thompson
- Division of Infectious Diseases, and Departments of Internal Medicine and Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of California-Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA
| | - Bruce S. Klein
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Jayaraj Rajagopal
- Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Center for Regenerative Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Klarman Cell Observatory, Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Pritha Sen
- Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Transplant, Oncology, and Immunocompromised Host Group, Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Adam L. Haber
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA USA
| | - Jatin M. Vyas
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
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Shubitz LF, Powell DA, Butkiewicz CD, Lewis ML, Trinh HT, Frelinger JA, Orbach MJ, Galgiani JN. A Chronic Murine Disease Model of Coccidioidomycosis Using Coccidioides posadasii, Strain 1038. J Infect Dis 2021; 223:166-173. [PMID: 32658292 DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiaa419] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2020] [Accepted: 07/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Murine infections with most Coccidioides spp. strains are lethal by 3 weeks, limiting the study of immune responses. Coccidioides posadasii, strain 1038 (Cp1038), while slowly lethal, resulted in protracted survival of C57BL/6 (B6) mice. In resistant (B6D2)F1/J mice, lung fungal burdens stabilized by week 4 without progression through week 16, better modeling human coccidioidal infections after their immunologic control. Immunodeficient tumor necrosis factor (Tnf) α knockout (KO) and interferon (Ifn) γ receptor 1 (Ifn-γr1) KO mice survived a median of 22.5 and 34 days, compared with 70 days in B6 mice (P = .001 and P < .01, respectively), though 14-day lung fungal burden studies showed little difference between Ifn-γr1 KO and B6 mice. B6 mice showed peak concentrations of key inflammatory lung cytokines, including interleukin 6, 23, and 17A, Tnf-α, and Ifn-γ, only after 4 weeks of infection. The slower progression in B6 and the acquired fungal burden stability in B6D2 mice after Cp1038 infection greatly increases the array of possible immunologic studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa F Shubitz
- Valley Fever Center for Excellence, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
| | - Daniel A Powell
- Valley Fever Center for Excellence, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA.,Department of Immunobiology, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
| | | | - M Lourdes Lewis
- Valley Fever Center for Excellence, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
| | - Hien T Trinh
- Valley Fever Center for Excellence, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
| | - Jeffrey A Frelinger
- Valley Fever Center for Excellence, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
| | - Marc J Orbach
- Valley Fever Center for Excellence, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA.,School of Plant Sciences, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
| | - John N Galgiani
- Valley Fever Center for Excellence, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA.,Department of Medicine, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
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Interleukin-8 Receptor 2 (IL-8R2)-Deficient Mice Are More Resistant to Pulmonary Coccidioidomycosis than Control Mice. Infect Immun 2020; 89:IAI.00883-19. [PMID: 33106296 DOI: 10.1128/iai.00883-19] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2019] [Accepted: 09/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The pathology of human coccidioidomycosis is granulomatous inflammation with many neutrophils surrounding ruptured spherules, but the chemotactic pathways that draw neutrophils into the infected tissues are not known. We previously showed that formalin-killed spherules (FKS) stimulate mouse macrophages to secret macrophage inflammatory protein 2 (MIP-2), which suggested that CXC ELR+ chemokines might be involved in neutrophil recruitment in vivo To test that hypothesis, we intranasally infected interleukin-8R2 (IL-8R2) (Cxcr2)-deficient mice on a BALB/c background with Coccidioides immitis RS. IL-8R2-deficient mice had fewer neutrophils in infected lungs than controls, but unexpectedly the IL-8R2-deficient mice had fewer organisms in their lungs than the control mice. Infected IL-8R2-deficient mouse lungs had higher expression of genes associated with lymphocyte activation, including the Th1 and Th17-related cytokines Ifnγ and Il17a and the transcription factors Stat1 and Rorc Additionally, bronchial alveolar lavage fluid from infected IL-8R2-deficient mice contained more IL-17A and interferon-γ (IFN-γ). We postulate that neutrophils in the lung directly or indirectly interfere with the development of a protective Th1/Th17 immune response to C. immitis at the site of infection.
