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O'Dell CT, Boule LA, Robert J, Georas SN, Eliseeva S, Lawrence BP. Exposure to a mixture of 23 chemicals associated with unconventional oil and gas operations alters immune response to challenge in adult mice. J Immunotoxicol 2021; 18:105-117. [PMID: 34455897 DOI: 10.1080/1547691x.2021.1965677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The prevalence of unconventional oil and gas (UOG) operations raises concerns regarding the potential for adverse health outcomes following exposure to water tainted by mixtures of UOG associated chemicals. The potential effects that exposure to complex chemical mixtures has on the immune system have yet to be fully evaluated. In this study, effects on the immune system of adult mice exposed to a mixture of 23 chemicals that have been associated with water near active UOG operations were investigated. Female and male mice were exposed to the mixture via their drinking water for at least 8 weeks. At the end of the exposure, cellularity of primary and secondary immune organs, as well as an immune system function, were assessed using three different models of disease, i.e. house dust mite (HDM)-induced allergic airway disease, influenza A virus infection, and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). The results indicated exposures resulted in different impacts on T-cell populations in each disease model. Furthermore, the consequences of exposure differed between female and male mice. Notably, exposure to the chemical mixture significantly increased EAE disease severity in females, but not in male, mice. These findings indicated that direct exposure to this mixture leads to multiple alterations in T-cell subsets and that these alterations differ between sexes. This suggested to us that direct exposure to UOG-associated chemicals may alter the adult immune system, leading to dysregulation in immune cellularity and function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Colleen T O'Dell
- Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Lisbeth A Boule
- Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Jacques Robert
- Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, USA.,Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Steve N Georas
- Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, USA.,Department of Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Sophia Eliseeva
- Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - B Paige Lawrence
- Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, USA.,Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, USA
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2
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Post CM, Boule LA, Burke CG, O'Dell CT, Winans B, Lawrence BP. The Ancestral Environment Shapes Antiviral CD8 + T cell Responses across Generations. iScience 2019; 20:168-183. [PMID: 31569050 PMCID: PMC6817732 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2019.09.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2019] [Revised: 08/05/2019] [Accepted: 09/11/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent studies have linked health fates of children to environmental exposures of their great grandparents. However, few studies have considered whether ancestral exposures influence immune function across generations. Here, we report transgenerational inheritance of altered T cell responses resulting from maternal (F0) exposure to the aryl hydrocarbon receptor ligand 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). Since F0 exposure to TCDD has been linked to transgenerational transmission of reproductive problems, we asked whether maternal TCDD exposure also caused transgenerational changes in immune function. F0 exposure caused transgenerational effects on the CD8+ T cell response to influenza virus infection in females but not in males. Outcrosses showed changes were passed through both parental lineages. These data demonstrate that F0 exposure to an aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) agonist causes durable changes to immune responses that can affect subsequent generations. This has broad implications for understanding how the environment of prior generations shapes susceptibility to pathogens and antiviral immunity in later generations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina M Post
- Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry, Rochester, NY 14642, USA
| | - Lisbeth A Boule
- Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry, Rochester, NY 14642, USA; Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry, Rochester, NY 14642, USA
| | - Catherine G Burke
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry, Rochester, NY 14642, USA
| | - Colleen T O'Dell
- Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry, Rochester, NY 14642, USA
| | - Bethany Winans
- Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry, Rochester, NY 14642, USA
| | - B Paige Lawrence
- Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry, Rochester, NY 14642, USA; Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry, Rochester, NY 14642, USA.
