Balanced cytokine-producing pattern in mice immunized with an avirulent Trypanosoma cruzi

Gene expression network analyses during infection with virulent and avirulent Trypanosoma cruzi strains unveil a role for fibroblasts in neutrophil recruitment and activation

Chagas disease is caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, a protozoan parasite that has a heterogeneous population composed of a pool of strains with distinct characteristics, including variable levels of virulence. In previous work, transcriptome analyses of parasite genes after infection of human foreskin fibroblasts (HFF) with virulent (CL Brener) and non-virulent (CL-14) clones derived from the CL strain, revealed a reduced expression of genes encoding parasite surface proteins in CL-14 compared to CL Brener during the final steps of the intracellular differentiation from amastigotes to trypomastigotes. Here we analyzed changes in the expression of host genes during in vitro infection of HFF cells with the CL Brener and CL-14 strains by analyzing total RNA extracted from cells at 60 and 96 hours post-infection (hpi) with each strain, as well as from uninfected cells. Similar transcriptome profiles were observed at 60 hpi with both strains compared to uninfected samples. However, at 96 hpi, significant differences in the number and expression levels of several genes, particularly those involved with immune response and cytoskeleton organization, were observed. Further analyses confirmed the difference in the chemokine/cytokine signaling involved with the recruitment and activation of immune cells such as neutrophils upon T. cruzi infection. These findings suggest that infection with the virulent CL Brener strain induces a more robust inflammatory response when compared with the non-virulent CL-14 strain. Importantly, the RNA-Seq data also exposed an unexplored role of fibroblasts as sentinel cells that may act by recruiting neutrophils to the initial site of infection. This role for fibroblasts in the regulation of the inflammatory response during infection by T. cruzi was corroborated by measurements of levels of different chemokines/cytokines during in vitro infection and in plasma from Chagas disease patients as well as by neutrophil activation and migration assays.

Trypanosoma cruzi is the causative agent of Chagas disease, a debilitating and often life-threatening illness that affects 6 to 7 million people mainly in Latin America. The parasite, transmitted to humans by an insect vector, needs to invade different cells from the infected person in order to multiply and spread the infection to various organs, including the heart and the gut. In this study, we investigated how the host cell responds to the infection by analyzing changes in the expression of human genes in fibroblasts infected with the CL Brener and CL-14 strains, which are strains that present highly distinct virulent phenotypes during infection in mice. We showed that human fibroblasts build a strong immune response upon infection by T. cruzi and that this response is different depending on the parasite strain: infection with the virulent CL Brener strain induces a more robust inflammatory response compared with the infection with the avirulent CL-14 strain. We also showed that, in response to the infection, fibroblasts produce molecules that can recruit and activate neutrophils, which are important immune cells that controls the infection.

T-Cell Immunophenotyping and Cytokine Production Analysis in Patients with Chagas Disease 4 Years after Benznidazole Treatment

The major problem with Chagas disease is evolution of the chronic indeterminate form to a progressive cardiac disease. Treatment diminishes parasitemia but not clinical progression, and the immunological features involved are unclear. Here, we studied the clinical course and the immune response in patients with chronic-phase Chagas disease at 48 months after benznidazole treatment. Progression to the cardiac form of Chagas disease or its aggravation was associated with higher in vitro antigen-specific production of interferon gamma (IFN-γ) in patients with cardiac Chagas disease than in patients with the indeterminate form. Predominance of IFN-γ production over interleukin-10 (IL-10) production in antigen-specific cultures was associated with cardiac involvement. Significantly higher numbers of antigen-specific T helper 1 cells (T-Bet⁺ IFN-γ⁺) and a significantly higher IFN-γ⁺/IL-10⁺ ratio were observed in patients with cardiac Chagas disease than in patients with the indeterminate form. Cardiac damage was associated with higher numbers of T helper cells than cytotoxic T lymphocytes producing IFN-γ. Patients with cardiac Chagas disease had predominant CD25^- and CD25^low T regulatory (Treg) subpopulations, whereas patients with the indeterminate form manifested a higher relative mean percentage of CD25^high Treg subpopulations. These findings suggest that at 48 months after benznidazole treatment, the disease can worsen or progress to the cardiac form. The progression may be related to increased IFN-γ production (mostly from CD4⁺ T cells) relative to IL-10 production and increased Treg percentages. Patients with the indeterminate form of Chagas disease show a more balanced ratio of proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines.

