Isobaric labeling-based quantitative proteomics of FACS-purified immune cells and epithelial cells from the intestine of Crohn's disease patients reveals proteome changes of potential importance in disease pathogenesis.

Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic condition characterized by recurrent flares of inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract. Disease etiology is poorly understood and is characterized by dysregulated immune activation that progressively destroys intestinal tissue. Key cellular compartments in disease pathogenesis are the intestinal epithelial layer and its underlying lamina propria. While the epithelium contains predominantly epithelial cells, the lamina propria is enriched in immune cells. Deciphering proteome changes in different cell populations is important to understand CD pathogenesis. Here, using isobaric labeling-based quantitative proteomics, we perform an exploratory study to analyze in-depth proteome changes in epithelial cells, immune cells and stromal cells in CD patients compared to controls using cells purified by FACS. Our study revealed increased proteins associated with neutrophil degranulation and mitochondrial metabolism in immune cells of CD intestinal mucosa. We also found upregulation of proteins involved in glycosylation and secretory pathways in epithelial cells of CD patients, while proteins involved in mitochondrial metabolism were reduced. The distinct alterations in protein levels in immune- versus epithelial cells underscores the utility of proteome analysis of defined cell types. Moreover, our workflow allowing concomitant assessment of cell-type specific changes on an individual basis enables deeper insight into disease pathogenesis.

MEFV and NLRP3 Inflammasome Expression Is Attributed to Immature Macrophages and Correlates with Serum Inflammatory Proteins in Crohn´s Disease Patients.

Inflammasomes are intracellular protein complexes whose activation results in proinflammatory cytokines. Inflammasomes are implicated in Crohn´s disease (CD) pathogenesis, yet the contribution of inflammasomes in intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) versus lamina propria (LP) macrophages is poorly understood. Whether inflammasome expression in intestinal tissue reflects the serum inflammatory protein profile of patients is also not known. We aimed to determine the intestinal cell types where inflammasome expression is increased in CD and if they correlate with the serum protein profile. RT-PCR and NanoString nCounter technology were used to characterize inflammasome gene expression in CD patients and controls. The mucosa, LP and IEC cell fractions and FACS-sorted cells were analyzed. Proximity extension assay with a 92-protein panel was used to determine the serum inflammatory protein profile. Compositional analysis was used to correlate ileum inflammasome gene expression with intestinal mononuclear phagocyte populations. We show that NLRP3 and MEFV inflammasome sensors and downstream effector expression including IL-1ß are increased in inflamed mucosa of IBD patients and correlate with disease activity. Inflammasome gene expression increased with the abundance of immature intestinal macrophages, and increased IL-1ß released by CD LP cells correlated with immature macrophage frequency. Inflammasome gene expression was also increased in circulating monocytes, the precursors of immature intestinal macrophages. Finally, the serum inflammatory profile of CD patients correlates with ileal expression of genes related to NLRP3 and MEFV inflammasomes. Overall, we show that MEFV and NLRP3 inflammasome expression in CD intestine is attributed to the accumulation of immature macrophages and correlates with serum inflammatory proteins.

TREM-1+ Macrophages Define a Pathogenic Cell Subset in the Intestine of Crohn's Disease Patients.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Uncontrolled activation of intestinal mononuclear phagocytes [MNPs] drives chronic inflammation in inflammatory bowel disease [IBD]. Triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 1 [TREM-1] has been implicated in the pathogenesis of IBD. However, the role of TREM-1+ cell subsets in driving IBD pathology and the link with clinical parameters are not understood. We investigated TREM-1 expression in human intestinal MNP subsets and examined blocking TREM-1 as a potential IBD therapy. METHODS: TREM-1 gene expression was analysed in intestinal mucosa, enriched epithelial and lamina propria [LP] layers, and purified cells from controls and IBD patients. TREM-1 protein on immune cells was assessed by flow cytometry and immunofluorescence microscopy. Blood monocyte activation was examined by large-scale gene expression using a TREM-1 agonist or LP conditioned media [LP-CM] from patients in the presence or absence of TREM-1 and tumour necrosis factor [TNF] antagonist antibodies. RESULTS: TREM-1 gene expression increases in intestinal mucosa from IBD patients and correlates with disease score. TREM-1+ cells, which are mainly immature macrophages and CD11b+ granulocytes, increase among LP cells from Crohn's disease patients and their frequency correlates with inflammatory molecules in LP-CM. LP-CM from Crohn's disease patients induces an inflammatory transcriptome in blood monocytes, including increased IL-6 expression, which is reduced by simultaneous blocking of TREM-1 and TNF. CONCLUSIONS: High intestinal TREM-1 expression, reflecting a high frequency of TREM-1+ immature macrophages and TREM-1+CD11b+ granulocytes, is linked to the deleterious inflammatory microenvironment in IBD patients. Therefore, blocking the TREM-1 pathway, especially simultaneously with anti-TNF therapy, has potential as a new IBD therapy.

