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Loske J, Röhmel J, Lukassen S, Stricker S, Magalhães VG, Liebig J, Chua RL, Thürmann L, Messingschlager M, Seegebarth A, Timmermann B, Klages S, Ralser M, Sawitzki B, Sander LE, Corman VM, Conrad C, Laudi S, Binder M, Trump S, Eils R, Mall MA, Lehmann I. Pre-activated antiviral innate immunity in the upper airways controls early SARS-CoV-2 infection in children. Nat Biotechnol 2022; 40:319-324. [PMID: 34408314 DOI: 10.1038/s41587-021-01037-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 167] [Impact Index Per Article: 83.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2021] [Accepted: 07/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Children have reduced severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection rates and a substantially lower risk for developing severe coronavirus disease 2019 compared with adults. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying protection in younger age groups remain unknown. Here we characterize the single-cell transcriptional landscape in the upper airways of SARS-CoV-2-negative (n = 18) and age-matched SARS-CoV-2-positive (n = 24) children and corresponding samples from adults (n = 44), covering an age range of 4 weeks to 77 years. Children displayed higher basal expression of relevant pattern recognition receptors such as MDA5 (IFIH1) and RIG-I (DDX58) in upper airway epithelial cells, macrophages and dendritic cells, resulting in stronger innate antiviral responses upon SARS-CoV-2 infection than in adults. We further detected distinct immune cell subpopulations including KLRC1 (NKG2A)+ cytotoxic T cells and a CD8+ T cell population with a memory phenotype occurring predominantly in children. Our study provides evidence that the airway immune cells of children are primed for virus sensing, resulting in a stronger early innate antiviral response to SARS-CoV-2 infection than in adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Loske
- Molecular Epidemiology Unit, Berlin Institute of Health at the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - J Röhmel
- Department of Pediatric Respiratory Medicine, Immunology and Critical Care Medicine, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu, Berlin, Germany
| | - S Lukassen
- Center for Digital Health, Berlin Institute of Health at the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - S Stricker
- Department of Pediatric Respiratory Medicine, Immunology and Critical Care Medicine, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu, Berlin, Germany
| | - V G Magalhães
- Research group "Dynamics of Early Viral Infection and the Innate Antiviral Response", division F170, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - J Liebig
- Center for Digital Health, Berlin Institute of Health at the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - R L Chua
- Center for Digital Health, Berlin Institute of Health at the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - L Thürmann
- Molecular Epidemiology Unit, Berlin Institute of Health at the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - M Messingschlager
- Molecular Epidemiology Unit, Berlin Institute of Health at the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - A Seegebarth
- Molecular Epidemiology Unit, Berlin Institute of Health at the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - B Timmermann
- Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Berlin, Germany
| | - S Klages
- Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Berlin, Germany
| | - M Ralser
- Institute of Biochemistry, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - B Sawitzki
- Institute of Medical Immunology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - L E Sander
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Respiratory Medicine, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health (BIH), Berlin, Germany
- German Center for Lung Research (DZL), associated partner, Berlin, Germany
| | - V M Corman
- Institute of Virology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health (BIH), Berlin, Germany
- German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), Associated Partner Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - C Conrad
- Center for Digital Health, Berlin Institute of Health at the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - S Laudi
- Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - M Binder
- Research group "Dynamics of Early Viral Infection and the Innate Antiviral Response", division F170, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - S Trump
- Molecular Epidemiology Unit, Berlin Institute of Health at the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - R Eils
- Center for Digital Health, Berlin Institute of Health at the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
- German Center for Lung Research (DZL), associated partner, Berlin, Germany.
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
| | - M A Mall
- Department of Pediatric Respiratory Medicine, Immunology and Critical Care Medicine, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu, Berlin, Germany
- German Center for Lung Research (DZL), associated partner, Berlin, Germany
| | - I Lehmann
- Molecular Epidemiology Unit, Berlin Institute of Health at the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- German Center for Lung Research (DZL), associated partner, Berlin, Germany
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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Jitschin R, Böttcher M, Saul D, Lukassen S, Bruns H, Loschinski R, Ekici AB, Reis A, Mackensen A, Mougiakakos D. Inflammation-induced glycolytic switch controls suppressivity of mesenchymal stem cells via STAT1 glycosylation. Leukemia 2019; 33:1783-1796. [PMID: 30679801 DOI: 10.1038/s41375-018-0376-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2018] [Revised: 11/19/2018] [Accepted: 12/07/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) represent key contributors to tissue homeostasis and promising therapeutics for hyperinflammatory conditions including graft-versus-host disease. Their immunomodulatory effects are controlled by microenvironmental signals. The MSCs' functional response towards inflammatory cues is known as MSC-"licensing" and includes indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) upregulation. MSCs use tryptophan-depleting IDO to suppress T-cells. Increasing evidence suggests that several functions are (co-)determined by the cells' metabolic commitment. MSCs are capable of both, high levels of glycolysis and of oxidative phosphorylation. Although several studies have addressed alterations of the immune regulatory phenotype elicited by inflammatory priming metabolic mechanisms controlling this process remain unknown. We demonstrate that inflammatory MSC-licensing causes metabolic shifts including enhanced glycolysis and increased fatty acid oxidation. Yet, only interfering with glycolysis impacts IDO upregulation and impedes T-cell-suppressivity. We identified the Janus kinase (JAK)/signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT)1 pathway as a regulator of both glycolysis and IDO, and show that enhanced glucose turnover is linked to abundant STAT1 glycosylation. Inhibiting the responsible O-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) transferase abolishes STAT1 activity together with IDO upregulation. Our data suggest that STAT1-O-GlcNAcylation increases its stability towards degradation thus sustaining downstream effects. This pathway could represent a target for interventions aiming to enhance the MSCs' immunoregulatory potency.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Jitschin
- Department of Medicine 5 for Hematology and Oncology, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054, Erlangen, Germany
| | - M Böttcher
- Department of Medicine 5 for Hematology and Oncology, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054, Erlangen, Germany
| | - D Saul
- Department of Medicine 5 for Hematology and Oncology, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054, Erlangen, Germany
| | - S Lukassen
- Institute of Human Genetics, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054, Erlangen, Germany
| | - H Bruns
- Department of Medicine 5 for Hematology and Oncology, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054, Erlangen, Germany
| | - R Loschinski
- Department of Medicine 5 for Hematology and Oncology, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054, Erlangen, Germany
| | - A B Ekici
- Institute of Human Genetics, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054, Erlangen, Germany
| | - A Reis
- Institute of Human Genetics, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054, Erlangen, Germany
| | - A Mackensen
- Department of Medicine 5 for Hematology and Oncology, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054, Erlangen, Germany
| | - D Mougiakakos
- Department of Medicine 5 for Hematology and Oncology, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054, Erlangen, Germany.
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