Absence of Platelet Endothelial Cell Adhesion Molecule 1, PECAM-1/CD31,In VivoIncreases Resistance to Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium in Mice
ABSTRACTPECAM-1/CD31 is known to regulate inflammatory responses and exhibit pro- and anti-inflammatory functions. This study was designed to determine the functional role of PECAM-1 in susceptibility to murine primaryin vivoinfection withSalmonella entericaserovar Typhimurium and inin vitroinflammatory responses of peritoneal macrophages. Lectin profiling showed that cellular PECAM-1 and recombinant human PECAM-1-Ig chimera contain high levels of mannose sugars andN-acetylglucosamine. Consistent with this carbohydrate pattern, both recombinant human and murine PECAM-1-Ig chimeras were shown to bindS. Typhimurium in a dose-dependent mannerin vitro. Using oral and fecal-oral transmission models ofS. Typhimurium SL1344 infection, PECAM-1−/−mice were found to be more resistant toS. Typhimurium infection than wild-type (WT) C57BL/6 mice. While fecal shedding ofS. Typhimurium was comparable in wild-type and PECAM-1−/−mice, the PECAM-1-deficient mice had lower bacterial loads in systemic organs such as liver, spleen, and mesenteric lymph nodes than WT mice, suggesting that extraintestinal dissemination was reduced in the absence of PECAM-1. This reduced bacterial load correlated with reduced tumor necrosis factor (TNF), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP) levels in sera of PECAM-1−/−mice. Followingin vitrostimulation of macrophages with either wholeS. Typhimurium, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (Toll-like receptor 4 [TLR4] ligand), or poly(I·C) (TLR3 ligand), production of TNF and IL-6 by PECAM-1−/−macrophages was reduced. Together, these results suggest that PECAM-1 may have multiple functions in resistance to infection withS. Typhimurium, including binding to host cells, extraintestinal spread to deeper tissues, and regulation of inflammatory cytokine production by infected macrophages.