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Knight M, Stanley S. HIF-1α as a central mediator of cellular resistance to intracellular pathogens. Curr Opin Immunol 2019; 60:111-116. [PMID: 31229914 DOI: 10.1016/j.coi.2019.05.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2019] [Revised: 04/30/2019] [Accepted: 05/11/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Hypoxia-inducible transcription factor-1α (HIF-1α) was originally identified as a master regulator of cellular responses to hypoxia. More recently, HIF-1α has emerged as a critical regulator of immune cell function that couples shifts in cellular metabolism to cell type-specific transcriptional outputs. Activation of macrophages with inflammatory stimuli leads to induction of the metabolic program aerobic glycolysis and to HIF-1α stabilization, which reinforce one another in a positive feedback loop that helps drive macrophage activation. This activation of aerobic glycolysis and HIF-1α is important both for production of inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-1β, and for cell intrinsic control of infection. Here, we review the importance of HIF-1α for control of bacterial, fungal, and protozoan intracellular pathogens, highlighting recent findings that reveal mechanisms by which HIF-1α is activated during infection and how HIF-1α coordinates antimicrobial responses of macrophages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Knight
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Sarah Stanley
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Division of Immunology and Pathogenesis, University of California, Berkeley, CA, United States; School of Public Health, Division of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, United States.
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Myeloid Differentiation Factor 88 and Interleukin-1R1 Signaling Contribute to Resistance to Coccidioides immitis. Infect Immun 2018; 86:IAI.00028-18. [PMID: 29610256 DOI: 10.1128/iai.00028-18] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2018] [Accepted: 03/26/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Rodents are a natural host for the dimorphic pathogenic fungi Coccidioides immitis and Coccidioides posadasii, and mice are a good model for human infection. Humans and rodents both express Dectin-1 and Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) on myeloid cells, and those receptors collaborate to maximize the cytokine/chemokine responses to spherules (the tissue form of the fungi) and to formalin-killed spherules (FKS). We showed that Dectin-1 is necessary for resistance to pulmonary coccidioidomycosis, but the importance of TLR2 in vivo is uncertain. Myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88) is the adapter protein for TLR2 and -4, interleukin-1R1 (IL-1R1), and IL-18R1. MyD88/TRIF-/- and MyD88-/- mice were equally susceptible to C. immitis infection, in contrast to C57BL/6 (B6) controls. Of the four surface receptors, only IL-1R1 was required for resistance to C. immitis, partially explaining the susceptibility of MyD88-/- mice. We also found that FKS stimulated production of IL-1Ra by bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDCs), independent of MyD88 and Dectin-1. There also was a very high concentration of IL-1Ra in the lungs of infected B6 mice, supporting the potential importance of this regulatory IL-1 family protein in the largely ineffective response of B6 mice to coccidioidomycosis. These results suggest that IL-1R1 signaling is important for defense against C. immitis infection.
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6
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Kirkland TN, Fierer J. Coccidioides immitis and posadasii; A review of their biology, genomics, pathogenesis, and host immunity. Virulence 2018; 9:1426-1435. [PMID: 30179067 PMCID: PMC6141143 DOI: 10.1080/21505594.2018.1509667] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2018] [Accepted: 07/31/2018] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Coccidioides immitis and C. posadasii are two highly pathogenic dimorphic fungal species that are endemic in the arid areas of the new world, including the region from west Texas to southern and central California in the USA that cause coccidioidomycosis (also known as Valley Fever). In highly endemic regions such as southern Arizona, up to 50% of long term residents have been infected. New information about fungal population genetics, ecology, epidemiology, and host-pathogen interactions is becoming available. However, our understanding of some aspects of coccidioidomycosis is still incomplete, including the extent of genetic variability of the fungus, the genes involved in virulence, and how the changes in gene expression during the organism's dimorphic life cycle are related to the transformation from a free-living mold to a parasitic spherule. Unfortunately, efforts to develop an effective subunit vaccine have not yet been productive, although two potential live fungus vaccines have been developed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Theo N. Kirkland
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego School of Medicine, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Joshua Fierer
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego School of Medicine, San Diego, CA, USA
- VA Healthcare San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA
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Santos SAD, Andrade DRD. HIF-1alpha and infectious diseases: a new frontier for the development of new therapies. Rev Inst Med Trop Sao Paulo 2017; 59:e92. [PMID: 29267600 PMCID: PMC5738998 DOI: 10.1590/s1678-9946201759092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2017] [Accepted: 11/07/2017] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The aim of this review is to show the significant role of HIF-1alpha in inflammatory and infectious diseases. Hypoxia is a physiological characteristic of a wide range of diseases from cancer to infection. Cellular hypoxia is sensed by oxygen-sensitive hydrolase enzymes, which control the protein stability of hypoxia-inducible factor alpha 1 (HIF-1alpha) transcription factors. When stabilized, HIF-1alpha binds with its cofactors to HIF-responsive elements (HREs) in the promoters of target genes to organize a broad ranging transcriptional program in response to the hypoxic environment. HIF-1alpha also plays a regulatory function in response to a diversity of molecular signals of infection and inflammation even under normoxic conditions. HIF-1alpha is stimulated by pro-inflammatory cytokines, growth factors and a wide range of infections. Its induction is a general element of the host response to infection. In this review, we also discuss recent advances in knowledge on HIF-1alpha and inflammatory responses, as well as its direct influence in infectious diseases caused by bacteria, virus, protozoan parasites and fungi.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sânia Alves Dos Santos
- Universidade de São Paulo, Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo, Laboratório de Bacteriologia (LIM 54), São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Dahir Ramos de Andrade
- Universidade de São Paulo, Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo, Laboratório de Bacteriologia (LIM 54), São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
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Singhania A, Rupani H, Jayasekera N, Lumb S, Hales P, Gozzard N, Davies DE, Woelk CH, Howarth PH. Altered Epithelial Gene Expression in Peripheral Airways of Severe Asthma. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0168680. [PMID: 28045928 PMCID: PMC5207492 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0168680] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2016] [Accepted: 12/05/2016] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Management of severe asthma remains a challenge despite treatment with glucocorticosteroid therapy. The majority of studies investigating disease mechanisms in treatment-resistant severe asthma have previously focused on the large central airways, with very few utilizing transcriptomic approaches. The small peripheral airways, which comprise the majority of the airway surface area, remain an unexplored area in severe asthma and were targeted for global epithelial gene expression profiling in this study. Differences between central and peripheral airways were evaluated using transcriptomic analysis (Affymetrix HG U133 plus 2.0 GeneChips) of epithelial brushings obtained from severe asthma patients (N = 17) and healthy volunteers (N = 23). Results were validated in an independent cohort (N = 10) by real-time quantitative PCR. The IL-13 disease signature that is associated with an asthmatic phenotype was upregulated in severe asthmatics compared to healthy controls but was predominantly evident within the peripheral airways, as were genes related to mast cell presence. The gene expression response associated with glucocorticosteroid therapy (i.e. FKBP5) was also upregulated in severe asthmatics compared to healthy controls but, in contrast, was more pronounced in central airways. Moreover, an altered epithelial repair response (e.g. FGFBP1) was evident across both airway sites reflecting a significant aspect of disease in severe asthma unadressed by current therapies. A transcriptomic approach to understand epithelial activation in severe asthma has thus highlighted the need for better-targeted therapy to the peripheral airways in severe asthma, where the IL-13 disease signature persists despite treatment with currently available therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akul Singhania
- Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
| | - Hitasha Rupani
- Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
| | - Nivenka Jayasekera
- Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
| | | | | | | | - Donna E. Davies
- Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
- Southampton NIHR Respiratory Biomedical Research Unit, Southampton Centre for Biomedical Research, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, United Kingdom
| | - Christopher H. Woelk
- Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
- * E-mail: (CHH); (PHH)
| | - Peter H. Howarth
- Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
- Southampton NIHR Respiratory Biomedical Research Unit, Southampton Centre for Biomedical Research, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, United Kingdom
- * E-mail: (CHH); (PHH)
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Friedrich D, Fecher RA, Rupp J, Deepe GS. Impact of HIF-1α and hypoxia on fungal growth characteristics and fungal immunity. Microbes Infect 2016; 19:204-209. [PMID: 27810563 DOI: 10.1016/j.micinf.2016.10.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2016] [Revised: 10/20/2016] [Accepted: 10/24/2016] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Human pathogenic fungi are highly adaptable to a changing environment. The ability to adjust to low oxygen conditions is crucial for colonization and infection of the host. Recently, the impact of mammalian hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) on fungal immunity has emerged. In this review, the role of hypoxia and HIF-1α in fungal infections is discussed regarding the innate immune response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dirk Friedrich
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, University of Lübeck, 23538 Lübeck, Germany.
