Neutrophils suppress γδ T-cell function.

γδ T cells have been shown to stimulate the recruitment and activation of neutrophils through the release of a range of cytokines and chemokines. Here, we investigated the reverse relationship, showing that human neutrophils suppress the function of human blood γδ T cells. We show that the upregulation of CD25 and CD69 expression, the production of IFN-γ, and the proliferation of γδ T cells induced by (E)-1-hydroxy-2-methylbut-2-enyl 4-diphosphate are inhibited by neutrophils. Spontaneous activation of γδ T cells in culture is also suppressed by neutrophils. We show that inhibitors of prostaglandin E2 and arginase I do not exert any effect, although, in contrast, catalase prevents the suppression of γδ T cells induced by neutrophils, suggesting the participation of neutrophil-derived ROS. We also show that the ROS-generating system xanthine/xanthine oxidase suppresses γδ T cells in a similar fashion to neutrophils, while neutrophils from chronic granulomatous disease patients only weakly inhibit γδ T cells. Our results reveal a bi-directional cross-talk between γδ T cells and neutrophils: while γδ T cells promote the recruitment and the activation of neutrophils to fight invading pathogens, neutrophils in turn suppress the activation of γδ T cells to contribute to the resolution of inflammation.

Extracellular DNA: a major proinflammatory component of Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms.

We previously demonstrated that extracellular bacterial DNA activates neutrophils through a CpG- and TLR9-independent mechanism. Biofilms are microbial communities enclosed in a polymeric matrix that play a critical role in the pathogenesis of many infectious diseases. Because extracellular DNA is a key component of biofilms of different bacterial species, the aim of this study was to determine whether it plays a role in the ability of biofilms to induce human neutrophil activation. We found that degradation of matrix extracellular DNA with DNase I markedly reduced the capacity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms to induce the release of the neutrophil proinflammatory cytokines IL-8 and IL-1beta (>75%); reduced the upregulation of neutrophil activation markers CD18, CD11b, and CD66b (p < 0.001); reduced the number of bacteria phagocytosed per neutrophil contacting the biofilm; and reduced the production of neutrophil extracellular traps. Consistent with these findings, we found that biofilms formed by the lasI rhlI P. aeruginosa mutant strain, exhibiting a very low content of matrix extracellular DNA, displayed a lower capacity to stimulate the release of proinflammatory cytokines by neutrophils, which was not decreased further by DNase I treatment. Together, our findings support that matrix extracellular DNA is a major proinflammatory component of P. aeruginosa biofilms.

Flagellin delays spontaneous human neutrophil apoptosis.

Neutrophils are short-lived cells that rapidly undergo apoptosis. However, their survival can be regulated by signals from the environment. Flagellin, the primary component of the bacterial flagella, is known to induce neutrophil activation. In this study we examined the ability of flagellin to modulate neutrophil apoptosis. Neutrophils cultured for 12 and 24 h in the presence of flagellin from Salmonella typhimurium at concentrations found in pathological situations underwent a marked prevention of apoptosis. In contrast, Helicobacter pylori flagellin did not affect neutrophil survival, suggesting that Salmonella flagellin exerts the antiapoptotic effect by interacting with TLR5. The delaying in apoptosis mediated by Salmonella flagellin was coupled to higher expression levels of the antiapoptotic protein Mcl-1 and lower levels of activated caspase-3. Analysis of the signaling pathways indicated that Salmonella flagellin induced the activation of the p38 and ERK1/2 MAPK pathways as well as the PI3K/Akt pathway. Furthermore, it also stimulated IkappaBalpha degradation and the phosphorylation of the p65 subunit, suggesting that Salmonella flagellin also triggers NF-kappaB activation. Moreover, the pharmacological inhibition of ERK1/2 pathway and NF-kappaB activation partially prevented the antiapoptotic effects exerted by flagellin. Finally, the apoptotic delaying effect exerted by flagellin was also evidenced when neutrophils were cultured with whole heat-killed S. typhimurium. Both a wild-type and an aflagellate mutant S. typhimurium strain promoted neutrophil survival; however, when cultured in low bacteria/neutrophil ratios, the flagellate bacteria showed a higher capacity to inhibit neutrophil apoptosis, although both strains showed a similar ability to induce neutrophil activation. Taken together, our results indicate that flagellin delays neutrophil apoptosis by a mechanism partially dependent on the activation of ERK1/2 MAPK and NF-kappaB. The ability of flagellin to delay neutrophil apoptosis could contribute to perpetuate the inflammation during infections with flagellated bacteria.

GM-CSF enhances a CpG-independent pathway of neutrophil activation triggered by bacterial DNA.

We have previously demonstrated that bacterial DNA induces neutrophil activation through a CpG- and TLR9-independent but MyD88-dependent-pathway. In this study we determined that GM-CSF enhances the activation of neutrophils by bacterial DNA. Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor increased IL-8 and IL-1beta secretion, and CD11b-upregulation induced by single-stranded bacterial DNA. It also enhanced neutrophil IL-8 production induced by double-stranded bacterial DNA, methylated single-stranded DNA, plasmid DNA, and phosphorothioated-CpG and non-CpG-oligodeoxynucleotides. Together these observations indicated that GM-CSF enhances neutrophil responses triggered by bacterial DNA in a CpG-independent fashion. We also found that GM-CSF enhanced the activation of the MAPKs p38 and ERK1/2 induced by bacterial DNA. Moreover, the pharmacological inhibition of these pathways significantly diminished GM-CSF ability to increase neutrophil activation by bacterial DNA. Finally, we observed that GM-CSF was unable to increase the activation of MyD88(-/-) neutrophils by bacterial DNA. Our findings suggest that GM-CSF modulates the CpG-independent, MyD88-dependent neutrophil response to bacterial DNA, by increasing the activation of the MAPKs p38 and ERK1/2.

Characterization of bacterial DNA binding to human neutrophil surface.

Bacterial DNA activates neutrophils through a CpG- and TLR9-independent mechanism. Neutrophil activation does not require DNA internalization, suggesting that it results from the interaction of bacterial DNA with a neutrophil surface receptor. The aim of this study was to characterize the interaction of bacterial DNA with the neutrophil surface. Bacterial DNA binding showed saturation and was inhibited by unlabeled DNA but not by other polyanions like yeast tRNA and poly-A. Resembling the conditions under which bacterial DNA triggers neutrophil activation, binding was not modified in the presence or absence of calcium, magnesium or serum. Treatment of neutrophils with proteases not only dramatically reduced bacterial DNA binding but also inhibited neutrophil activation induced by bacterial DNA. Experiments performed with DNA samples of different lengths obtained after digestion of bacterial DNA with DNase showed that only DNA fragments greater than approximately 170-180 nucleotides competed bacterial DNA binding and retained the ability to trigger cell activation. Treatment of neutrophils with chemoattractants or conventional agonists significantly increased bacterial DNA binding. Moreover, neutrophils that underwent transmigration through human endothelial cell monolayers even in the absence of chemoattractants, exhibited higher binding levels of bacterial DNA. Together, our findings provide evidence that binding of bacterial DNA to neutrophils is a receptor-mediated process that conditions the ability of DNA to trigger cell activation. We speculate that neutrophil recognition of bacterial DNA might be modulated by the balance of agonists present at inflammatory foci. This effect might be relevant in bacterial infections with a biofilm etiology, in which extracellular DNA could function as a potent neutrophil agonist.