Gene Conversion of Sialic Acid Binding Domains in CD33-Related Siglecs by Adjacent Pseudogenes: A Novel Mechanism To Change Sialic Acid Binding Specificity.

Abstract Siglecs (sialic acid-binding immunoglobulin superfamily lectins) are a family of cell surface receptors involved in regulating the immune response. The CD33-Related Siglecs (CD33rSiglecs, namely Siglec-3, -5 through -11 and -XII in humans) are a subgroup of these molecules found primarily on cells of the innate immune system. All are type-1 transmembrane proteins with an N-terminal sialic acid-recognizing V-set domain followed by a variable number of C-2 set domains, a transmembrane region and a cytosolic C-terminal domain that includes two tyrosine-based signaling motifs. Available data suggest an inhibitory signaling role in the innate immune response, mediated by recognition of host sialic acids as “self”. Nine of the 13 known primate Siglec genes along with 14 Siglec pseudogenes comprise the CD33-related Siglec gene cluster on human chromosome 19. Gene conversion is a mechanism for copying part of a genomic sequence into another, contributing to genetic diversity. Pseudogenes are known to play role in generating functional diversity of related genes (e.g., antibody diversity via gene conversion in chickens). We recently analyzed genomic sequences of the CD33-related Siglec gene cluster in three primates (human, chimpanzee and baboon) and found evidence for rapid evolution in this gene family (Angata et al., PNAS, in press). Additional evolutionary studies using distance-based phylogenetic trees shows evidence for three partial gene conversions between Siglec genes and adjacent Siglec pseudogenes. All three involve the coding regions for extracellular domains that mediate sialic acid recognition, and two involve a pseudogene converting a known Siglec gene. Functional analyses using recombinant proteins show marked differences in sialic acid-binding properties between the converted Siglec and its non-converted ortholog. These findings suggest that gene conversion with pseudogenes has contributed to the rapid functional evolution of the Siglecs, and provides a novel mechanism for changing sialic acid binding specificity. We hypothesize that this mechanism allows for rapid evolutionary adjustments in the recognition of endogenous sialic acids as “self”, a potential factor in controlling the innate immune response.

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Differential Expression and Function of the CD33-Related Siglecs between Humans and Great Apes.

Blood ◽

10.1182/blood.v104.11.1466.1466 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 104 (11) ◽

pp. 1466-1466

Author(s):

Nancy Hurtado-Ziola ◽

Justin L. Sonnenburg ◽

Ajit Varki

Keyword(s):

Sialic Acid ◽

Blood Cells ◽

Expression Patterns ◽

Great Apes ◽

Sialic Acids ◽

Innate Immune ◽

Immunoglobulin Superfamily ◽

Last Common Ancestor ◽

Great Ape ◽

Sialic Acid Binding

Abstract The Siglecs (Sialic acid-binding Immunoglobulin Superfamily Lectins) are a recently discovered family of mammalian glycan-binding proteins that have been shown to recognize the terminal sialic acids of glycoproteins and glycolipids. The CD33-Related Siglecs (CD33rSiglecs, namely Siglec-3, -5 through -11 and -XII in humans) are a subgroup of these molecules, which are thought to be primarily expressed on cells of the innate immune system. All CD33rSiglecs are type-1 transmembrane proteins with an N-terminal sialic acid-recognizing V-set domain followed by a variable number of C-2 set domains, a transmembrane region and a cytosolic C-terminal domain that usually has two tyrosine-based signaling motifs, one of which conforms to a canonical negative regulatory ITIM motif. Although the true function of the CD33rSiglecs has yet to be discovered, available data are most consistent with an inhibitory signaling role in the innate immune response, mediated by recognition of host sialic acids as “self”. CD33rSiglecs also interact with sialic acids on the same cell surface, typically resulting in “masking” of their sialic acid-binding sites. Our recent studies have shown that humans and non-human primates have a similar clustered localization of CD33rSiglec genes, and that true orthologs can generally be identified within each cluster (Angata et al., PNAS, in press). However, humans no longer express CMP-sialic acid hydroxylase (CMAH) the enzyme required to generate one of the potential CD33rSiglec sialic acid ligands called N-glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc), from its precursor N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac). This genetic change occurred after our last common ancestor with the great apes, and dramatically altered the “Sialome” (the sialic acid makeup of a specific species) of humans when compared to that of the great apes. While great ape blood cells express about equal amounts of Neu5Ac and Neu5Gc, human blood cells express almost exclusively Neu5Ac. We also recently discovered that preferential recognition of Neu5Gc is the ancestral condition of most or all of the great ape (chimpanzee and gorilla) CD33rSiglecs (Sonnenburg JL, Altheide TK, Varki A. Glycobiology.14:339–46, 2004). We therefore reasoned that the sudden and major change in the sialome of our hominid ancestors could have had a significant impact on the evolution, binding specificities and expression patterns of CD33rSiglecs. Indeed, we have found that all human CD33rSiglecs can recognize both Neu5Ac and Neu5Gc. This presumably represents an evolutionarily-selected “relaxation” in binding specificity that was necessary to “remask” the Siglecs that had lost their Neu5Gc ligands. Also, there are differences in CD33rSiglec expression on monocytes and neutrophils between humans and great apes (chimp, bonobo, gorilla and orangutan). Furthermore, while great ape cells often show multiple populations with different signal intensities, humans express a single bright peak for each Siglec in flow cytometry. Surprisingly, while humans showed almost no CD33rSiglec expression on lymphocytes, the great apes show a moderate to high expression of some Siglecs on these cells. Total leukocyte expression of some CD33rSiglecs also shows differences between humans and great apes. Overall, CD33rSiglecs appear to be rapidly evolving in primates, with an apparent further acceleration of changes in humans. Additional studies are needed to define the mechanistic details, as well as the implications for human health and disease.