Mechanism of fibrosis and stricture formation in Crohn's disease.

Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the gastrointestinal tract that leads to substantial suffering for millions of patients. In some patients, the chronic inflammation leads to remodelling of the extracellular matrix and fibrosis. Fibrosis, in combination with expansion of smooth muscle layers, leaves the bowel segment narrowed and stiff resulting in strictures, which often require urgent medical intervention. Although stricture development is associated with inflammation in the affected segment, anti-inflammatory therapies fall far short of treating strictures. At best, current therapies might allow some patients to avoid surgery in a shorter perspective and no anti-fibrotic therapy is yet available. This likely relates to our poor understanding of the mechanism underlying stricture development. Chronic inflammation is a prerequisite, but progression to strictures involves changes in fibroblasts, myofibroblasts and smooth muscle cells in a poorly understood interplay with immune cells and environmental cues. Much of the experimental evidence available is from animal models, cell lines or non-strictured patient tissue. Accordingly, these limitations create the basis for many previously published reviews covering the topic. Although this information has contributed to the understanding of fibrotic mechanisms in general, in the end, data must be validated in strictured tissue from patients. As stricture formation is a serious complication of CD, we endeavoured to summarize findings exclusively performed using strictured tissue from patients. Here, we give an update of the mechanism driving this serious complication in patients, and how the strictured tissue differs from adjacent unaffected tissue and controls.

Human Intestinal Mononuclear Phagocytes in Health and Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, is a complex immune-mediated disease of the gastrointestinal tract that increases morbidity and negatively influences the quality of life. Intestinal mononuclear phagocytes (MNPs) have a crucial role in maintaining epithelial barrier integrity while controlling pathogen invasion by activating an appropriate immune response. However, in genetically predisposed individuals, uncontrolled immune activation to intestinal flora is thought to underlie the chronic mucosal inflammation that can ultimately result in IBD. Thus, MNPs are involved in fine-tuning mucosal immune system responsiveness and have a critical role in maintaining homeostasis or, potentially, the emergence of IBD. MNPs include monocytes, macrophages and dendritic cells, which are functionally diverse but highly complementary. Despite their crucial role in maintaining intestinal homeostasis, specific functions of human MNP subsets are poorly understood, especially during diseases such as IBD. Here we review the current understanding of MNP ontogeny, as well as the recently identified human intestinal MNP subsets, and discuss their role in health and IBD.

Long-Lived Plasma Cells in Mice and Men.

Even though more than 30 years have passed since the eradication of smallpox, high titers of smallpox-specific antibodies are still detected in the blood of subjects vaccinated in childhood. In fact, smallpox-specific antibody levels are maintained in serum for more than 70 years. The generation of life-long immunity against infectious diseases such as smallpox and measles has been thoroughly documented. Although the mechanisms behind high persisting antibody titers in the absence of the causative agent are still unclear, long lived plasma cells (LLPCs) play an important role. Most of the current knowledge on LLPCs is based on experiments performed in mouse models, although the amount of data derived from human studies is increasing. As the results from mouse models are often directly extrapolated to humans, it is important to keep in mind that there are differences. These are not only the obvious such as the life span but there are also anatomical differences, for instance the adiposity of the bone marrow (BM) where LLPCs reside. Whether these differences have an effect on the function of the immune system, and in particular on LLPCs, are still unknown. In this review, we will briefly discuss current knowledge of LLPCs, comparing mice and humans.

Long-lived plasma cells in human bone marrow can be either CD19+ or CD19.

Long-lived plasma cells secreting vaccinia-specific antibodies are detected in human bone marrow >35 years after the eradication of smallpox.Long-lived plasma cells secreting vaccinia-specific antibodies are still able to express the B-lymphocyte antigen CD19.

A reduced population of CD103(+)CD11b(+) dendritic cells has a limited impact on oral Salmonella infection.