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3
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Burke CG, Myers JR, Boule LA, Post CM, Brookes PS, Lawrence BP. Early life exposures shape the CD4 + T cell transcriptome, influencing proliferation, differentiation, and mitochondrial dynamics later in life. Sci Rep 2019; 9:11489. [PMID: 31391494 PMCID: PMC6686001 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-47866-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2019] [Accepted: 07/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Early life environmental exposures drive lasting changes to the function of the immune system and can contribute to disease later in life. One of the ways environmental factors act is through cellular receptors. The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) is expressed by immune cells and binds numerous xenobiotics. Early life exposure to chemicals that bind the AHR impairs CD4+ T cell responses to influenza A virus (IAV) infection in adulthood. However, the cellular mechanisms that underlie these durable changes remain poorly defined. Transcriptomic profiling of sorted CD4+ T cells identified changes in genes involved in proliferation, differentiation, and metabolic pathways were associated with triggering AHR during development. Functional bioassays confirmed that CD4+ T cells from infected developmentally exposed offspring exhibit reduced proliferation, differentiation, and cellular metabolism. Thus, developmental AHR activation shapes T cell responsive capacity later in life by affecting integrated cellular pathways, which collectively alter responses later in life. Given that coordinated shifts in T cell metabolism are essential for T cell responses to numerous challenges, and that humans are constantly exposed to many different types of AHR ligands, this has far-reaching implications for how AHR signaling, particularly during development, durably influences T cell mediated immune responses across the lifespan.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catherine G Burke
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry, Rochester, NY, 14624, USA
| | - Jason R Myers
- Genomics Research Center, University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry, Rochester, NY, 14624, USA
| | - Lisbeth A Boule
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry, Rochester, NY, 14624, USA
| | - Christina M Post
- Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry, Rochester, NY, 14624, USA
| | - Paul S Brookes
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry, Rochester, NY, 14624, USA
| | - B Paige Lawrence
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry, Rochester, NY, 14624, USA.
- Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry, Rochester, NY, 14624, USA.
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Bennett JA, Singh KP, Welle SL, Boule LA, Lawrence BP, Gasiewicz TA. Conditional deletion of Ahr alters gene expression profiles in hematopoietic stem cells. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0206407. [PMID: 30388136 PMCID: PMC6214519 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0206407] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2018] [Accepted: 10/14/2018] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) is a ligand activated bHLH transcription factor that belongs to the Per-Arnt-Sim (PAS) superfamily of proteins involved in mediating responses to cellular environment regulating normal physiological and developmental pathways. The AHR binds a broad range of naturally derived and synthetic compounds, and plays a major role in mediating effects of certain environmental chemicals. Although our understanding of the physiological roles of the AHR in the immune system is evolving, there is little known about its role in hematopoiesis and hematopoietic diseases. Prior studies demonstrated that AHR null (AHR-KO) mice have impaired hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) function; they develop myeloproliferative changes in peripheral blood cells, and alterations in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell populations in the bone marrow. We hypothesized mice lacking AHR expression only within hematopoietic cells (AHRVav1 mice) would develop similar changes. However, we did not observe a complete phenocopy of AHR-KO and AHRVav1 animals at 2 or 18 months of age. To illuminate the signaling mechanisms underlying the alterations in hematopoiesis observed in these mice, we sorted a population of cells highly enriched for HSC function (LSK cells: CD34-CD48-CD150+) and performed microarray analyses. Ingenuity Pathway and Gene Set Enrichment Analyses revealed that that loss of AHR within HSCs alters several gene and signaling networks important for HSC function. Differences in gene expression networks among HSCs from AHR-KO and AHRVav1 mice suggest that AHR in bone marrow stromal cells also contributes to HSC function. In addition, numerous studies have suggested a role for AHR in both regulation of hematopoietic cells, and in the development of blood diseases. More work is needed to define what these signals are, and how they act upon HSCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- John A. Bennett
- Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York, United States of America
| | - Kameshwar P. Singh
- Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York, United States of America
| | - Stephen L. Welle
- Department of Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York, United States of America
| | - Lisbeth A. Boule
- Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York, United States of America
| | - B. Paige Lawrence
- Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York, United States of America