| | - Roger A Fecher
- Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45267, USA; Division of Immunobiology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45220, USA
| | - Jan Rupp
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, University of Lübeck, 23538 Lübeck, Germany
| | - George S Deepe
- Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45267, USA; Medical Service, Veterans Affairs Hospital, Cincinnati, OH 45220, USA
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Hurtgen BJ, Castro-Lopez N, Jiménez-Alzate MDP, Cole GT, Hung CY. Preclinical identification of vaccine induced protective correlates in human leukocyte antigen expressing transgenic mice infected with Coccidioides posadasii. Vaccine 2016; 34:5336-5343. [PMID: 27622300 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2016.08.078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2016] [Revised: 08/19/2016] [Accepted: 08/29/2016] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
There is an emerging interest to develop human vaccines against medically-important fungal pathogens and a need for a preclinical animal model to assess vaccine efficacies and protective correlates. HLA-DR4 (DRB1∗0401 allele) transgenic mice express a human major histocompatibility complex class II (MHC II) receptor in such a way that CD4+ T-cell response is solely restricted by this human molecule. In this study HLA-DR4 transgenic mice were immunized with a live-attenuated vaccine (ΔT) and challenged by the intranasal route with 50-70 Coccidioides posadasii spores, a potentially lethal dose. The same vaccination regimen offers 100% survival for C57BL/6 mice. Conversely, ΔT-vaccinated HLA-DR4 mice displayed 3 distinct manifestations of Coccidioides infection including 40% fatal acute (FAD), 30% disseminated (DD) and 30% pulmonary disease (PD). The latter 2 groups of mice had reduced loss of body weight and survived to at least 50days postchallenge (dpc). These results suggest that ΔT vaccinated HLA-DR4 mice activated heterogeneous immunity against pulmonary Coccidioides infection. Vaccinated HLA-DR4 mice displayed early expansion of Th1 and Th17 cells and recruitment of inflammatory innate cells into Coccidioides-infected lungs during the first 9dpc. While contraction rates of Th cells and the inflammatory response during 14-35dpc significantly differed among the 3 groups of vaccinated HLA-DR4 mice. The FAD group displayed a sharply reduced Th1 and Th17 response, while overwhelmingly recruiting neutrophils into lungs during 9-14days. The FAD group approached moribund by 14dpc. In contrast, vaccinated HLA-DR4 survivors gradually contracted Th cells and inflammatory response with the greatest rate in the PD group. While vaccinated HLA-DR4 mice are susceptible to Coccidioides infection, they are useful for evaluation of vaccine efficacy and identification of immunological correlates against this mycosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brady J Hurtgen
- Department of Biology and South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, University of Texas, San Antonio, TX, USA; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, TX, USA
| | - Natalia Castro-Lopez
- Department of Biology and South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, University of Texas, San Antonio, TX, USA
| | - Maria Del Pilar Jiménez-Alzate
- Department of Biology and South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, University of Texas, San Antonio, TX, USA; Grupo de Micología Médica, Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, School of Medicine, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia
| | - Garry T Cole
- Department of Biology and South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, University of Texas, San Antonio, TX, USA; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, TX, USA
| | - Chiung-Yu Hung
- Department of Biology and South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, University of Texas, San Antonio, TX, USA; Immune Defense Core, University of Texas, San Antonio, TX, USA.