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Effects of Receptor Binding Specificity of Avian Influenza Virus on the Human Innate Immune Response

Journal of Virology ◽

10.1128/jvi.02356-10 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 85 (9) ◽

pp. 4421-4431 ◽

Cited By ~ 38

Author(s):

I. Ramos ◽

D. Bernal-Rubio ◽

N. Durham ◽

A. Belicha-Villanueva ◽

A. C. Lowen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Immune Response ◽

Influenza Virus ◽

Avian Influenza ◽

Avian Influenza Virus ◽

Innate Immune Response ◽

Receptor Binding ◽

Binding Specificity ◽

Innate Immune ◽

Receptor Binding Specificity

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Avian Influenza A Virus Infects Swine Airway Epithelial Cells without Prior Adaptation

Viruses ◽

10.3390/v12060589 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (6) ◽

pp. 589 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Dai-Lun Shin ◽

Wei Yang ◽

Ju-Yi Peng ◽

Bevan Sawatsky ◽

Veronika von Messling ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Immune Response ◽

Sialic Acid ◽

Epithelial Cells ◽

Influenza A ◽

Airway Epithelial Cells ◽

Sialic Acids ◽

Innate Immune ◽

Interspecies Transmission ◽

Airway Epithelial ◽

Well Differentiated

Pigs play an important role in the interspecies transmission of influenza A viruses (IAV). The porcine airway epithelium contains binding sites for both swine/human IAV (α2,6-linked sialic acids) and avian IAV (α2,3-linked sialic acids) and therefore is suited for adaptation of viruses from other species as suggested by the “mixing vessel theory”. Here, we applied well-differentiated swine airway epithelial cells to find out whether efficient infection by avian IAV requires prior adaption. Furthermore, we analyzed the influence of the sialic acid-binding activity and the virus-induced detrimental effects. Surprisingly, an avian IAV H1N1 strain circulating in European poultry and waterfowl shows increased and prolonged viral replication without inducing a strong innate immune response. This virus could infect the lower respiratory tract in our precision cut-lung slice model. Pretreating the cells with poly (I:C) and/or JAK/STAT pathway inhibitors revealed that the interferon-stimulated innate immune response influences the replication of avian IAV in swine airway epitheliums but not that of swine IAV. Further studies indicated that in the infection by IAVs, the binding affinity of sialic acid is not the sole factor affecting the virus infectivity for swine or human airway epithelial cells, whereas it may be crucial in well-differentiated ferret tracheal epithelial cells. Taken together, our results suggest that the role of pigs being the vessel of interspecies transmission should be reconsidered, and the potential of avian H1N1 viruses to infect mammals needs to be characterized in more detail.

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Oral Immune Activation by Disgust and Disease-Related Pictures

Journal of Psychophysiology ◽

10.1027/0269-8803/a000143 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 29 (3) ◽

pp. 119-129 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Richard J. Stevenson ◽

Deborah Hodgson ◽

Megan J. Oaten ◽

Luba Sominsky ◽

Mehmet Mahmut ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Immune Response ◽

Immune Responses ◽

Innate Immune Response ◽

Negative Control ◽

Innate Immune ◽

Innate Immune Responses ◽

Immune Markers ◽

Before And After ◽

Secondary Analyses ◽

Image Set

Abstract. Both disgust and disease-related images appear able to induce an innate immune response but it is unclear whether these effects are independent or rely upon a common shared factor (e.g., disgust or disease-related cognitions). In this study we directly compared these two inductions using specifically generated sets of images. One set was disease-related but evoked little disgust, while the other set was disgust evoking but with less disease-relatedness. These two image sets were then compared to a third set, a negative control condition. Using a wholly within-subject design, participants viewed one image set per week, and provided saliva samples, before and after each viewing occasion, which were later analyzed for innate immune markers. We found that both the disease related and disgust images, relative to the negative control images, were not able to generate an innate immune response. However, secondary analyses revealed innate immune responses in participants with greater propensity to feel disgust following exposure to disease-related and disgusting images. These findings suggest that disgust images relatively free of disease-related themes, and disease-related images relatively free of disgust may be suboptimal cues for generating an innate immune response. Not only may this explain why disgust propensity mediates these effects, it may also imply a common pathway.

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