| | - Thomas A. Gasiewicz
- Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York, United States of America
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Hulsebus HJ, Curtis BJ, Molina PE, Afshar M, Boule LA, Morris N, Keshavarzian A, Kolls JK, Yeligar SM, Price ME, Wyatt TA, Choudhry MA, Kovacs EJ. Summary of the 2017 Alcohol and Immunology Research Interest Group (AIRIG) meeting. Alcohol 2018; 69:51-56. [PMID: 29654985 PMCID: PMC5930121 DOI: 10.1016/j.alcohol.2017.10.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2017] [Revised: 10/20/2017] [Accepted: 10/23/2017] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
On June 24, 2017, the 22nd annual Alcohol and Immunology Research Interest Group (AIRIG) meeting was held as a satellite conference during the annual Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA) Scientific Meeting in Denver, Colorado. The 2017 meeting focused broadly on mechanisms that link alcohol to tissue injury and inflammation, and how this research can be translated to improve human health. Two plenary sessions composed the meeting, which first explored the association between alcohol and trauma/tissue injury, and finished with a discussion of alcohol and mucosal inflammation. The presentations encompassed diverse areas of alcohol research, from effects on the brain, to airway and pulmonary systems, to gut barrier disruption. The discussions also thoughtfully highlighted how current laboratory and clinical research can be used to prevent or treat alcohol-related morbidity and mortality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Holly J. Hulsebus
- Department of Surgery, University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA,Alcohol Research Program, University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA,Immunology Graduate Program, University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Brenda J. Curtis
- Department of Surgery, University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA,Alcohol Research Program, University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Patricia E. Molina
- Department of Physiology and Alcohol and Drug Abuse Center of Excellence, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA, USA
| | - Majid Afshar
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, IL, USA,Alcohol Research Program, Burn and Shock Trauma Research Institute, Department of Surgery, Loyola University Chicago Health Sciences Campus, Maywood, IL, USA
| | - Lisbeth A. Boule
- Department of Surgery, University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA,Alcohol Research Program, University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Niya Morris
- Alcohol Research Program, Burn and Shock Trauma Research Institute, Department of Surgery, Loyola University Chicago Health Sciences Campus, Maywood, IL, USA,Integrative Cell Biology Program, Loyola University Chicago Health Sciences Campus, Maywood, IL, USA
| | - Ali Keshavarzian
- Department of Gastroenterology, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Jay K. Kolls
- Center for Translational Research in Infection and Inflammation, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA
| | - Samantha M. Yeligar
- Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Sleep, Emory University and Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Decatur, GA, USA
| | - Michael E. Price
- Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Sleep and Allergy, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Todd A. Wyatt
- Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Sleep and Allergy, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Mashkoor A. Choudhry
- Alcohol Research Program, Burn and Shock Trauma Research Institute, Department of Surgery, Loyola University Chicago Health Sciences Campus, Maywood, IL, USA,Integrative Cell Biology Program, Loyola University Chicago Health Sciences Campus, Maywood, IL, USA
| | - Elizabeth J. Kovacs
- Department of Surgery, University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA,Alcohol Research Program, University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA,Immunology Graduate Program, University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA,Corresponding author: Elizabeth J. Kovacs, Ph.D., 12700 East 19th Ave, Research Complex 2, Mailstop #8620, Aurora, CO, 80045. Phone: 303-724-8243.
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Boule LA, Ju C, Agudelo M, Parira T, Cannon A, Davis B, Eby J, Cresci G, Samuelson DR, Shukla P, Alrefai WA, Sureshchandra S, Pandey SC, Schnabl B, Curtis BJ, Wyatt TA, Choudhry MA, Kovacs EJ. Summary of the 2016 Alcohol and Immunology Research Interest Group (AIRIG) meeting. Alcohol 2018; 66:35-43. [PMID: 29127885 DOI: 10.1016/j.alcohol.2017.07.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2017] [Accepted: 07/21/2017] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
On November 18, 2016 the 21st annual Alcohol and Immunology Research Interest Group (AIRIG) meeting was held at the Center for Translational Research and Education at Loyola University Chicago's Health Sciences Campus in Maywood, IL. The 2016 meeting focused broadly on alcohol and inflammation, epigenetics, and the microbiome. The four plenary sessions of the meeting were Alcohol, Inflammation, and Immunity; Alcohol and Epigenetics; Alcohol, Transcriptional Regulation, and Epigenetics; and Alcohol, Intestinal Mucosa, and the Gut Microbiome. Presentations in all sessions of the meeting explored putative underlying causes for chronic diseases and mortality associated with alcohol consumption, shedding light on future work and potential therapeutic targets to alleviate the negative effects of alcohol misuse.
