Lactobacillus johnsonii supplementation attenuates respiratory viral infection via metabolic reprogramming and immune cell modulation.

Regulation of respiratory mucosal immunity by microbial-derived metabolites has been a proposed mechanism that may provide airway protection. Here we examine the effect of oral Lactobacillus johnsonii supplementation on metabolic and immune response dynamics during respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection. L. johnsonii supplementation reduced airway T helper type 2 cytokines and dendritic cell (DC) function, increased regulatory T cells, and was associated with a reprogrammed circulating metabolic environment, including docosahexanoic acid (DHA) enrichment. RSV-infected bone marrow-derived DCs (BMDCs) from L. johnsonii-supplemented mice had altered cytokine secretion, reduced expression of co-stimulatory molecules, and modified CD4+ T-cell cytokines. This was replicated upon co-incubation of wild-type BMDCs with either plasma from L. johnsonii-supplemented mice or DHA. Finally, airway transfer of BMDCs from L. johnsonii-supplemented mice or with wild-type derived BMDCs pretreated with plasma from L. johnsonii-supplemented mice reduced airway pathological responses to infection in recipient animals. Thus L. johnsonii supplementation mediates airway mucosal protection via immunomodulatory metabolites and altered immune function.

Trafficking of sulfated glycoprotein-1 (prosaposin) to lysosomes or to the extracellular space in rat Sertoli cells.

Sulfated glycoprotein-1 (prosaposin) exists in 2 forms: a 65kDa form targeted to lysosomes and a 70kDa form secreted extracellularly. In order to understand the sorting and targeting mechanisms of the two forms of SGP-1, we have compared their maturation, processing, and secretion in rat Sertoli cells in vivo. Metabolic labeling experiments in vivo demonstrated that the 65kDa form is synthesized first, then post-translationally modified to the 70kDa form of SGP-1. Subcellular fractionation of testicular homogenate was used to obtain Golgi fractions containing up to 50-fold enrichment in galactosyltransferase. Permeabilization of enriched Golgi fractions with saponin released the 70kDa form, but did not affect the 65kDa protein. While excess free mannose 6-phosphate did not release lysosomal SGP-1, it released the 35kDa cathepsin L from Golgi membranes. Using quantitative electron-microscopic immunocytochemistry, the lysosomal contents of SGP-1 were shown to increase significantly after the administration of tunicamycin in vivo. Therefore, the trafficking of the 65kDa form of SGP-1 to the lysosomes appears to be independent of the M6P-receptor pathway. The 70kDa form of SGP-1 was found to aggregate within perforated Golgi fractions in a process which depends on low pH and calcium ions. We conclude that the targeting of the 65kDa form of SGP-1 to the lysosomes involves an early association with Golgi membrane that is independent of mannose 6-phosphate receptors.

Elastosis of the lamina cribrosa in glaucomatous optic neuropathy.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether elastotic degeneration of the elastin component of the lamina cribrosa occurs in optic neuropathy associated with different types of glaucoma. Human optic nerve heads with primary open-angle, neovascular, chronic angle closure and pseudoexfoliation glaucoma, and with varying duration of disease were compared with age-matched normal eyes, using electron microscopy and immunogold labeling of elastin. The percent area occupied by immunogold-labeled elastin material was determined using a digital image analysis system. In all eyes with a history of glaucoma, elastosis was found in the lamina cribrosa and there was a significantly greater percentage of area occupied by elastin compared with age-matched control eyes (P<0.0001). Among the glaucomatous eyes, pseudoexfoliation glaucoma had the largest area of elastosis, followed by primary open-angle and secondary glaucoma (neovascular and chronic angle closure). In all glaucoma samples, large, confluent elastin aggregates of irregular and varied shapes (elastosis) were observed in the lamina cribrosa and insertion region. These results demonstrate that glaucomatous optic neuropathy is associated with elastosis of the lamina cribrosa, which may contribute to the changes in compliance of the optic nerve heads of glaucomatous eyes.