STAT3 expression by myeloid cells is detrimental for the T- cell-mediated control of infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

STAT3 is a master regulator of the immune responses. Here we show that M. tuberculosis-infected stat3fl/fl lysm cre mice, defective for STAT3 in myeloid cells, contained lower bacterial load in lungs and spleens, reduced granuloma extension but higher levels of pulmonary neutrophils. STAT3-deficient macrophages showed no improved control of intracellular mycobacterial growth. Instead, protection associated to elevated ability of stat3fl/fl lysm cre antigen-presenting cells (APCs) to release IL-6 and IL-23 and to stimulate IL-17 secretion by mycobacteria-specific T cells. The increased IL-17 secretion accounted for the improved control of infection since neutralization of IL-17 receptor A in stat3fl/fl lysm cre mice hampered bacterial control. APCs lacking SOCS3, which inhibits STAT3 activation via several cytokine receptors, were poor inducers of priming and of the IL-17 production by mycobacteria-specific T cells. In agreement, socs3fl/fl cd11c cre mice deficient of SOCS3 in DCs showed increased susceptibility to M. tuberculosis infection. While STAT3 in APCs hampered IL-17 responses, STAT3 in mycobacteria-specific T cells was critical for IL-17 secretion, while SOCS3 in T cells impeded IL-17 secretion. Altogether, STAT3 signalling in myeloid cells is deleterious in the control of infection with M. tuberculosis.

Reactive oxygen species production by human dendritic cells involves TLR2 and dectin-1 and is essential for efficient immune response against Mycobacteria.

Tuberculosis remains the single largest infectious disease with 10 million new cases and two million deaths that are estimated to occur yearly, more than any time in history. The intracellular replication of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) and its spread from the lungs to other sites occur before the development of adaptive immune responses. Dendritic cells (DC) are professional antigen-presenting cells whose maturation is critical for the onset of the protective immune response against tuberculosis disease and may vary depending on the nature of the cell wall of Mtb strain. Here, we describe the role of the endogenous production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) on DC maturation and expansion of Mtb-specific lymphocytes. Here, we show that Mtb induces DC maturation through TLR2/dectin-1 by generating of ROS and through Dendritic Cell-Specific Intercellular adhesion molecule-3-Grabbing Non-integrin (DC-SIGN) in a ROS independently manner. Based on the differences observed in the ability to induce DC maturation, ROS production and lymphocyte proliferation by those Mtb families widespread in South America, i.e., Haarlem and Latin American Mediterranean and the reference strain H37Rv, we propose that variance in ROS production might contribute to immune evasion affecting DC maturation and antigen presentation.

Outbreaks of Mycobacterium tuberculosis MDR strains differentially induce neutrophil respiratory burst involving lipid rafts, p38 MAPK and Syk.

BACKGROUND: Neutrophils (PMN) are the first cells to infiltrate the lung after infection, and they play a significant protective role in the elimination of pathogen, by releasing preformed oxidants and proteolytic enzymes from granules and generating ROS, thus limiting inflammation by succumbing to apoptosis. In a previous study, we found marked differences in ROS-induced apoptosis between two Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) strains, M and Ra, representative of widespread Mtb families in South America, i.e. Haarlem and Latin-American Mediterranean (LAM), being strain M able to generate further drug resistance and to disseminate aggressively. METHODS: In this study we evaluate the nature of bacteria-PMN interaction by assessing ROS production, apoptosis, lipid raft coalescence, and phagocytosis induced by Mtb strains. RESULTS: Dectin-1 and TLR2 participate in Mtb-induced ROS generation and apoptosis in PMN involving p38 MAPK and Syk activation with the participation of a TLR2-dependent coalescence of lipid rafts. Further, ROS production occurs during the phagocytosis of non-opsonized bacteria and involves α-glucans on the capsule. In contrast, strain M lacks the ability to induce ROS because of: 1) a reduced phagocytosis and 2) a failure in coalescence of lipid raft. CONCLUSIONS: The differences in wall composition could explain the success of some strains which stay unnoticed by the host through inhibition of apoptosis and ROS but making possible its replication inside PMN as a potential evasion mechanism. Innate immune responses elicited by Mtb strain-to-strain variations need to be considered in TB vaccine development.

C5aR contributes to the weak Th1 profile induced by an outbreak strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

C5a anaphylatoxin is a component of the complement system involved in the modulation of T-cell polarization. Herein we investigated whether C5a receptors, C5aR and C5L2, modulate the cytokine profiles induced by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). We analyzed the impact of both receptors on T helper cell polarization induced by the multidrug resistant outbreak strain named M, which is a poor IFN-γ inducer compared with the laboratory strain H37Rv. To this aim, we first blocked C5aR or C5L2 of peripheral blood monocytes (Mo) from patients with tuberculosis and healthy donors, then we stimulated the Mo either with H37Rv or the M strain, and finally we analyzed cytokine profiles of Mo/macrophages (MΦ) and CD4+ T-cells. We found that: (i) Mtb modulated the expression of both C5a receptors, (ii) C5aR inhibited the expansion of CD4+IFN-γ+ lymphocytes stimulated by the M strain but not by H37Rv, (iii) both receptors modulated the Mo/MΦ cytokine expression induced by Mtb. We conclude that C5aR, but not C5L2, plays a role in T helper cell polarization induced by Mtb and that this effect is strain- and donor-dependent. We speculate that the epidemiologically successful M strain takes advantage of this C5aR-mediated inhibition of Th1 polarization to survive within the host.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis multidrug resistant strain M induces an altered activation of cytotoxic CD8+ T cells.

In human tuberculosis (TB), CD8+ T cells contribute to host defense by the release of Th1 cytokines and the direct killing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb)-infected macrophages via granule exocytosis pathway or the engagement of receptors on target cells. Previously we demonstrated that strain M, the most prevalent multidrug-resistant (MDR) Mtb strain in Argentine, is a weak inducer of IFN-γ and elicits a remarkably low CD8-dependent cytotoxic T cell activity (CTL). In contrast, the closely related strain 410, which caused a unique case of MDR-TB, elicits a CTL response similar to H37Rv. In this work we extend our previous study investigating some parameters that can account for this discrepancy. We evaluated the expressions of the lytic molecules perforin, granzyme B and granulysin and the chemokine CCL5 in CD8+ T cells as well as activation markers CD69 and CD25 and IL-2 expression in CD4+ and CD8+ T cells stimulated with strains H37Rv, M and 410. Our results demonstrate that M-stimulated CD8+ T cells from purified protein derivative positive healthy donors show low intracellular expression of perforin, granzyme B, granulysin and CCL5 together with an impaired ability to form conjugates with autologous M-pulsed macrophages. Besides, M induces low CD69 and IL-2 expression in CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, being CD69 and IL-2 expression closely associated. Furthermore, IL-2 addition enhanced perforin and granulysin expression as well as the degranulation marker CD107 in M-stimulated CD8+ T cells, making no differences with cells stimulated with strains H37Rv or 410. Thus, our results highlight the role of IL-2 in M-induced CTL activity that drives the proper activation of CD8+ T cells as well as CD4+ T cells collaboration.