CD103(+)CD11b(+) dendritic cells (DC) are the major migratory DC subset in the small intestine lamina propria (siLP) and their survival is dependent on the transcription factor interferon regulatory factor 4 (IRF4). Mice with a DC-specific deletion of irf4 (CD11c-cre.Irf4 mice) have reduced mucosal CD103(+)CD11b(+) DC and altered T cell differentiation to protein antigen. The influence of CD103(+)CD11b(+) DC on oral infection with the gastrointestinal pathogen Salmonella, however, is poorly understood and is investigated here. We show that, despite being infected with Salmonella, CD11c-cre.Irf4 mice (called Cre(+) mice) conserve the reduction in CD103(+)CD11b(+) DC observed in naive Cre(+) mice, particularly in the mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN) but also in the siLP at day 3 post infection. Moreover, Salmonella-infected Cre(+) mice have a similar bacterial burden in intestinal tissues (siLP, MLN and Peyer's patches) as well as the spleen compared to infected Cre(-) controls. The T cell compartment, including the frequency of IFN-γ and IL-17-producing T cells, is not altered in intestinal tissues of Salmonella-infected Cre(+) mice relative to infected Cre(-) controls. In addition, no difference between infected Cre(+) and Cre(-) mice was observed in either the concentration of IL-6 or IL-17 in whole tissue lysates of siLP, MLN or Peyer's patches or in the serum concentration of Salmonella-specific IgG and IgM. Overall the data suggest that the reduction of CD103(+)CD11b(+) DC in Cre(+) mice has little if any impact on Salmonella burden in infected tissues or eliciting effector functions important in host survival at later stages of the infection.

Reduced numbers of mucosal DR(int) macrophages and increased numbers of CD103(+) dendritic cells during anti-TNF-α treatment in patients with Crohn's disease.

OBJECTIVE: Anti-TNF-α treatment constitutes a mainstay in the treatment of Crohn's disease (CD), but its mechanisms of action are not fully understood. We aimed to investigate the effects of adalimumab, a human monoclonal TNF-α antibody, on macrophage (MQ) and dendritic cell (DC) subsets in mucosal biopsies and peripheral blood. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Intestinal biopsies and blood samples were obtained from 12 different CD patients both before and 4 weeks after the initiation of the induction of adalimumab treatment. Endoscopic disease activity was estimated by the Simple Endoscopic Score for Crohn's Disease. Biopsies were obtained from inflamed and non-inflamed areas. The numbers of lamina propria CD14 (+) DR(int) and CD14 (+) DR(hi) MQs, CD141(+), CD141(-) and CD103(+) DCs subsets, and circulating monocytes and DCs were analyzed using flow cytometry. RESULTS: At baseline, we observed higher numbers of DR(int) MQs and lower numbers of CD103(+) DCs in inflamed versus non-inflamed mucosa [843 vs. 391/10(5) lamina propria mononuclear cells (LPMCs) (p < 0.05) and 9 vs. 19 × 10(5) LPMCs (p = 0.01), respectively]. After four weeks of adalimumab treatment, the numbers of DR(int) MQs decreased [843 to 379/10(5) LPMCs (p = 0.03)], whereas the numbers of CD103(+) DCs increased [9-20 × 10(5) LPMCs (p = 0.003)] compared with baseline. In peripheral blood, no alterations were observed in monocyte or DC numbers between baseline and week 4. CONCLUSIONS: In CD, mucosal inflammation is associated with high numbers of DR(int) MQs and low numbers of CD103(+) DCs. This composition of intestinal myeloid subsets is reversed by anti-TNF-α treatment. These results suggest that DR(int) MQs play a pivotal role in CD inflammation.

Synergy between CD40 and MyD88 Does Not Influence Host Survival to Salmonella Infection.

Previous studies using purified toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands plus agonistic anti-CD40 antibodies showed that TLRs and CD40 can act synergistically on dendritic cells (DCs) to optimize T cell activation and Th1 differentiation. However, a synergistic effect of TLRs and CD40 during bacterial infection is not known. Here, we show that mice lacking the TLR adaptor MyD88 alone, or lacking both MyD88 and CD40 [double knockout (DKO) mice], are compromised in survival to Salmonella infection but have intact recruitment of neutrophils and inflammatory monocytes as well as unaltered abundance of DC subsets and DC activation in infected tissues. In contrast to infected wildtype and CD40(-/-) mice, both MyD88(-/-) mice and DKO mice lack detectable serum IFN-γ and have elevated IL-10. A synergistic effect of TLRs and CD40 was revealed in co-culture experiments where OT-II T cell proliferation was compromised when DKO DCs were pulsed with OVA protein and OVA323-339 peptide, but not with heat-killed Salmonella expressing OVA (HKSOVA), relative to MyD88(-/-) DCs. By contrast, MyD88(-/-) or DKO DCs pulsed with any of the antigens had a similar ability to induce IFN-γ that was lower than WT or CD40(-/-) DCs. DKO DCs pulsed with HKSOVA, but not with OVA or OVA323-339, had increased IL-10 relative to MyD88(-/-) DCs. Finally, HKSOVA-pulsed MyD88(-/-) and DKO DCs had similar and low induction of NFκB-dependent and -independent genes upon co-culture with OT-II cells. Overall, our data revealed that synergistic effects of CD40 and MyD88 do not influence host survival to Salmonella infection or serum levels of IFN-γ or IL-10. However, synergistic effects of MyD88 and CD40 may be apparent on some (IL-10 production) but not all (OT-II proliferation and IFN-γ production) DC functions and depend on the complexity of the antigen. Indeed, synergistic effects observed using purified ligands and well-defined antigens may not necessarily apply when complex antigens, such as live bacteria, challenge the immune system.

