scholarly journals Influence of Galectin-3 on the Innate Immune Response during Experimental Cryptococcosis

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 492
Author(s):  
Caroline Patini Rezende ◽  
Patricia Kellen Martins Oliveira Brito ◽  
Thiago Aparecido Da Silva ◽  
Andre Moreira Pessoni ◽  
Leandra Naira Zambelli Ramalho ◽  
...  

Cryptococcus neoformans, the causative agent of cryptococcosis, is the primary fungal pathogen that affects the immunocompromised individuals. Galectin-3 (Gal-3) is an animal lectin involved in both innate and adaptive immune responses. The present study aimed to evaluate the influence of Gal-3 on the C. neoformans infection. We performed histopathological and gene profile analysis of the innate antifungal immunity markers in the lungs, spleen, and brain of the wild-type (WT) and Gal-3 knockout (KO) mice during cryptococcosis. These findings suggest that Gal-3 absence does not cause significant histopathological alterations in the analyzed tissues. The expression profile of the genes related to innate antifungal immunity showed that the presence of cryptococcosis in the WT and Gal-3 KO animals, compared to their respective controls, promoted the upregulation of the pattern recognition receptor (PRR) responsive to mannose/chitin (mrc1) and a gene involved in inflammation (ccr5), as well as the downregulation of the genes related to signal transduction (card9, fos, ikbkb, jun) and PRRs (cd209a, colec12, nptx1). The absence of Gal-3, in fungal infection, a positively modulated gene involved in phagocytosis (sftpd) and negatively genes involved in signal transduction (syk and myd88), proinflammatory cytokines il-1β and il-12b and cd209a receptor. Therefore, our results suggest that Gal-3 may play an essential role in the development of antifungal immune responses against cryptococcosis.

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Díaz-Alvarez ◽  
Enrique Ortega

Galectins are a group of evolutionarily conserved proteins with the ability to bindβ-galactosides through characteristic carbohydrate-recognition domains (CRD). Galectin-3 is structurally unique among all galectins as it contains a C-terminal CRD linked to an N-terminal protein-binding domain, being the only chimeric galectin. Galectin-3 participates in many functions, both intra- and extracellularly. Among them, a prominent role for Galectin-3 in inflammation has been recognized. Galectin-3 has also been shown to directly bind to pathogens and to have various effects on the functions of the cells of the innate immune system. Thanks to these two properties, Galectin-3 participates in several ways in the innate immune response against invading pathogens. Galectin-3 has been proposed to function not only as a pattern-recognition receptor (PRR) but also as a danger-associated molecular pattern (DAMP). In this review, we analyze the various roles that have been assigned to Galectin-3, both as a PRR and as a DAMP, in the context of immune responses against pathogenic microorganisms.


2009 ◽  
Vol 206 (9) ◽  
pp. 2037-2051 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew J. Robinson ◽  
Fabiola Osorio ◽  
Marcela Rosas ◽  
Rui P. Freitas ◽  
Edina Schweighoffer ◽  
...  

Innate immune cells detect pathogens via pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), which signal for initiation of immune responses to infection. Studies with Dectin-1, a PRR for fungi, have defined a novel innate signaling pathway involving Syk kinase and the adaptor CARD9, which is critical for inducing Th17 responses to fungal infection. We show that another C-type lectin, Dectin-2, also signals via Syk and CARD9, and contributes to dendritic cell (DC) activation by fungal particles. Unlike Dectin-1, Dectin-2 couples to Syk indirectly, through association with the FcRγ chain. In a model of Candida albicans infection, blockade of Dectin-2 did not affect innate immune resistance but abrogated Candida-specific T cell production of IL-17 and, in combination with the absence of Dectin-1, decreased Th1 responses to the organism. Thus, Dectin-2 constitutes a major fungal PRR that can couple to the Syk–CARD9 innate signaling pathway to activate DCs and regulate adaptive immune responses to fungal infection.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 3090
Author(s):  
Toshimasa Shimizu ◽  
Hideki Nakamura ◽  
Atsushi Kawakami

