House Dust Mite-Induced Allergic Airway Disease Is Independent of IgE and FcεRIα.

IgE contributes to disease exacerbations but not to baseline airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) in human asthma. In rodent allergic airway disease (AAD), mast cell and IgE dependence for the induction of AHR has only been observed when mice are immunized with a relatively weak allergen without adjuvant. To evaluate the role of IgE in murine AAD that is induced by a potent allergen, we inoculated BALB/c and FVB/N background wild-type and IgE- or FcεRIα-deficient mice intratracheally with large or limiting doses of house dust mite extract (HDM) and evaluated AHR, pulmonary eosinophilia, goblet cell metaplasia, serum IgE, and lung mastocytosis. We found that neither IgE nor FcεRIα contributed to AAD, even in mice inoculated with the lowest dose of HDM, which readily induced detectable disease, but did not increase serum IgE or pulmonary mast cell levels. In contrast, high doses of HDM strikingly increased serum IgE and pulmonary mast cells, although both AHR and airway mast cell degranulation were equally elevated in wild-type and IgE-deficient mice. Surprisingly, allergen challenge of mice with severe AAD and pulmonary mastocytosis failed to acutely increase airway resistance, lung Newtonian resistance, or hysteresis. Overall, this study shows that, although mice may not reliably model acute asthma exacerbations, mechanisms that are IgE and FcεRIα independent are responsible for AHR and airway inflammation when low doses of a potent allergen are inhaled repetitively.

Synthesis of Altrose Poly-amido-saccharides with ß-N-(1→2)-d-amide Linkages: A Right-Handed Helical Conformation Engineered in at the Monomer Level.

The design and synthesis of amide-linked saccharide oligomers and polymers, which are predisposed to fold into specific ordered secondary structures, is of significant interest. Herein, right-handed helical poly amido-saccharides (PASs) with ß-N-(1→2)-d-amide linkages are synthesized by the anionic ring-opening polymerization of an altrose ß-lactam monomer (alt-lactam). The right-handed helical conformation is engineered into the polymers by preinstalling the ß configuration of the lactam ring in the monomer via the stereospecific [2+2] cycloaddition of trichloroacetyl isocyanate with a d-glycal possessing a 3-benzyloxy group oriented to the α-face of the pyranose. The tert-butylacetyl chloride initiated polymerization of the alt-lactam proceeds smoothly to afford stereoregular polymers with narrow dispersities. Birch reduction of the benzylated polymers gives water-soluble altrose PASs (alt-PASs) in high yields without degradation of the polymer backbone. Circular dichroism analysis shows the alt-PASs adopt a right-handed helical conformation in aqueous solutions. This secondary conformation is stable over a wide range of different conditions, such as pH (2.0 to 12.0), temperature (5 to 75 °C), ionic salts (2.0 M LiCl, NaCl, and KCl), as well as in the presence of protein denaturants (4.0 M urea and guanidinium chloride). Cytotoxicity studies reveal that the alt-PASs are nontoxic to HEK, HeLa, and NIH3T3 cells. The results showcase the ability to direct solution conformation of polymers through monomer design. This approach is especially well-suited and straightforward for PASs as the helical conformations formed result from constraints imposed by the relatively rigid and sterically bulky repeating units.

Combined Molecular Dynamics Simulations and Experimental Studies of the Structure and Dynamics of Poly-Amido-Saccharides.

Poly-amido-saccharides (PAS) are carbohydrate-based, enantiopure synthetic polymers in which sugar repeat units are joined by amide linkages. This unique and relatively rigid pyranose backbone contributes to their defined helical secondary structure and remarkable chemical properties. Glucose- (glc-) and galactose- (gal-) PAS 10-mer structures are synthesized and investigated with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and experimental measurements. Quantum mechanical DFT energy minimization calculations, as well as experimental observables including circular dichroism, (1)H,(13)C-HSQC, and (1)H,(1)H-NOESY 2D-NMR studies, validated the all-atom simulation models produced using a modified CHARMM force field. Water radial distribution functions show distinct differences in the glc- and gal-PAS systems that correlate well with observed differences in solubility between gal-PASs and glc-PASs. The computational analysis and MD simulations are in good agreement with experimental results, validating the proposed models as reliable representations of novel glc- and gal-PASs.

IL-4Rα expression by airway epithelium and smooth muscle accounts for nearly all airway hyperresponsiveness in murine allergic airway disease.

Airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) often defines asthma. Murine allergic airway disease (AAD), like human eosinophilic asthma, is characterized by AHR, eosinophilia, goblet cell metaplasia (GCM), smooth muscle hypercontractility, and increased production of IL-4 and IL-13-cytokines that induce these characteristics by binding to the IL-4Rα chain. We evaluated the epithelial and smooth muscle IL-4Rα-dependent contributions to AHR of BALB/c mice that possessed 0-2 functional IL-4Rα alleles and had airway disease induced by house dust mite extract (HDM) or exogenous IL-13. Two functional IL-4Rα alleles were required for maximal AHR, while only one functional allele was required for maximal GCM and systemic IL-4/IL-13 levels. Deletion of IL-4Rα from both smooth muscle and epithelial cells inhibited AHR >83% in mice with two functional IL-4Rα alleles. In mice with one functional IL-4Rα allele, selective epithelial cell IL-4Rα deletion maximally inhibited AHR, while selective smooth muscle IL-4Rα deletion decreased IL-13-induced, but not HDM-induced, AHR. Less IL-4Rα signaling is required to maximize the epithelial cell contribution to AHR compared to the smooth muscle contribution to AHR. In addition, epithelial cell responses to IL-4/IL-13 can increase the IL-4Rα-dependent smooth muscle contribution to AHR. These findings carry increasing relevance as IL-4Rα-targeted therapy is administered to human asthmatics.