CD103+ CD11b+ Dendritic Cells Induce Th17 T Cells in Muc2-Deficient Mice with Extensively Spread Colitis.

Mucus alterations are a feature of ulcerative colitis (UC) and can drive inflammation by compromising the mucosal barrier to luminal bacteria. The exact pathogenesis of UC remains unclear, but CD4+ T cells reacting to commensal antigens appear to contribute to pathology. Given the unique capacity of dendritic cells (DCs) to activate naive T cells, colon DCs may activate pathogenic T cells and contribute to disease. Using Muc2-/- mice, which lack a functional mucus barrier and develop spontaneous colitis, we show that colitic animals have reduced colon CD103+ CD11b- DCs and increased CD103- CD11b+ phagocytes. Moreover, changes in colonic DC subsets and distinct cytokine patterns distinguish mice with distally localized colitis from mice with colitis spread proximally. Specifically, mice with proximally spread, but not distally contained, colitis have increased IL-1ß, IL-6, IL-17, TNFα, and IFNγ combined with decreased IL-10 in the distal colon. These individuals also have increased numbers of CD103+ CD11b+ DCs in the distal colon. CD103+ CD11b+ DCs isolated from colitic but not noncolitic mice induced robust differentiation of Th17 cells but not Th1 cells ex vivo. In contrast, CD103- CD11b+ DCs from colitic Muc2-/- mice induced Th17 as well as Th1 differentiation. Thus, the local environment influences the capacity of intestinal DC subsets to induce T cell proliferation and differentiation, with CD103+ CD11b+ DCs inducing IL-17-producing T cells being a key feature of extensively spread colitis.

The Gut Microbiota Reduces Colonization of the Mesenteric Lymph Nodes and IL-12-Independent IFN-γ Production During Salmonella Infection.

The intestinal commensal microbiota is essential for many host physiological processes, but its impact on infectious diseases is poorly understood. Here we investigate the influence of the gut microbiota during oral Salmonella infection. We report a higher bacterial burden in mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN) of intragastrically infected germ-free (GF) mice compared to conventionally-raised (CONV-R) animals, despite similar inflammatory phagocyte recruitment. Salmonella penetration into the lamina propria of the small intestine and splenic bacterial burden were not altered in the absence of the microbiota. Intragastrically infected GF mice also displayed a higher frequency of IFN-γ-producing NK, NKT, CD4(+), and CD8(+) T cells in the MLN despite IL-12 levels similar to infected CONV-R mice. However, infecting mice intraperitoneally abrogated the difference in MLN bacterial load and IFN-γ-producing cells observed in intragastrically-infected animals. Moreover, mice treated with antibiotics (ABX) and intragastrically infected with Salmonella had a greater bacterial burden and frequency of IFN-γ-producing cells in the MLN. In ABX mice the number of Salmonella correlated with the frequency of IFN-γ-producing lymphocytes in the MLN, while no such correlation was observed in the MLN of infected GF mice. Overall, the data show that the lack of the microbiota influences pathogen colonization of the MLN, and the increased IFN-γ in the MLN of infected GF mice is not only due to the absence of commensals at the time of infection but the lack of immune signals provided by the microbiota from birth.

Spontaneous colitis in Muc2-deficient mice reflects clinical and cellular features of active ulcerative colitis.

