scholarly journals Flagellin Suppresses the Inflammatory Response and Enhances Bacterial Clearance in a Murine Model of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Keratitis

2007 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashok Kumar ◽  
Linda D. Hazlett ◽  
Fu-Shin X. Yu

ABSTRACT Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a common organism associated with bacterial keratitis, especially in extended-wear contact lens users. In the present study, we determined that pretreatment of cultured human corneal epithelial cells with flagellin isolated from the P. aeruginosa PAO1 strain attenuated cytokine production when the cells were challenged with a cytotoxic strain (ATCC 19660), suggesting a potential use of bacterial flagellin to downregulate infection-associated inflammation in vivo. Administration of flagellin via the subconjunctival and intraperitoneal routes 24 h prior to Pseudomonas inoculation significantly improved the disease outcome, preserved structural integrity and transparency, and thus maintained vision in otherwise perforated corneas of C57BL/6 (B6) mice. The flagellin pretreatment resulted in suppression of polymorphonuclear leukocyte infiltration at a late stage of infection but not at an early stage of infection, decreased the expression of proinflammatory cytokine genes (genes encoding interleukin-1β [IL-1β], macrophage inflammatory protein 2, IL-12, and gamma interferon), and greatly enhanced bacterial clearance in the corneas of B6 mice probably through induced expression of the cathelicidin-related antimicrobial peptide and inducible nitric oxide synthase. This is the first report that describes the protective mechanisms induced by a Toll-like receptor agonist that not only curbs the host inflammatory response but also eliminates invading bacteria in the B6 mouse cornea.

1999 ◽  
Vol 181 (9) ◽  
pp. 2789-2796 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jian Song ◽  
Tianhui Xia ◽  
Roy A. Jensen

ABSTRACT Pterin 4a-carbinolamine dehydratase is bifunctional in mammals. In addition to playing a catalytic role in pterin recycling in the cytoplasm, it plays a regulatory role in the nucleus, where it acts as a dimerization-cofactor component (called DCoH) for the transcriptional activator HNF-1α. A thus far unique operon in Pseudomonas aeruginosa contains a gene encoding a homolog (PhhB) of the regulatory dehydratase, together with genes encoding phenylalanine hydroxylase (PhhA) and aromatic aminotransferase (PhhC). Using complementation of tyrosine auxotrophy in Escherichia colias a functional test, we have found that the in vivo function of PhhA requires PhhB. Strikingly, mammalian DCoH was an effective substitute for PhhB, and either one was effective in trans. Surprisingly, the required presence of PhhB for complementation did not reflect a critical positive regulatory effect of phhB onphhA expression. Rather, in the absence of PhhB, PhhA was found to be extremely toxic in E. coli, probably due to the nonenzymatic formation of 7-biopterin or a similar derivative. However, bacterial PhhB does appear to exert modest regulatory effects in addition to having a catalytic function. PhhB enhances the level of PhhA two- to threefold, as was demonstrated by gene inactivation ofphhB in P. aeruginosa and by comparison of the levels of expression of PhhA in the presence and absence of PhhB inEscherichia coli. Experiments using constructs having transcriptional and translational fusions with a lacZreporter indicated that PhhB activates PhhA at the posttranscriptional level. Regulation of PhhA and PhhB is semicoordinate; both PhhA and PhhB are induced coordinately in the presence of eitherl-tyrosine or l-phenylalanine, but PhhB exhibits a significant basal level of activity that is lacking for PhhA. Immunoprecipitation and affinity chromatography showed that PhhA and PhhB form a protein-protein complex.


2014 ◽  
Vol 82 (11) ◽  
pp. 4689-4697 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iviana M. Torres ◽  
Yash R. Patankar ◽  
Tamer B. Shabaneh ◽  
Emily Dolben ◽  
Deborah A. Hogan ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTInfection byPseudomonas aeruginosa, and bacteria in general, frequently promotes acidification of the local microenvironment, and this is reinforced by pulmonary exertion and exacerbation. However, the consequence of an acidic environment on the host inflammatory response toP. aeruginosainfection is poorly understood. Here we report that the pivotal cellular and host proinflammatory interleukin-1β (IL-1β) response, which enables host clearance of the infection but can produce collateral inflammatory damage, is increased in response toP. aeruginosainfection within an acidic environment. Synergistic mechanisms that promote increased IL-1β release in response toP. aeruginosainfection in an acidic environment are increased pro-IL-1β induction and increased caspase-1 activity, the latter being dependent upon a functional type III secretion system of the bacteria and the NLRC4 inflammasome of the host. Using anin vivoperitonitis model, we have validated that the IL-1β inflammatory response is increased in mice in response toP. aeruginosainfection within an acidic microenvironment. These data reveal novel insights into the regulation and exacerbation of inflammatory responses toP. aeruginosa.


2016 ◽  
Vol 85 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick R. Secor ◽  
Lia A. Michaels ◽  
Kate S. Smigiel ◽  
Maryam G. Rohani ◽  
Laura K. Jennings ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an important opportunistic human pathogen that lives in biofilm-like cell aggregates at sites of chronic infection, such as those that occur in the lungs of patients with cystic fibrosis and nonhealing ulcers. During growth in a biofilm, P. aeruginosa dramatically increases the production of filamentous Pf bacteriophage (Pf phage). Previous work indicated that when in vivo Pf phage production was inhibited, P. aeruginosa was less virulent. However, it is not clear how the production of abundant quantities of Pf phage similar to those produced by biofilms under in vitro conditions affects pathogenesis. Here, using a murine pneumonia model, we show that the production of biofilm-relevant amounts of Pf phage prevents the dissemination of P. aeruginosa from the lung. Furthermore, filamentous phage promoted bacterial adhesion to mucin and inhibited bacterial invasion of airway epithelial cultures, suggesting that Pf phage traps P. aeruginosa within the lung. The in vivo production of Pf phage was also associated with reduced lung injury, reduced neutrophil recruitment, and lower cytokine levels. Additionally, when producing Pf phage, P. aeruginosa was less prone to phagocytosis by macrophages than bacteria not producing Pf phage. Collectively, these data suggest that filamentous Pf phage alters the progression of the inflammatory response and promotes phenotypes typically associated with chronic infection.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takahiro Suzuki ◽  
Takeru Abe ◽  
Mika Ikegaya ◽  
Kaori Suzuki ◽  
Haruka Yabukami ◽  
...  

