Human plasmacytoid dendritic cells at the crossroad of type I interferon-regulated B cell differentiation and antiviral response to tick-borne encephalitis virus.

The Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) causes different disease symptoms varying from asymptomatic infection to severe encephalitis and meningitis suggesting a crucial role of the human host immune system in determining the fate of the infection. There is a need to understand the mechanisms underpinning TBEV-host interactions leading to protective immunity. To this aim, we studied the response of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) to the whole formaldehyde inactivated TBEV (I-TBEV), the drug substance of Encepur, one of the five commercially available vaccine. Immunophenotyping, transcriptome and cytokine profiling of PBMC revealed that I-TBEV generates differentiation of a sub-population of plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC) that is specialized in type I interferon (IFN) production. In contrast, likely due to the presence of aluminum hydroxide, Encepur vaccine was a poor pDC stimulus. We demonstrated I-TBEV-induced type I IFN together with Interleukin 6 and BAFF to be critical for B cell differentiation to plasmablasts as measured by immunophenotyping and immunoglobulin production. Robust type I IFN secretion was induced by pDC with the concerted action of both viral E glycoprotein and RNA mirroring previous data on dual stimulation of pDC by both S. aureus and influenza virus protein and nucleic acid that leads to a type I IFN-mediated sustained immune response. E glycoprotein neutralization or high temperature denaturation and inhibition of Toll-like receptor 7 signalling confirmed the importance of preserving the functional integrity of these key viral molecules during the inactivation procedure and manufacturing process to produce a vaccine able to stimulate strong immune responses.

Interferon-ß therapy specifically reduces pathogenic memory B cells in multiple sclerosis patients by inducing a FAS-mediated apoptosis.

Growing evidences put B lymphocytes on a central stage in multiple sclerosis (MS) immunopathology. While investigating the effects of interferon-ß (IFN-ß) therapy, one of the most used first-line disease-modifying drugs for the treatment of relapsing-remitting MS, in circulating B-cell sub-populations, we found a specific and marked decrease of CD27+ memory B cells. Interestingly, memory B cells are considered a population with a great disease-driving relevance in MS and resulted to be also target of B-cell depleting therapies. In addition, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), associated with MS etiopathogenesis, harbors in this cell type and an IFN-ß-induced reduction of the memory B-cell compartment, in turn, resulted in a decreased expression of the EBV gene latent membrane protein 2A in treated patients. We found that in vivo IFN-ß therapy specifically and highly induced apoptosis in memory B cells, in accordance with a strong increase of the apoptotic markers Annexin-V and active caspase-3, via a mechanism requiring the FAS-receptor/TACI (transmembrane activator and CAML interactor) signaling. Thus, efficacy of IFN-ß therapy in MS may rely not only on its recognized anti-inflammatory activities but also on the specific depletion of memory B cells, considered to be a pathogenic cell subset, reducing their inflammatory impact in target organs.

Impact of Mycobacterium tuberculosis RD1-locus on human primary dendritic cell immune functions.

Modern strategies to develop vaccines against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) aim to improve the current Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine or to attenuate the virulence of Mtb vaccine candidates. In the present study, the impact of wild type or mutated region of difference 1 (RD1) variants on the immunogenicity of Mtb and BCG recombinants was investigated in human primary dendritic cells (DC). A comparative analysis of transcriptome, signalling pathway activation, maturation, apoptosis, cytokine production and capacity to promote Th1 responses demonstrated that DC sense quantitative and qualitative differences in the expression of RD1-encoded factors--ESAT6 and CFP10--within BCG or Mtb backgrounds. Expansion of IFN-γ producing T cells was promoted by BCG::RD1-challenged DC, as compared to their BCG-infected counterparts. Although Mtb recombinants acted as a strong Th-1 promoting stimulus, even with RD1 deletion, the attenuated Mtb strain carrying a C-terminus truncated ESAT-6 elicited a robust Th1 promoting phenotype in DC. Collectively, these studies indicate a necessary but not sufficient role for the RD1 locus in promoting DC immune-regulatory functions. Additional mycobacterial factors are likely required to endow DC with a high Th1 polarizing capacity, a desirable attribute for a successful control of Mtb infection.

Pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in tuberculosis: a two-edged sword in TB pathogenesis.

A major challenge in tuberculosis (TB) is to improve current vaccination and therapeutic strategies and this requires a fine understanding of the mechanisms that mediate protection and pathogenesis. We need to discern how the host perceives Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection, what are the danger signals that activate the immune system and, in turn, how the immune response controls the life-cycle of Mtb. Cytokines, because of their nature of soluble mediators, represent key elements in mediating and tuning these complex processes. In this review, we provide an overview of recent studies on cytokines expression and function in active (mainly human) TB. Understanding of the balance between pro- and anti-inflammatory networks is crucial to refine our knowledge on the immune responses directed against Mtb.

EBV stimulates TLR- and autophagy-dependent pathways and impairs maturation in plasmacytoid dendritic cells: implications for viral immune escape.

Plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs) are crucial mediators in the establishment of immunity against most viruses, given their extraordinary capacity to produce a massive quantity of type I IFN. In this study we investigate the response of pDCs to infection with EBV, a γ-herpes virus that persists with an asymptomatic infection in immunocompetent hosts, although in certain conditions it can promote development of cancers or autoimmune diseases. We show that high amounts of type I IFNs were released from isolated pDCs after exposure to EBV by a mechanism requiring TLRs and a functional autophagic machinery. We next demonstrate that EBV can infect pDCs via viral binding to MHC class II molecule HLA-DR and that pDCs express EBV-induced latency genes. Furthermore, we observe that EBV is able to induce activation but not maturation of pDCs, which correlates with an impaired TNF-α release. Accordingly, EBV-infected pDCs are unable to mount a full T-cell response, suggesting that impaired pDC maturation, combined with a concomitant EBV-mediated upregulation of the T-cell inhibitory molecules B7-H1 and ICOS-L, could represent an immune-evasion strategy promoted by the virus. These mechanisms might lead to persistence in immunocompetent hosts or to dysregulated immune responses linked to EBV-associated diseases.

Bystander inhibition of dendritic cell differentiation by Mycobacterium tuberculosis-induced IL-10.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) evades the immune response by impairing the functions of different antigen-presenting cells. We have recently shown that Mtb hijacks differentiation of monocytes into dendritic cells (DCs). To further characterize the mechanisms underlying this process, we investigated the consequences of inducing dendritic cell differentiation using interferon-α and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor in the presence of supernatants (SNs) obtained from monocyte cultures treated with or without heat-inactivated Mtb. Although the SNs from control cultures do not interfere with the generation of fully differentiated DCs, monocytes stimulated with SNs from Mtb-stimulated cells (SN Mtb) remained CD14(+) and poorly differentiated into CD1a(+) cells. Among cytokines known to affect dendritic cell differentiation, we observed a robust production of interleukin-1ß, interleukin-6, interleukin-10 and tumor necrosis factor-α upon Mtb stimulation. However, only interleukin-10 neutralization through the addition of soluble interleukin-10 receptor reversed the inhibitory activity of SN Mtb. Accordingly, the addition of recombinant interleukin-10 was able to significantly reduce CD1a expression. The interaction of Mtb with differentiating monocytes rapidly activates p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase, signal transducer and activator of transcription pathways, which are likely involved in interleukin-10 gene expression. Taken together, our results suggest that Mtb may inhibit the differentiation of bystander non-infected monocytes into DCs through the release of interleukin-10. These results shed light on new aspects of the host-pathogen interaction, which might help to identify innovative immunological strategies to limit Mtb virulence.

IFN-beta modulates the response to TLR stimulation in human DC: involvement of IFN regulatory factor-1 (IRF-1) in IL-27 gene expression.