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Boule LA, Burke CG, Jin GB, Lawrence BP. Aryl hydrocarbon receptor signaling modulates antiviral immune responses: ligand metabolism rather than chemical source is the stronger predictor of outcome. Sci Rep 2018; 8:1826. [PMID: 29379138 PMCID: PMC5789012 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-20197-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2017] [Accepted: 01/11/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) offers a compelling target to modulate the immune system. AHR agonists alter adaptive immune responses, but the consequences differ across studies. We report here the comparison of four agents representing different sources of AHR ligands in mice infected with influenza A virus (IAV): TCDD, prototype exogenous AHR agonist; PCB126, pollutant with documented human exposure; ITE, novel pharmaceutical; and FICZ, degradation product of tryptophan. All four compounds diminished virus-specific IgM levels and increased the proportion of regulatory T cells. TCDD, PCB126 and ITE, but not FICZ, reduced virus-specific IgG levels and CD8+ T cell responses. Similarly, ITE, PCB126, and TCDD reduced Th1 and Tfh cells, whereas FICZ increased their frequency. In Cyp1a1-deficient mice, all compounds, including FICZ, reduced the response to IAV. Conditional Ahr knockout mice revealed that all four compounds require AHR within hematopoietic cells. Thus, differences in the immune response to IAV likely reflect variances in quality, magnitude, and duration of AHR signaling. This indicates that binding affinity and metabolism may be stronger predictors of immune effects than a compound’s source of origin, and that harnessing AHR will require finding a balance between dampening immune-mediated pathologies and maintaining sufficient host defenses against infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisbeth A Boule
- Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, USA.,Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, USA.,CBR International, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Catherine G Burke
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Guang-Bi Jin
- Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, USA.,Department of Preventative Medicine, School of Medicine, Yaniban University, Yanji City, Jilin Provence, China
| | - B Paige Lawrence
- Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, USA. .,Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, USA.
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Abstract
With the coming of the "silver tsunami," expanding the knowledge about how various intrinsic and extrinsic factors affect the immune system in the elderly is timely and of immediate clinical need. The global population is increasing in age. By the year 2030, more than 20% of the population of the United States will be older than 65 years of age. This article focuses on how advanced age alters the immune systems and how this, in turn, modulates the ability of the aging lung to deal with infectious challenges from the outside world and from within the host.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth J Kovacs
- Division of GI, Trauma and Endocrine Surgery, Department of Surgery, Mucosal Inflammation Program, GILIIP (GI, Liver and Innate Immunity Program), Graduate Program in Immunology, IMAGE (Investigations in Metabolism, Aging, Gender and Exercise), University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, 12700 East 19th Avenue, Research Complex 2, Mailstop #8620, Aurora, CO 80045, USA.
| | - Devin M Boe
- Division of GI, Trauma and Endocrine Surgery, Department of Surgery, Mucosal Inflammation Program, Graduate Program in Immunology, University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, 12700 East 19th Avenue, Research Complex 2, Room 6460, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
| | - Lisbeth A Boule
- Division of GI, Trauma and Endocrine Surgery, Department of Surgery, Mucosal Inflammation Program, IMAGE, University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, 12700 East 19th Avenue, Research Complex 2, Room 6460, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
| | - Brenda J Curtis
- Division of GI, Trauma and Endocrine Surgery, Department of Surgery, Mucosal Inflammation Program, IMAGE, University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, 12700 East 19th Avenue, Research Complex 2, Room 6018, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
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Abstract
The global population is aging: in 2010, 8% of the population was older than 65 y, and that is expected to double to 16% by 2050. With advanced age comes a heightened prevalence of chronic diseases. Moreover, elderly humans fair worse after acute diseases, namely infection, leading to higher rates of infection-mediated mortality. Advanced age alters many aspects of both the innate and adaptive immune systems, leading to impaired responses to primary infection and poor development of immunologic memory. An often overlooked, yet increasingly common, behavior in older individuals is alcohol consumption. In fact, it has been estimated that >40% of older adults consume alcohol, and evidence reveals that >10% of this group is drinking more than the recommended limit by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Alcohol consumption, at any level, alters host immune responses, including changes in the number, phenotype, and function of innate and adaptive immune cells. Thus, understanding the effect of alcohol ingestion on the immune system of older individuals, who are already less capable of combating infection, merits further study. However, there is currently almost nothing known about how drinking alters innate immunity in older subjects, despite innate immune cells being critical for host defense, resolution of inflammation, and maintenance of immune homeostasis. Here, we review the effects of aging and alcohol consumption on innate immune cells independently and highlight the few studies that have examined the effects of alcohol ingestion in aged individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisbeth A Boule