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12
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Call for a California Coccidioidomycosis Consortium to Face the Top Ten Challenges Posed by a Recalcitrant Regional Disease. Mycopathologia 2014; 179:1-9. [DOI: 10.1007/s11046-014-9816-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2014] [Accepted: 09/17/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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13
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Shepardson KM, Jhingran A, Caffrey A, Obar JJ, Suratt BT, Berwin BL, Hohl TM, Cramer RA. Myeloid derived hypoxia inducible factor 1-alpha is required for protection against pulmonary Aspergillus fumigatus infection. PLoS Pathog 2014; 10:e1004378. [PMID: 25255025 PMCID: PMC4177996 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1004378] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2014] [Accepted: 08/01/2014] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Hypoxia inducible factor 1α (HIF1α) is the mammalian transcriptional factor that controls metabolism, survival, and innate immunity in response to inflammation and low oxygen. Previous work established that generation of hypoxic microenvironments occurs within the lung during infection with the human fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus. Here we demonstrate that A. fumigatus stabilizes HIF1α protein early after pulmonary challenge that is inhibited by treatment of mice with the steroid triamcinolone. Utilizing myeloid deficient HIF1α mice, we observed that HIF1α is required for survival and fungal clearance early following pulmonary challenge with A. fumigatus. Unlike previously reported research with bacterial pathogens, HIF1α deficient neutrophils and macrophages were surprisingly not defective in fungal conidial killing. The increase in susceptibility of the myeloid deficient HIF1α mice to A. fumigatus was in part due to decreased early production of the chemokine CXCL1 (KC) and increased neutrophil apoptosis at the site of infection, resulting in decreased neutrophil numbers in the lung. Addition of recombinant CXCL1 restored neutrophil survival and numbers, murine survival, and fungal clearance. These results suggest that there are unique HIF1α mediated mechanisms employed by the host for protection and defense against fungal pathogen growth and invasion in the lung. Additionally, this work supports the strategy of exploring HIF1α as a therapeutic target in specific immunosuppressed populations with fungal infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelly M. Shepardson
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, United States of America
| | - Anupam Jhingran
- Infectious Disease Service, Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Alayna Caffrey
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, United States of America
| | - Joshua J. Obar
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, United States of America
| | - Benjamin T. Suratt
- Department of Medicine, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, Vermont, United States of America
| | - Brent L. Berwin
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, United States of America
| | - Tobias M. Hohl
- Infectious Disease Service, Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Robert A. Cramer
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Neither dectin-2 nor the mannose receptor is required for resistance to Coccidioides immitis in mice. Infect Immun 2013; 82:1147-56. [PMID: 24379281 DOI: 10.1128/iai.01355-13] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
We investigated the roles of the mannose receptor (MR) and Dectin-2 in resistance to pulmonary coccidioidomycosis in C57BL/6 (B6) mice and in the interaction of myeloid cells with spherules, using B6 mice with targeted mutations in Mrc1 and Clec4n. Spherules are the tissue form of Coccidioides, and we determined that the MR on bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDC) was important for recognition of spherules (formalin-killed spherules [FKS]) and for secretion of interleukin 10 (IL-10) and proinflammatory cytokines in response to FKS by both elicited macrophages and BMDC. Infected MR knockout (KO) mice produced more IL-10 in their lungs than did B6 mice, and MR KO mice also made more protective Th-17 cytokines. In contrast to the MR, Dectin-2 was not required for recognition of FKS by BMDC or for the production of cytokines by BMDC in response to FKS. However, Dectin-2 KO was required for stimulation of elicited peritoneal macrophages. Despite that, lung cytokine levels were not significantly different in Dectin-2 KO mice and B6 mice 14 days after infection, except for IL-1β, which was higher in Dectin-2 KO lungs. Although both Dectin-2(-/-) and MR(-/-) myeloid cells had reduced proinflammatory cytokine responses to FKS in vitro, neither MR nor Dectin-2 deficiency reduced the resistance of B6 mice to pulmonary coccidioidomycosis.