Comparative transcriptome profiling of virulent and non-virulent Trypanosoma cruzi underlines the role of surface proteins during infection

Trypanosoma cruzi, the protozoan that causes Chagas disease, has a complex life cycle involving several morphologically and biochemically distinct stages that establish intricate interactions with various insect and mammalian hosts. It has also a heterogeneous population structure comprising strains with distinct properties such as virulence, sensitivity to drugs, antigenic profile and tissue tropism. We present a comparative transcriptome analysis of two cloned T. cruzi strains that display contrasting virulence phenotypes in animal models of infection: CL Brener is a virulent clone and CL-14 is a clone that is neither infective nor pathogenic in in vivo models of infection. Gene expression analysis of trypomastigotes and intracellular amastigotes harvested at 60 and 96 hours post-infection (hpi) of human fibroblasts revealed large differences that reflect the parasite’s adaptation to distinct environments during the infection of mammalian cells, including changes in energy sources, oxidative stress responses, cell cycle control and cell surface components. While extensive transcriptome remodeling was observed when trypomastigotes of both strains were compared to 60 hpi amastigotes, differences in gene expression were much less pronounced when 96 hpi amastigotes and trypomastigotes of CL Brener were compared. In contrast, the differentiation of the avirulent CL-14 from 96 hpi amastigotes to extracellular trypomastigotes was associated with considerable changes in gene expression, particularly in gene families encoding surface proteins such as trans-sialidases, mucins and the mucin associated surface proteins (MASPs). Thus, our comparative transcriptome analysis indicates that the avirulent phenotype of CL-14 may be due, at least in part, to a reduced or delayed expression of genes encoding surface proteins that are associated with the transition of amastigotes to trypomastigotes, an essential step in the establishment of the infection in the mammalian host. Confirming the role of members of the trans-sialidase family of surface proteins for parasite differentiation, transfected CL-14 constitutively expressing a trans-sialidase gene displayed faster kinetics of trypomastigote release in the supernatant of infected cells compared to wild type CL-14.

Chagas disease, caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, is an infection that occurs in several Latin American countries, resulting in a mild illness or in severe damage of the heart and intestinal tract. Such a broad spectrum of clinical manifestations observed in Chagas disease patients is likely due to differences in host susceptibility as well as to a large heterogeneity among T. cruzi isolates. The identification of virulence factors that are differentially expressed in the parasite population is a valuable strategy for understanding of the distinct interactions that occur between this pathogen and its host, which may or may not lead to pathogenesis. By comparing the gene expression profiles of two T. cruzi strains that display contrasting virulence phenotypes in animal models of infection, we identified a central role for genes encoding surface proteins that is associated with the differentiation from intracellular replicative amastigotes to infective trypomastigotes. We showed that the expression of these genes occurs differentially within the two strains and this difference may be a factor that impacts parasite survival and dissemination in the mammalian host.

Nucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase1 (TcNTPDase-1) gene expression is increased due to heat shock and in infective forms of Trypanosoma cruzi

Background

Ecto-Nucleoside Triphosphate Diphosphohydrolases (Ecto-NTPDases) are enzymes that hydrolyze tri- and/or di-phosphate nucleotides. Evidences point to their participation in Trypanosoma cruzi virulence and infectivity. In this work, we evaluate TcNTPDase-1 gene expression in comparison with ecto-NTPDase activity, in order to study the role of TcNTPDase-1 in parasite virulence, infectivity and adaptation to heat shock.

Findings

Comparison between distinct T. cruzi isolates (Y, 3663 and 4167 strains, and Dm28c, LL014 and CL-14 clones) showed that TcNTPDase-1 expression was 7.2 ± 1.5 times higher in the Dm28c than the CL-14 avirulent clone. A remarkable expression increase was also observed in the trypomastigote and amastigote forms (22.5 ± 5.6 and 16.3 ± 3.8 times higher than epimastigotes, respectively), indicating that TcNTPDase-1 is overexpressed in T. cruzi infective forms. Moreover, heat shock and long-term cultivation also induced a significant increment on TcNTPDase-1 expression.

