Metabolomics Investigation Reveals Metabolite Mediators Associated with Acute Lung Injury and Repair in a Murine Model of Influenza Pneumonia.

Influenza virus infection (IVI) can cause primary viral pneumonia, which may progress to acute lung injury (ALI) and respiratory failure with a potentially fatal outcome. At present, the interactions between host and influenza virus at molecular levels and the underlying mechanisms that give rise to IVI-induced ALI are poorly understood. We conducted a comprehensive mass spectrometry-based metabolic profiling of serum, lung tissue and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) from a non-lethal mouse model with influenza A virus at 0, 6, 10, 14, 21 and 28 days post infection (dpi), representing the major stages of IVI. Distinct metabolite signatures were observed in mice sera, lung tissues and BALF, indicating the molecular differences between systematic and localized host responses to IVI. More than 100 differential metabolites were captured in mice sera, lung tissues and BALF, including purines, pyrimidines, acylcarnitines, fatty acids, amino acids, glucocorticoids, sphingolipids, phospholipids, etc. Many of these metabolites belonged to pulmonary surfactants, indicating IVI-induced aberrations of the pulmonary surfactant system might play an important role in the etiology of respiratory failure and repair. Our findings revealed dynamic host responses to IVI and various metabolic pathways linked to disease progression, and provided mechanistic insights into IVI-induced ALI and repair process.

Homeostasis of T cell diversity.

T cell homeostasis commonly refers to the maintenance of relatively stable T cell numbers in the peripheral lymphoid organs. Among the large numbers of T cells in the periphery, T cells exhibit structural diversity, i.e., the expression of a diverse repertoire of T cell receptors (TCRs), and functional diversity, i.e., the presence of T cells at naive, effector, and memory developmental stages. Although the homeostasis of T cell numbers has been extensively studied, investigation of the mechanisms underlying the maintenance of structural and functional diversity of T cells is still at an early stage. The fundamental feature throughout T cell development is the interaction between the TCR and either self or foreign peptides in association with MHC molecules. In this review, we present evidence showing that homeostasis of T cell number and diversity is mediated through competition for limiting resources. The number of T cells is maintained through competition for limiting cytokines, whereas the diversity of T cells is maintained by competition for self-peptide-MHC complexes. In other words, diversity of the self-peptide repertoire limits the structural (TCR) diversity of a T cell population. We speculate that cognate low affinity self-peptides, acting as weak agonists and antagonists, regulate the homeostasis of T cell diversity whereas non-cognate or null peptides which are extremely abundant for any given TCR, may contribute to the homeostasis of T cell number by providing survival signals. Moreover, self-peptides and cytokines may form specialized niches for the regulation of T cell homeostasis.