- Department of Surgery, Division of GI, Trauma, and Endocrine Surgery (GITES), University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado, USA; .,The Mucosal Inflammation Program (MIP), University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado, USA.,The Investigations in Metabolism, Aging, Gender and Exercise (IMAGE) Research Group, University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado, USA; and
| | - Elizabeth J Kovacs
- Department of Surgery, Division of GI, Trauma, and Endocrine Surgery (GITES), University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado, USA; .,The Mucosal Inflammation Program (MIP), University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado, USA.,The Investigations in Metabolism, Aging, Gender and Exercise (IMAGE) Research Group, University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado, USA; and.,The Immunology Graduate Program, University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado, USA
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Abstract
The world is undergoing an unprecedented shift in demographics, with the number of individuals over the age of 60 years projected to reach 2 billion or more by 2050, representing 22% of the global population. Elderly people are at a higher risk for chronic disease and more susceptible to infection, due in part to age-related dysfunction of the immune system resulting from low-grade chronic inflammation known as 'inflamm-ageing'. The innate immune system of older individuals exhibits a diminished ability to respond to microbial threats and clear infections, resulting in a greater occurrence of many infectious diseases in elderly people. In particular, the incidence of and mortality from lung infections increase sharply with age, with such infections often leading to worse outcomes, prolonged hospital stays and life-threatening complications, such as sepsis or acute respiratory distress syndrome. In this review, we highlight research on bacterial pneumonias and pulmonary viral infections and discuss age-related changes in innate immunity that contribute to the higher rate of these infections in older populations. By understanding more clearly the innate immune defects in elderly individuals, we can design age-specific therapies to address lung infections in such a vulnerable population.
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Affiliation(s)
- D M Boe
- Division of GI, Endocrine and Tumor Surgery, Department of Surgery, Mucosal Inflammation Program, University of Colorado Denver Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - L A Boule
- Division of GI, Endocrine and Tumor Surgery, Department of Surgery, Mucosal Inflammation Program, University of Colorado Denver Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - E J Kovacs
- Division of GI, Endocrine and Tumor Surgery, Department of Surgery, Mucosal Inflammation Program, University of Colorado Denver Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
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Boule LA, Burke CG, Fenton BM, Thevenet-Morrison K, Jusko TA, Lawrence BP. Developmental Activation of the AHR Increases Effector CD4+ T Cells and Exacerbates Symptoms in Autoimmune Disease-Prone Gnaq+/- Mice. Toxicol Sci 2015; 148:555-66. [PMID: 26363170 DOI: 10.1093/toxsci/kfv203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Perinatal environmental exposures are potentially important contributors to the increase in autoimmune diseases. Yet, the mechanisms by which these exposures increase self-reactive immune responses later in life are poorly understood. Autoimmune diseases require CD4(+) T cells for initiation, progression, and/or clinical symptoms; thus, developmental exposures that cause durable changes in CD4(+) T cells may play a role. Early life activation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) causes persistent changes in the response of CD4(+) T cells to infection later in life but whether CD4(+) T cells are affected by developmental exposure in the context of an autoimmune disease is unknown. Gnaq(+/-) mice develop symptoms of autoimmune disease similar to those measured clinically, and therefore can be used to evaluate gene-environment interactions during development on disease progression. Herein, we examined the effect of AHR activation in utero and via lactation, or solely via lactation, on disease onset and severity in adult Gnaq(+/-) offspring. Developmental activation of the AHR-accelerated disease in Gnaq(+/-) mice, and this correlates with increases in effector CD4(+) T-cell populations. Increased symptom onset and cellular changes due to early life AHR activation were more evident in female Gnaq(+/-) mice compared with males. These observations suggest that developmental AHR activation by pollutants, and other exogenous ligands, may increase the likelihood that genetically predisposed individuals will develop clinical symptoms of autoimmune disease later in life.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Todd A Jusko