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Massanella M, Singhania A, Beliakova-Bethell N, Pier R, Lada SM, White CH, Pérez-Santiago J, Blanco J, Richman DD, Little SJ, Woelk CH. Differential gene expression in HIV-infected individuals following ART. Antiviral Res 2013; 100:420-8. [PMID: 23933117 DOI: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2013.07.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2013] [Revised: 07/23/2013] [Accepted: 07/25/2013] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Previous studies of the effect of ART on gene expression in HIV-infected individuals have identified small numbers of modulated genes. Since these studies were underpowered or cross-sectional in design, a paired analysis of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), isolated before and after ART, from a robust number of HIV-infected patients (N=32) was performed. Gene expression was assayed by microarray and 4157 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified following ART using multivariate permutation tests. Pathways and gene ontology (GO) terms over-represented for DEGs reflected the transition from a period of active virus replication before ART to one of viral suppression (e.g., repression of JAK-STAT signaling) and possible prolonged drug exposure (e.g., oxidative phosphorylation pathway) following ART. CMYC was the DEG whose product made the greatest number of interactions at the protein level in protein interaction networks (PINs), which has implications for the increased incidence of Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) in HIV-infected patients. The differential expression of multiple genes was confirmed by RT-qPCR including well-known drug metabolism genes (e.g., ALOX12 and CYP2S1). Targets not confirmed by RT-qPCR (i.e., GSTM2 and RPL5) were significantly confirmed by droplet digital (ddPCR), which may represent a superior method when confirming DEGs with low fold changes. In conclusion, a paired design revealed that the number of genes modulated following ART was an order of magnitude higher than previously recognized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta Massanella
- Fundació irsiCaixa-HIVACAT, Institut de Recerca en Ciències de la Salut Germans Trias i Pujol (IGTP), Hospital Germans Trias, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08916 Badalona, Spain; Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA 92161, USA; Department of Pathology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
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Abstract
We assessed the role of Dectin-1 in the immune response to the pathogenic fungus Coccidioides, both in vitro and in vivo, using mice with a targeted mutation in Clec7a. Elicited peritoneal macrophages responded to formalin-killed spherules (FKS) and alkali-treated FKS by secreting proinflammatory cytokines in a Dectin-1- and β-glucan-dependent manner. The responses of bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDC) to the same stimulants were more complex; interleukin 1β (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) secretion was independent of Dectin-1, while IL-6, IL-10, and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) were largely but not entirely dependent on Dectin-1. After intranasal infection, Dectin-1(-/-) mice had lower concentrations of IL-12p70, gamma interferon (IFN-γ), IL-1β, and the Th17 cytokines IL-22, IL-23, and 17A in the lung lavage fluid, which may explain why they were significantly more susceptible to pulmonary coccidioidomycosis two weeks after infection. The Dectin-1 mutation was even more deleterious in (B6 × DBA/2)F(2) mice, which are more resistant to coccidioidomycosis than B6 mice by virtue of protective genes from DBA/2, a genetically resistant strain. We also found that two susceptible strains of mice (B6 and BALB/c) expressed much less Dectin-1 in their lungs than did resistant DBA/2 mice. We conclude that Dectin-1 is necessary for resistance to Coccidioides immitis, that Dectin-1 promotes both Th1 and Th17 protective immune responses to this infection, and that there is a correlation between expression of Dectin-1 by the inflammatory infiltrate and resistance to coccidioidomycosis. IMPORTANCE Coccidioidomycosis is a fungal infection endemic in the southwestern United States and neighboring Mexico, causing ~150,000 lung infections in people and resulting in ~17,000 hospitalizations annually in California alone. Very little is known about innate immunity to this fungus. This paper shows that Dectin-1, the primary β-glucan receptor on myeloid cells, is required for resistance to this pathogen. Dectin-1 is part of the innate immune system, and it is needed to direct the acquired immune response toward into a pathway that will lead to macrophage activation. Lungs from infected mice lacking Dectin-1 had lower concentrations of Th1 and Th17 cytokines, two cytokine pathways that are very important for acquired T cell immunity to Coccidioides spp. This is the first demonstration that Dectin-1 is required for host resistance to a dimorphic, primary pathogenic fungus.
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