Deuteration of nonexchangeable protons on proteins affects their thermal stability, side-chain dynamics, and hydrophobicity.

We have investigated the effect of deuteration of non-exchangeable protons on protein global thermal stability, hydrophobicity, and local flexibility using well-known thermostable model systems such as the villin headpiece subdomain (HP36) and the third immunoglobulin G-binding domain of protein G (GB3). Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) measurements as a function of temperature probe global thermal stability in the presence of acetonitrile, while differential scanning calorimetry determines thermal stability in solution. Both indicate small but measurable changes in the order of several degrees. RP-HPLC also permitted quantification of the effect of deuteration of just three core phenylalanine side chains of HP36. NMR dynamics investigation has focused on methyl axes motions using cross-correlated relaxation measurements. The analysis of order parameters provided a complex picture indicating that deuteration generally increases motional amplitudes of sub-nanosecond motion in GB3 but decreases those in HP36. Combined with earlier dynamics measurements at Cα -Cß sites and backbone sites of GB3, which probed slower time scales, the results point to the need to probe multiple atoms in the protein and variety of time scales to the discern the full complexity of the effects of deuteration on dynamics.

Heterogeneity and dynamics in villin headpiece crystal structures.

The villin headpiece domain (HP67) is the C-terminal F-actin-binding motif that confers F-actin-bundling activity to villin, a component of the actin bundles that support the brush-border microvilli. It has been investigated extensively by both experimental and theoretical measurements. Our laboratory, for example, has determined both its NMR and its crystal structures. This study presents the structures of HP67 and its pH-stabilized mutant (H41Y) in a different crystal form and space group. For both constructs, two molecules are found in each asymmetric unit in the new space group P6(1). While one of the two structures (Mol A) is structurally similar to our previously determined structure (Mol X), the other (Mol B) has significant deviations, especially in the N-terminal subdomain, where lattice contacts do not appear to contribute to the difference. In addition, the structurally most different crystal structure, Mol B, is actually closer to the averaged NMR structure. Harmonic motions, as suggested by the B-factor profiles, differ between these crystal structures; crystal structures from the same space group share a similar pattern. Thus, heterogeneity and dynamics are observed in different crystal structures of the same protein even for a protein as small as villin headpiece.

NKT cells contribute to basal IL-4 production but are not required to induce experimental asthma.

CD1d-deficiency results in a selective deletion of NKT cells in mice that is reported to prevent murine allergic airway disease (AAD). Because we find 2-3 fold lower basal IL-4 production in CD1d- mice than in wild-type (WT) mice, we hypothesized that the contribution made by NKT cells to AAD would depend on the strength of the stimulus used to induce the disease. Consequently, we compared CD1d-deficient mice to WT mice in the development of AAD, using several models of disease induction that differed in the type and dose of allergen, the site of sensitization and the duration of immunization. Surprisingly we found equivalent allergic inflammation and airway disease in WT and CD1d- mice in all models investigated. Consistent with this, NKT cells constituted only ~2% of CD4+ T cells in the lungs of mice with AAD, and IL-4-transcribing NKT cells did not expand with disease induction. Concerned that the congenital absence of NKT cells might have caused a compensatory shift within the immune response, we administered an anti-CD1d monoclonal Ab (mAb) to block NKT function before airway treatments, before or after systemic sensitization to antigen. Such Ab treatment did not affect disease severity. We suggest that the differences reported in the literature regarding the significance of NKT cells in the induction of allergic airway disease may have less to do with the methods used to study the disease and more to do with the animals themselves and/or the facilities used to house them.

Glyphosate-rich air samples induce IL-33, TSLP and generate IL-13 dependent airway inflammation.

Several low weight molecules have often been implicated in the induction of occupational asthma. Glyphosate, a small molecule herbicide, is widely used in the world. There is a controversy regarding a role of glyphosate in developing asthma and rhinitis among farmers, the mechanism of which is unexplored. The aim of this study was to explore the mechanisms of glyphosate induced pulmonary pathology by utilizing murine models and real environmental samples. C57BL/6, TLR4-/-, and IL-13-/- mice inhaled extracts of glyphosate-rich air samples collected on farms during spraying of herbicides or inhaled different doses of glyphosate and ovalbumin. The cellular response, humoral response, and lung function of exposed mice were evaluated. Exposure to glyphosate-rich air samples as well as glyphosate alone to the lungs increased: eosinophil and neutrophil counts, mast cell degranulation, and production of IL-33, TSLP, IL-13, and IL-5. In contrast, in vivo systemic IL-4 production was not increased. Co-administration of ovalbumin with glyphosate did not substantially change the inflammatory immune response. However, IL-13-deficiency resulted in diminished inflammatory response but did not have a significant effect on airway resistance upon methacholine challenge after 7 or 21 days of glyphosate exposure. Glyphosate-rich farm air samples as well as glyphosate alone were found to induce pulmonary IL-13-dependent inflammation and promote Th2 type cytokines, but not IL-4 for glyphosate alone. This study, for the first time, provides evidence for the mechanism of glyphosate-induced occupational lung disease.