Sjögren’s syndrome (SS) is a systemic autoimmune disease characterized by chronic inflammation of the salivary and lacrimal glands and extra-glandular lesions. Adaptive immune response including T- and B-cell activation contributes to the development of SS. However, its pathogenesis has not yet been elucidated. In addition, several patients with SS present with the type I interferon (IFN) signature, which is the upregulation of the IFN-stimulated genes induced by type I IFN. Thus, innate immune responses including type I IFN activity are associated with SS pathogenesis. Recent studies have revealed the presence of activation pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) including Toll-like receptors, RNA sensor retinoic acid-inducible gene I and melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5, and inflammasomes in infiltrating and epithelial cells of the salivary glands among patients with SS. In addition, the activation of PRRs via the downstream pathway such as the type I IFN signature and nuclear factor kappa B can directly cause organ inflammation, and it is correlated with the activation of adaptive immune responses. Therefore, this study assessed the role of the innate immune signal pathway in the development of inflammation and immune abnormalities in SS.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morgan Brisse ◽  
Qinfeng Huang ◽  
Mizanur Rahman ◽  
Da Di ◽  
Yuying Liang ◽  
...  

RIG-I and MDA5 are major cytoplasmic innate-immune sensor proteins that recognize aberrant double-stranded RNAs generated during virus infection to activate type 1 interferon (IFN-I) and IFN-stimulated gene (ISG) expressions to control virus infection. The roles of RIG-I and MDA5 in controlling replication of Pichinde virus (PICV), a mammarenavirus, in mice have not been examined. Here, we showed that MDA5 single knockout (SKO) and RIG-I/MDA5 double knockout (DKO) mice are highly susceptible to PICV infection as evidenced by their significant reduction in body weights during the course of the infection, validating the important roles of these innate-immune sensor proteins in controlling PICV infection. Compared to the wildtype mice, SKO and DKO mice infected with PICV had significantly higher virus titers and lower IFN-I expressions early in the infection but appeared to exhibit a late and heightened level of adaptive immune responses to clear the infection. When a recombinant rPICV mutant virus (rPICV-NPmut) that lacks the ability to suppress IFN-I was used to infect mice, as expected, there were heightened levels of IFN-I and ISG expressions in the wild-type mice, whereas infected SKO and DKO mice showed delayed mouse growth kinetics and relatively low, delayed, and transient levels of innate and adaptive immune responses to this viral infection. Taken together, our data suggest that PICV infection triggers activation of immune sensors that include but might not be necessarily limited to RIG-I and MDA5 to stimulate effective innate and adaptive immune responses to control virus infection in mice.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phillip Wibisono ◽  
Shawndra Wibisono ◽  
Jan Watteyne ◽  
Chia-Hui Chen ◽  
Durai Sellegounder ◽  
...  

A key question in current immunology is how the innate immune system generates high levels of specificity. Like most invertebrates, Caenorhabditis elegans does not have an adaptive immune system and relies solely on innate immunity to defend itself against pathogen attacks, yet it can still differentiate different pathogens and launch distinct innate immune responses. Here, we have found that functional loss of NMUR-1, a neuronal GPCR homologous to mammalian receptors for the neuropeptide neuromedin U, has diverse effects on C. elegans survival against various bacterial pathogens. Transcriptomic analyses and functional assays revealed that NMUR-1 modulates C. elegans transcription activity by regulating the expression of transcription factors, which, in turn, controls the expression of distinct immune genes in response to different pathogens. Our study has uncovered a molecular basis for the specificity of C. elegans innate immunity that could provide mechanistic insights into understanding the specificity of vertebrate innate immunity.


Microbiology ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 152 (2) ◽  
pp. 285-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gavin K. Paterson ◽  
Tim J. Mitchell

The innate immune system provides a non-specific first line of defence against microbes and is crucial both in the development and effector stages of subsequent adaptive immune responses. Consistent with its importance, study of the innate immune system is a broad and fast-moving field. Here we provide an overview of the recent key advances made in this area with relation to the important pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae (the pneumococcus).


Cells ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 2109
Author(s):  
Samuel T. Pasco ◽  
Juan Anguita

Vaccine design traditionally focuses on inducing adaptive immune responses against a sole target pathogen. Considering that many microbes evade innate immune mechanisms to initiate infection, and in light of the discovery of epigenetically mediated innate immune training, the paradigm of vaccine design has the potential to change. The Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine induces some level of protection against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) while stimulating trained immunity that correlates with lower mortality and increased protection against unrelated pathogens. This review will explore BCG-induced trained immunity, including the required pathways to establish this phenotype. Additionally, potential methods to improve or expand BCG trained immunity effects through alternative vaccine delivery and formulation methods will be discussed. Finally, advances in new anti-Mtb vaccines, other antimicrobial uses for BCG, and “innate memory-based vaccines” will be examined.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (8) ◽  
pp. 733-745
Author(s):  
Juan Huang ◽  
Junhui Li ◽  
Qiufen Li ◽  
Lin Li ◽  
Nianhua Zhu ◽  
...  