In vitro functional sperm production is important for understanding spermatogenesis and for the treatment of male infertility. Here, we describe similarities and differences between testis tissues in vivo and in vitro and clarify abnormalities in the early stage of in vitro spermatogenesis at single-cell resolution. While in vitro spermatogenesis progressed similarly to in vivo spermatogenesis until the early pachytene spermatocyte stage, a noticeable acute inflammatory response occurred in immune cells and non-immune testicular somatic cells immediately after cultivation. Inhibitor treatment revealed that NLRP3 inflammasome signaling is key to the inflammation. We observed damaged/dead germ cell accumulation in cultured testis, which may be due to dysfunctional phagocytosis by Sertoli cells. Our data revealed abnormal testicular milieu of in vitro cultured testes caused by tissue-wide sterile inflammation, in which the danger-associated molecular pattern-NLRP3 inflammasome axis may be a key element.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Carolina Panis ◽  
Vanessa Jacob Victorino ◽  
Vera Lúcia Hideko Tatakihara ◽  
Rubens Cecchini ◽  
Luiz Vicente Rizzo ◽  
...  

Infection with the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi causes Chagas disease and consequently leads to severe inflammatory heart condition; however, the mechanisms driving this inflammatory response have not been completely elucidated. Nitric oxide (NO) is a key mediator of parasite killing in T. cruzi-infected mice, and previous studies have suggested that leukotrienes (LTs) essentially regulate the NO activity in the heart. We used infected 5-lipoxygenase-deficient mice (5-LO−/−) to explore the participation of nitric oxide synthase isoforms, inducible (iNOS) and constitutive (cNOS), in heart injury, cytokine profile, and oxidative stress during the early stage of T. cruzi infection. Our evidence suggests that the cNOS of the host is involved in the resistance of 5-LO−/− mice during T. cruzi infection. iNOS inhibition generated a remarkable increase in T. cruzi infection in the blood and heart of mice, whereas cNOS inhibition reduced cardiac parasitism (amastigote nests). Furthermore, this inhibition associates with a higher IFN-γ production and lower lipid peroxidation status. These data provide a better understanding about the influence of NO-interfering therapies for the inflammatory response toward T. cruzi infection.


2004 ◽  
Vol 72 (11) ◽  
pp. 6367-6372 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luciana Tissi ◽  
Manuela Puliti ◽  
Francesco Bistoni ◽  
Paolo Mosci ◽  
Thomas R. Kozel ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Glucuronoxylomannan (GXM), the principal constituent of the Cryptococcus neoformans capsule, modulates the inflammatory response of human monocytes in vitro. Here we examine the efficacy of GXM as a novel anti-inflammatory compound for use against experimental septic arthritis. Arthritis was induced in mice by the intravenous injection of 8 × 106 CFU of type IV group B streptococcus (GBS). GXM was administered intravenously in different doses (50, 100, or 200 μg/mouse) 1 day before and 1 day after bacterial inoculation. GXM treatment markedly decreased the incidence and severity of articular lesions. Histological findings showed limited periarticular inflammation in the joints of GXM-treated mice, confirming the clinical observations. The amelioration of arthritis was associated with a significant reduction in the local production of interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-1β, macrophage inflammatory protein 1α (MIP-1α), and MIP-2 and an increase in systemic IL-10 levels. Moreover, peritoneal macrophages derived from GXM-treated mice and stimulated in vitro with heat-inactivated GBS showed a similar pattern of cytokine production. The present study provides evidence for the modulation of the inflammatory response by GXM in vivo and suggests a potential therapeutic use for this compound in pathologies involving inflammatory processes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 184
Author(s):  
Emily Engeman ◽  
Helen R. Freyberger ◽  
Brendan W. Corey ◽  
Amanda M. Ward ◽  
Yunxiu He ◽  
...  

Multidrug-resistant (MDR) Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections pose a serious health threat. Bacteriophage–antibiotic combination therapy is a promising candidate for combating these infections. A 5-phage P. aeruginosa cocktail, PAM2H, was tested in combination with antibiotics (ceftazidime, ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, meropenem) to determine if PAM2H enhances antibiotic activity. Combination treatment in vitro resulted in a significant increase in susceptibility of MDR strains to antibiotics. Treatment with ceftazidime (CAZ), meropenem, gentamicin, or ciprofloxacin in the presence of the phage increased the number of P. aeruginosa strains susceptible to these antibiotics by 63%, 56%, 31%, and 81%, respectively. Additionally, in a mouse dorsal wound model, seven of eight mice treated with a combination of CAZ and PAM2H for three days had no detectable bacteria remaining in their wounds on day 4, while all mice treated with CAZ or PAM2H alone had ~107 colony forming units (CFU) remaining in their wounds. P. aeruginosa recovered from mouse wounds post-treatment showed decreased virulence in a wax worm model, and DNA sequencing indicated that the combination treatment prevented mutations in genes encoding known phage receptors. Treatment with PAM2H in combination with antibiotics resulted in the re-sensitization of P. aeruginosa to antibiotics in vitro and a synergistic reduction in bacterial burden in vivo.


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