Type I IFN are cytokines which play a central role in host resistance to viral or microbial infections and are important components linking innate and adaptive immunity. We and others have previously demonstrated that the production of IFN-beta by DC following bacterial infections or TLR triggering influences, in an autocrine manner, their maturation. In this study, we investigated whether IFN-beta release modulates the phenotype of the immature DC and their response to a subsequent TLR stimulation. The induction of CD86, HLA-DR, CD38 and B7H1 and the absence of CCR7 and CD83 expression upon IFN-beta treatment suggest that IFN-beta-primed DC remain at the site of infection acquiring an activated phenotype. These results prompted us to investigate the response of IFN-beta-primed DC to TLR stimulation. While IFN-beta pretreatment increases slightly the expression of maturation markers in TLR2- or TLR4-stimulated DC, it is able to modulate selectively the secretion of inflammatory and immuno-regulating cytokines. Interestingly, IL-27p28 subunit was induced by IFN-beta alone or during LPS-induced maturation of DC in a type I IFN-dependent manner through IFN regulatory factor-1 (IRF-1) activation. Taken together, our results shed light on the capacity of IFN-beta to finely tune DC response to invading pathogens.

Infection of human dendritic cells with a Mycobacterium tuberculosis sigE mutant stimulates production of high levels of interleukin-10 but low levels of CXCL10: impact on the T-cell response.

The Mycobacterium tuberculosis genome encodes 13 sigma factors. We have previously shown that mutations in some of these transcriptional activators render M. tuberculosis sensitive to various environmental stresses and can attenuate the virulence phenotype. In this work, we focused on extracytoplasmic factor sigmaE and studied the effects induced by the deletion of its structural gene (sigE) in the infection of human monocyte-derived dendritic cells (MDDC). We found that the wild-type M. tuberculosis strain (H37Rv), the sigE mutant (ST28), and the complemented strain (ST29) were able to infect dendritic cells (DC) to similar extents, although at 4 days postinfection a reduced ability to grow inside MDDC was observed for the sigE mutant ST28. After mycobacterium capture, the majority of MDDC underwent full maturation and expressed both inflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor alpha, and the regulatory cytokines interleukin-12 (IL-12), IL-18, and beta interferon (IFN-beta). Conversely, a higher level of production of IL-10 was observed in ST28-infected MDDC compared to H37Rv- or ST29-infected cell results. However, in spite of the presence of IL-10, supernatants from ST28-infected DC induced IFN-gamma production by T cells similarly to those from H37Rv-infected DC culture. On the other hand, IL-10 impaired CXCL10 production in sigE mutant-infected DC and, indeed, its neutralization restored CXCL10 secretion. In line with these results, supernatants from ST28-infected cells showed a decreased capability to recruit CXCR3+ CD4+ T cells compared to those obtained from H37Rv-infected DC culture. Thus, our findings suggest that the sigE mutant-induced secretion of IL-10 inhibits CXCL10 expression and, in turn, the recruitment of activated-effector cells involved in the formation of granulomas.

Human dendritic cells following Aspergillus fumigatus infection express the CCR7 receptor and a differential pattern of interleukin-12 (IL-12), IL-23, and IL-27 cytokines, which lead to a Th1 response.

Aspergillus fumigatus is the most prevalent airborne fungal pathogen and causes fatal invasive aspergillosis in immunocompromised patients. Given the essential role of dendritic cells (DC) in initiating and regulating immune responses, we investigated the impact of A. fumigatus conidial infection on human DC. A. fumigatus conidia were rapidly internalized and induced the release of tumor necrosis factor alpha within the first 8 h. After A. fumigatus infection, the majority of DC underwent full maturation, although CCR7 expression was observed only in DC that had internalized the conidia. Additionally, the analysis of regulatory cytokines showed that infected DC simultaneously produced interleukin-12p70 (IL-12p70) and significant amounts of IL-10. IL-10 neutralization was not able to further increase IL-12p70 production from infected DC. Whereas the central role of IL-12 in the generation of Th1 cells has long been appreciated, recently two other members of the IL-12 family, IL-23 and IL-27, were reported to play important roles in the regulation of gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) production from naïve and memory T cells. A. fumigatus-infected DC were also able to express high levels of IL-23p19 and low levels of IL-27p28 at later stages of infection. According to this expression pattern, A. fumigatus-infected DC were able to prime IFN-gamma production of naïve T cells. Thus, this study on the expression of the new IL-12 family members controlling the Th1 response sheds light on a novel aspect of the contribution of DC to anti-Aspergillus immunity.