Defensins are critical components of the innate immune system and play an important role in the integration of innate and adaptive immune responses. Although information on the immunomodulatory properties of peptidoglycan from bacteria is abundant, little is known about the β-defensin induction effect of peptidoglycan from the probiotic Lactobacillus. This study investigated the effect of intact peptidoglycan from L. rhamnosus MLGA on the induction of avian β-defensin 9 in chicken immune cells and intestinal explants. Peptidoglycan from Lactobacillus rhamnosus MLGA dose dependently promoted avian β-defensin 9 mRNA expression in chicken PBMCs, splenocytes, thymocytes, hepatocytes, and chicken embryo jejunum, ileum, and cecum explants and increased the capacity of PBMC or splenocyte lysates to inhibit the growth of Salmonella Enteritidis. In contrast to the effect of L. rhamnosus MLGA-derived peptidoglycan, peptidoglycan derived from pathogenic Staphylococcus aureus reduced avian β-defensin 9 mRNA expression in chicken PBMCs and splenocytes. The inducible effect of peptidoglycan from L. rhamnosus MLGA on avian β-defensin 9 expression in PBMCs and splenocytes was observed without activation of the expression of associated pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β, IL-8, and IL-12p40, whereas these cytokine expressions were suppressed by peptidoglycan hydrolysate obtained by lysozyme digestion. The results of the present study show the capability of peptidoglycan derived from L. rhamnosus MLGA to induce the antimicrobial peptide defensin while simultaneously avoiding the deleterious risks of an inflammatory response.


2016 ◽  
Vol 90 (7) ◽  
pp. 3584-3599 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanhua Li ◽  
Duan-Liang Shyu ◽  
Pengcheng Shang ◽  
Jianfa Bai ◽  
Kang Ouyang ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTPorcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) nonstructural protein 1β (nsp1β) is a multifunctional viral protein, which is involved in suppressing the host innate immune response and activating a unique −2/−1 programmed ribosomal frameshifting (PRF) signal for the expression of frameshifting products. In this study, site-directed mutagenesis analysis showed that the R128A or R129A mutation introduced into a highly conserved motif (123GKYLQRRLQ131) reduced the ability of nsp1β to suppress interferon beta (IFN-β) activation and also impaired nsp1β's function as a PRF transactivator. Three recombinant viruses, vR128A, vR129A, and vRR129AA, carrying single or double mutations in the GKYLQRRLQ motif were characterized. In comparison to the wild-type (WT) virus, vR128A and vR129A showed slightly reduced growth abilities, while the vRR129AA mutant had a significantly reduced growth ability in infected cells. Consistent with the attenuated growth phenotypein vitro, pigs infected with nsp1β mutants had lower levels of viremia than did WT virus-infected pigs. Compared to the WT virus in infected cells, all three mutated viruses stimulated high levels of IFN-α expression and exhibited a reduced ability to suppress the mRNA expression of selected interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs). In pigs infected with nsp1β mutants, IFN-α production was increased in the lungs at early time points postinfection, which was correlated with increased innate NK cell function. Furthermore, the augmented innate response was consistent with the increased production of IFN-γ in pigs infected with mutated viruses. These data demonstrate that residues R128 and R129 are critical for nsp1β function and that modifying these key residues in the GKYLQRRLQ motif attenuates virus growth ability and improves the innate and adaptive immune responses in infected animals.IMPORTANCEPRRSV infection induces poor antiviral innate IFN and cytokine responses, which results in weak adaptive immunity. One of the strategies in next-generation vaccine construction is to manipulate viral proteins/genetic elements involved in antagonizing the host immune response. PRRSV nsp1β was identified to be a strong innate immune antagonist. In this study, two basic amino acids, R128 and R129, in a highly conserved GKYLQRRLQ motif were determined to be critical for nsp1β function. Mutations introduced into these two residues attenuated virus growth and improved the innate and adaptive immune responses of infected animals. Technologies developed in this study could be broadly applied to current commercial PRRSV modified live-virus (MLV) vaccines and other candidate vaccines.


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