- Department of Public Health Sciences, and Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York
| | - B Paige Lawrence
- *Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York
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Boule LA, Winans B, Lambert K, Vorderstrasse BA, Topham DJ, Pavelka MS, Lawrence BP. Activation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor during development enhances the pulmonary CD4+ T-cell response to viral infection. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol 2015; 309:L305-13. [PMID: 26071552 DOI: 10.1152/ajplung.00135.2015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2015] [Accepted: 06/03/2015] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Respiratory infections are a threat to health and economies worldwide, yet the basis for striking variation in the severity of infection is not completely understood. Environmental exposures during development are associated with increased severity and incidence of respiratory infection later in life. Many of these exposures include ligands of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR), a transcription factor expressed by immune and nonimmune cells. In adult animals, AHR activation alters CD4(+) T cells and changes immunopathology. Developmental AHR activation impacts CD4(+) T-cell responses in lymphoid tissues, but whether skewed responses are also present in the infected lung is unknown. To determine whether pulmonary CD4(+) T-cell responses are modified by developmental AHR activation, mice were exposed to the prototypical AHR ligand 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin during development and infected with influenza virus as adults. Lungs of exposed offspring had greater bronchopulmonary inflammation compared with controls, and activated, virus-specific CD4(+) T cells contributed to the infiltrating leukocytes. These effects were CD4(+) T cell subset specific, with increases in T helper type 1 and regulatory T cells, but no change in the frequency of T helper type 17 cells in the infected lung. This is in direct contrast to prior reports of suppressed conventional CD4(+) T-cell responses in the lymph node. Using adoptive transfers and manipulating the pathogen properties, we determined that developmental exposure influenced factors intrinsic and extrinsic to CD4(+) T cells and may involve developmentally induced changes in signals from infected lung epithelial cells. Thus developmental exposures lead to context-dependent changes in pulmonary CD4(+) T-cell subsets, which may contribute to differential responses to respiratory infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisbeth A Boule
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York
| | - Bethany Winans
- Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York; and
| | - Kris Lambert
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York
| | - Beth A Vorderstrasse
- Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, Oregon
| | - David J Topham
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York
| | - Martin S Pavelka
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York
| | - B Paige Lawrence
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York; Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York; and
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Boule LA, Winans B, Lawrence BP. Effects of developmental activation of the AhR on CD4+ T-cell responses to influenza virus infection in adult mice. Environ Health Perspect 2014; 122:1201-8. [PMID: 25051576 PMCID: PMC4216167 DOI: 10.1289/ehp.1408110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2014] [Accepted: 07/21/2014] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Epidemiological and animal studies indicate that maternal exposure to pollutants that bind the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) correlates with poorer ability to combat respiratory infection and lower antibody levels in the offspring. These observations point to an impact on CD4+ T cells. Yet, the consequence of developmental exposure to AhR ligands on the activation and differentiation of CD4+ T cells has not been directly examined. OBJECTIVES Our goal was to determine whether maternal exposure to an AhR ligand directly alters CD4+ T cell differentiation and function later in life. METHODS C57BL/6 mice were exposed to a prototypical AhR ligand, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), in utero and via suckling. We then measured CD4+ T-cell activation and differentiation into distinct effector populations in adult offspring that were infected with influenza A virus (IAV). Reciprocal adoptive transfers were used to define whether modifications in CD4+ T-cell responses resulted from direct effects of developmental TCDD exposure on CD4+ T cells. RESULTS Developmental exposure skewed CD4+ T-cell responses to IAV infection. We observed fewer virus-specific, activated CD4+ T cells and a reduced frequency of conventional CD4+ effector-cell subsets. However, there was an increase in regulatory CD4+ T cells. Direct effects of AhR activation on CD4+ T cells resulted in impaired differentiation into conventional effector subsets; this defect was transferred to mice that had not been developmentally exposed to TCDD. CONCLUSIONS Maternal exposure to TCDD resulted in durable changes in the responsive capacity and differentiation of CD4+ T cells in adult C57BL/6 mice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisbeth A Boule
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, USA
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