Astrocytes produce dendritic cell-attracting chemokines in vitro and in multiple sclerosis lesions.

As a result of their close association with the blood-brain barrier, astrocytes play an important role in regulating the homing of different leukocyte subsets to the inflamed central nervous system (CNS). In this study, we investigated whether human astrocytes produce chemokines that promote the migration of myeloid dendritic cells (DCs). By reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, we show that cultured human astrocytes stimulated with interleukin-1beta and tumor necrosis factor produce CCL2, CCL3, CCL4, CCL5, CCL20, and CXCL12 that act on immature DCs, but not CCL19 and CCL21, 2 chemokines specific for mature DCs. Compared with controls, supernatants of cytokine-stimulated astrocytes are more effective in promoting the migration of immature monocyte-derived DCs (iMDDCs). Desensitization of CXCR4 (receptor for CXCL12), CCR1-3-5 (shared receptors for CCL3-4-5), and CCR6 (receptor for CCL20) on iMDDC reduces cell migration toward astrocyte supernatants, indicating that astrocytes release biologically relevant amounts of iMDDC-attracting chemokines. By immunohistochemistry, we show that CXCL12 and, to a lesser extent, CCL20 are expressed by reactive astrocytes in multiple sclerosis lesions. These data lend support to the idea that astrocyte-derived chemokines may contribute to immature DC recruitment to the inflamed CNS.

Inhibition of HIV-1 replication in monocyte-derived macrophages by Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Controversial results have been obtained in studies of the effect of Mycobacterium tuberculosis on human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) replication in cells of the macrophage lineage. In the present study, monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs), previously incubated for 2 days with heat-inactivated M. tuberculosis, were infected with HIV-1. M. tuberculosis consistently inhibited viral replication, and a similar result also was observed in the presence of supernatants from M. tuberculosis-stimulated MDMs, which indicates that this effect was mediated by soluble factors. Although CCR5-binding chemokines were induced by M. tuberculosis stimulation, the results of neutralization experiments indicated that it is unlikely that they were responsible for viral suppression. Inhibition occurred mainly after viral entry (demonstrated by use of a vesicular stomatitis virus G-pseudotyped HIV-1 and by analysis of HIV-1 early and late reverse-transcription products). Therefore, M. tuberculosis-induced factors may inhibit in vitro HIV-1 replication in macrophages by affecting an early postentry step in the HIV-1 cycle.

Lactobacilli and streptococci induce inflammatory chemokine production in human macrophages that stimulates Th1 cell chemotaxis.

Macrophages have a central role in innate-immune responses to bacteria. In the present work, we show that infection of human macrophages with Gram-positive pathogenic Streptococcus pyogenes or nonpathogenic Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG enhances mRNA expression of inflammatory chemokine ligands CCL2/monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), CCL3/macrophage-inflammatory protein-1alpha (MIP-1alpha), CCL5/regulated on activation, normal T expressed and secreted, CCL7/MCP-3, CCL19/MIP-3beta, and CCL20/MIP-3alpha and CXC chemokine ligands CXCL8/interleukin (IL)-8, CXCL9/monokine induced by interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), and CXCL10/IFN-inducible protein 10. Bacteria-induced CCL2, CCL7, CXCL9, and CXCL10 mRNA expression was partially dependent on ongoing protein synthesis. The expression of these chemokines and of CCL19 was dependent on bacteria-induced IFN-alpha/beta production. CCL19 and CCL20 mRNA expression was up-regulated by IL-1beta or tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), and in addition, IFN-alpha together with TNF-alpha further enhanced CCL19 gene expression. Synergy between IFN-alpha and TNF-alpha was also seen for CXCL9 and CXCL10 mRNA expression. Bacteria-stimulated macrophage supernatants induced the migration of T helper cell type 1 (Th1) cells, suggesting that in human macrophages, these bacteria can stimulate efficient inflammatory chemokine gene expression including those that recruit Th1 cells to the site of inflammation. Furthermore, L. rhamnosus-induced Th1 chemokine production could in part explain the proposed antiallergenic properties of this bacterium.