Conclusions

Our results suggest that TcNTPDase-1 plays an important role on T. cruzi infectivity and adaptation to stress conditions, such as long-term cultivation and heat shock.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13071-014-0463-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Previously unrecognized vaccine candidates control Trypanosoma cruzi infection and immunopathology in mice

Trypanosoma cruzi is the etiologic agent of Chagas' disease, a major health problem in Latin America and an emerging infectious disease in the United States. Previously, we screened a T. cruzi sequence database by a computational-bioinformatic approach and identified antigens that exhibited the characteristics of good vaccine candidates. In this study, we tested the vaccine efficacy of three of the putative candidate antigens against T. cruzi infection and disease in a mouse model. C57BL/6 mice vaccinated with T. cruzi G1 (TcG1)-, TcG2-, or TcG4-encoding plasmids and cytokine (interleukin-12 and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor) expression plasmids elicited a strong Th1-type antibody response dominated by immunoglobulin G2b (IgG2b)/IgG1 isotypes. The dominant IgG2b/IgG1 antibody response was maintained after a challenge infection and was associated with 50 to 90% control of the acute-phase tissue parasite burden and an almost undetectable level of tissue parasites during the chronic phase, as determined by a sensitive T. cruzi 18S rRNA gene-specific real-time PCR approach. Splenocytes from vaccinated-and-infected mice, compared to unvaccinated-and-infected mice, exhibited decreased (approximately 50% lower) proliferation and gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) production when stimulated in vitro with T. cruzi antigens, thus suggesting that protection from challenge infection was not provided by an active T-cell response. Subsequently, the serum and cardiac levels of IFN-gamma and tumor necrosis factor alpha and infiltration of inflammatory infiltrate in the heart were decreased in vaccinated mice during the course of infection and chronic disease development. Taken together, these results demonstrate the identification of novel vaccine candidates that provided protection from T. cruzi-induced immunopathology in experimental mice.

Transfection of Trypanosoma cruzi with host CD40 ligand results in improved control of parasite infection

We have previously shown that infection by Trypanosoma cruzi, a parasitic protozoan, is reduced by injection of CD40 ligand (CD40L)-transfected 3T3 fibroblasts (D. Chaussabel, F. Jacobs, J. de Jonge, M. de Veerman, Y. Carlier, K. Thielemans, M. Goldman, and B. Vray, Infect. Immun. 67:1929-1934, 1999). This prompted us to transfect T. cruzi with the murine CD40L gene and to study the consequences of this transfection on the course of infection. For this, epimastigotes (Y strain) were electroporated with the pTEX vector alone or the pTEX-CD40L construct, and transfected cells were selected for their resistance to Geneticin G418. Then strain Y-, pTEX-, and pTEX-CD40L-transfected epimastigotes were transformed by metacyclogenesis into mammalian infective forms called Y, YpTEX, and YpTEX-CD40L trypomastigotes. Transfection of the CD40L gene and expression of the CD40L protein were assessed by reverse transcription-PCR and Western blot analysis. The three strains of parasites were infective in vitro for mouse peritoneal macrophages. When organisms were inoculated into mice, a very low level of parasitemia and no mortality were seen with the YpTEX-CD40L strain compared to the Y and YpTEX strains. Furthermore, the proliferative capacity and the secretion of gamma interferon were both preserved in spleen cells (SCs) from YpTEX-CD40L-infected mice but not with SCs from Y- and YpTEX-infected mice. These results suggest that the CD40L produced by transfected T. cruzi is involved in the modulation of an antiparasite immune response. Moreover, mice surviving YpTEX-CD40L infection resisted a challenge infection with the wild-type strain. Taken together, our data demonstrate the feasibility of generating a T. cruzi strain expressing a bioactive host costimulatory molecule that counteracts the immunodeficiency induced by the parasite during infection and enhances protective immunity against a challenge infection.