Pneumolysin activates the NLRP3 inflammasome and promotes proinflammatory cytokines independently of TLR4.

Pneumolysin (PLY) is a key Streptococcus pneumoniae virulence factor and potential candidate for inclusion in pneumococcal subunit vaccines. Dendritic cells (DC) play a key role in the initiation and instruction of adaptive immunity, but the effects of PLY on DC have not been widely investigated. Endotoxin-free PLY enhanced costimulatory molecule expression on DC but did not induce cytokine secretion. These effects have functional significance as adoptive transfer of DC exposed to PLY and antigen resulted in stronger antigen-specific T cell proliferation than transfer of DC exposed to antigen alone. PLY synergized with TLR agonists to enhance secretion of the proinflammatory cytokines IL-12, IL-23, IL-6, IL-1ß, IL-1α and TNF-α by DC and enhanced cytokines including IL-17A and IFN-γ by splenocytes. PLY-induced DC maturation and cytokine secretion by DC and splenocytes was TLR4-independent. Both IL-17A and IFN-γ are required for protective immunity to pneumococcal infection and intranasal infection of mice with PLY-deficient pneumococci induced significantly less IFN-γ and IL-17A in the lungs compared to infection with wild-type bacteria. IL-1ß plays a key role in promoting IL-17A and was previously shown to mediate protection against pneumococcal infection. The enhancement of IL-1ß secretion by whole live S. pneumoniae and by PLY in DC required NLRP3, identifying PLY as a novel NLRP3 inflammasome activator. Furthermore, NLRP3 was required for protective immunity against respiratory infection with S. pneumoniae. These results add significantly to our understanding of the interactions between PLY and the immune system.

Pneumolysin generates multiple conductance pores in the membrane of nucleated cells.

Patch clamping was used to investigate, for the first time, the electrophysiological properties of pores formed by a cholesterol-dependent cytolysin in the membrane of nucleated cells rather than in artificial membranes as previously. Pneumolysin pores in inside-out patches of CHO cell membranes had a broad range of conductance classified into small (<200 pS), medium (>200 pS and <1 nS) and large (>1 nS). A lytic-deficient mutant of pneumolysin (W433F) induced a similar spectrum of channels but there were more small channels than with wild-type (WT) toxin and the number of events was decreased. The WT toxin also induced channels when given to the inside surface of the plasma membrane.

Humoral autoimmune responses to the squamous cell carcinoma antigen protein family in psoriasis.

Substantial evidence indicates that psoriasis is a T-lymphocyte-mediated autoimmune disease. However, longstanding data also indicate IgG and complement deposition in upper epidermis of psoriasis plaques. This led us to propose that autoantigen-autoantibody interactions in the skin may also be of pathogenic importance. Here, we have confirmed the presence of IgG in upper lesional epidermis and used high-resolution two-dimensional immunoblotting of extracts from this tissue, and laser desorption mass spectrometry of tryptic peptides, to define a series of epidermal proteins that bind IgG from psoriatic serum. The most prominent of these autoantigens are homologues of the serpin, squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCCA), the other autoantigens identified including arginase 1, enolase 1, and keratin 10. Blood levels of IgG autoantibodies that bind to SCCA proteins were significantly higher in psoriasis than healthy controls (P=0.005), but were not detectable in sera from patients with active atopic dermatitis. To our knowledge, SCCA proteins have not previously been described as autoantigenic in animals or humans and form complexes with IgG that are associated with complement deposition. These findings expose potentially pathogenic humoral immunologic events and thus possible therapeutic targets in psoriasis.

Increased blood levels of IgG reactive with secreted Streptococcus pyogenes proteins in chronic plaque psoriasis.

A pathogenic role for Streptococcus (S) pyogenes infections in chronic plaque psoriasis is suspected but poorly defined. We separated cellular and supernatant proteins from S. pyogenes cultures by high-resolution two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, and used immunoblotting to demonstrate the diversity of serum or plasma IgGs that react with elements of the proteome of this bacterium. We have shown that a substantial proportion of IgG-reactive proteins from cultured S. pyogenes are secreted. The total secreted protein fraction, including diverse IgG-binding elements, was subsequently used in an ELISA to measure blood titers of reactive IgG. This ELISA showed that blood samples from patients with chronic plaque psoriasis contained significantly higher titers of reactive IgG than samples from age- and sex-matched healthy controls (P=0.0009). In contrast, neither a standard assay measuring antistreptolysin O titers nor ELISAs measuring titers of IgG reactive with protein fractions from Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis, were able to distinguish between blood samples from the two groups. These findings justify the hypothesis that S. pyogenes infections are more important in the pathogenesis of chronic plaque psoriasis than has previously been recognized, and indicate the need for further controlled therapeutic trials of antibacterial measures in this common skin disease.