IFN-alpha beta released by Mycobacterium tuberculosis-infected human dendritic cells induces the expression of CXCL10: selective recruitment of NK and activated T cells.

We recently reported that dendritic cells (DC) infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) produce Th1/IFN-gamma-inducing cytokines, IFN-alpha beta and IL-12. In the present article, we show that maturing Mtb-infected DC express high levels of CCR7 and they become responsive to its ligand CCL21. Conversely, CCR5 expression was rapidly lost from the cell surface following Mtb infection. High levels of CCL3 and CCL4 were produced within 8 h after infection, which is likely to account for the observed CCR5 down-modulation on Mtb-infected DC. In addition, Mtb infection stimulated the secretion of CXCL9 and CXCL10. Interestingly, the synthesis of CXCL10 was mainly dependent on the Mtb-induced production of IFN-alpha beta. Indeed, IFN-alpha beta neutralization down-regulated CXCL10 expression, whereas the expression of CXCL9 appeared to be unaffected. The chemotactic activity of the Mtb-infected DC supernatants was evaluated by migration assays using activated NK, CD4(+), and CD8(+) cells that expressed both CCR5 and CXCR3. Mtb-induced expression of CCL3, CCL4, CXCL9, and CXCL10 was involved in the stimulation of NK and T cell migration. In accordance with the data on the IFN-alpha beta-induced expression of CXCL10, neutralization of IFN-alpha beta significantly reduced the chemotactic activity of the supernatant from Mtb-infected DC. This indicates that IFN-alpha beta may modulate the immune response through the expression of CXCL10, which along with CXCL9, CCL3, and CCL4 participates in the recruitment and selective homing of activated/effector cells, which are known to accumulate at the site of Mtb infection and take part in the formation of the granulomas.

Host defense responses to infection by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Induction of IRF-1 and a serine protease inhibitor.

Alveolar macrophages and newly recruited monocytes are targets of infection by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Therefore, we examined the expression of interferon regulatory factor 1 (IRF-1), which plays an important role in host defense against M. tuberculosis, in undifferentiated and differentiated cells. Infection induced IRF-1 in both. IRF-1 from undifferentiated, uninfected monocytic cell lines was modified during extraction to produce specific species that were apparently smaller than intact IRF-1. After infection by M. tuberculosis or differentiation, intact IRF-1 was recovered. Subcellular fractions were assayed for the ability to modify IRF-1 or inhibit its modification. A serine protease on the cytoplasmic surface of an organelle or vesicle in the "lysosomal/mitochondrial" fraction from undifferentiated cells was responsible for the modification of IRF-1. Thus, the simplest explanation of the modification is cleavage of IRF-1 by the serine protease. Recovery of intact IRF-1 correlated with induction of a serine protease inhibitor that was able to significantly reduce the modification of IRF-1. The inhibitor was present in the cytoplasm of M. tuberculosis-infected or -differentiated cells. It is likely that induction of both IRF-1 and the serine protease inhibitor in response to infection by M. tuberculosis represent host defense mechanisms.

Protein inhibitor of activated signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT)-1 (PIAS-1) regulates the IFN-gamma response in macrophage cell lines.

Macrophage cell lines exhibit different responses to IFN-gamma depending on their maturation stage. We investigated the mechanisms underlying the differential IFN-gamma responsiveness in the less mature P388.D1 and in mature RAW264.7 cells. A reduction in the binding activity of the signal transducer and activator of transcription-1 (STAT-1) to different STAT binding elements (SBEs) was observed in P388.D1. This reduced binding activity was not due to an impaired STAT-1 activation. Studies on the expression of a negative regulator of cytokine signalling, protein-inhibiting activated STAT-1 (PIAS-1), showed that this protein was expressed constitutively at high levels in P388.D1. Forced expression of a PIAS-1 homologue, the Gu binding protein (GBP), inhibited the STAT-1-mediated gene activation in RAW264.7 cells, whereas a construct expressing the 5' portion of GBP in the antisense orientation reverts the IFN-gamma-resistant phenotype of P388.D1. Thus, our results indicate that PIAS-1 may account for the differential IFN-gamma responsiveness in macrophage cell lines at different stages of maturation.