BACKGROUND: The colonic mucus layer plays a critical role in intestinal homeostasis by limiting contact between luminal bacteria and the mucosal immune system. A defective mucus barrier in animal models allows bacterial contact with the intestinal epithelium and results in spontaneous colitis. A defective mucus barrier is also a key feature of active ulcerative colitis (UC). Alterations in the immune compartment due to intestinal bacterial breach in mice lacking the colon mucus barrier have not been characterized and correlated to active UC. AIMS: To characterize alterations in the immune compartment due to intestinal bacterial breach in Muc2-/- mice, which lack the colon mucus barrier, and correlate the findings to active UC. METHODS: Bacterial contact with colon epithelium and penetration into colon tissue was examined in Muc2-/- mice and colon biopsies from patients with active UC using fluorescence microscopy and qPCR. Neutrophils, lymphocytes, CD103+ dendritic cell subsets and macrophages in colon from Muc2-/- mice and biopsies from UC patients were quantitated by flow cytometry. RESULTS: Inflamed UC patients and Muc2-/- mice had bacteria in contact with the colon epithelium. Bacterial rRNA was present in colonic mucosa in humans and Muc2-/- mice and in the draining lymph nodes of mice. Inflamed Muc2-/- mice and UC patients had elevated colon neutrophils, T cells and macrophages while a reduced frequency of CD103+ DCs was present in the inflamed colon of both mice and humans. CONCLUSIONS: The parallel features of the colon immune cell compartment in Muc2-/- mice and UC patients supports the usefulness of this model to understand the early phase of spontaneous colitis and will provide insight into novel strategies to treat UC.

Serum IL-17A in newly diagnosed treatment-naive patients with ulcerative colitis reflects clinical disease severity and predicts the course of disease.

BACKGROUND: The clinical course of ulcerative colitis (UC) is unpredictable. The need for reliable biomarkers to reflect disease severity and predict disease course is therefore large. We investigated whether cytokines in mucosal tissue and serum reflect clinical disease severity at the onset of UC and predict the future disease course. METHODS: We prospectively monitored 102 patients from the onset of UC during 3 years, and they were followed up yearly for clinical and biochemical disease severity. Rectal biopsies were obtained from healthy controls and patients with UC. Serum and stool samples were obtained from patients with UC. Total mRNA from biopsies was analyzed with real-time PCR. Cytokine levels in serum were determined using Luminex or ELISA. RESULTS: Mucosal mRNA expression of IL-17A was 99.8 times higher while IFN-γ and IL-13 expression was increased 12.4 and 6.7 times, respectively, in patients relative to controls. Serum IL-17A correlated with clinical disease severity at the onset. Also, contrary to a number of other parameters, serum IL-17A at the onset predicted the clinical and biochemical course of the disease, as reflected by the Mayo score, number × severity of flares, and fecal calprotectin levels, respectively, during 3 years after the onset of the disease. None of these associations were found with mucosal cytokines at the onset. CONCLUSIONS: Serum IL-17A levels of treatment-naive patients with UC reflect clinical disease severity at the onset of the disease and also predicted the disease course over the following 3 years. Thus, serum IL-17A may be valuable in the clinical management of patients with UC at the onset of the disease.

Innate immune control of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium: mechanisms contributing to combating systemic Salmonella infection.

Infections with Salmonella enterica serovars remain a serious problem worldwide. While serovar Typhi causes significant morbidity and mortality that is restricted to humans, serovar Typhimurium causes gastroenteritidis in humans and can also infect other animals. As mice with the susceptible Nramp1 locus get systemic infection with serovar Typhimurium, murine infection models using this serovar have been widely used to decipher the immune mechanisms required to survive systemic Salmonella infection. This review summarizes recent studies in murine infection models that have advanced our understanding of the events that occur during the first days after oral Salmonella infection. The pathways of bacterial penetration across the intestinal epithelium, bacterial spread to draining (mesenteric) lymph nodes and dissemination to systemic tissues is discussed. The response of myeloid cell populations, including dendritic cells, inflammatory monocytes and neutrophils, during the early stage of infection is also discussed. Finally, the mechanisms driving recruitment of myeloid cells to infected intestinal lymphoid tissues and what is known about Toll-like receptor signaling pathways in innate immunity to Salmonella infection is also discussed.

Plasmacytoid dendritic cells mature independently of MyD88 and IFN-αßR in response to Listeria and stimulate CD8 T cells.

Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) are a subpopulation of dendritic cells specialized in the production of IFN-α/ß, particularly during viral infections. In this way pDCs directly impact antiviral immunity and influence T cell activation. However, despite their role as modulators of the immune response, their function as antigen-presenting cells (APCs) remains poorly understood. Indeed, their capacity as APCs during bacterial infections is unexplored. Here we investigate the importance of MyD88 and IFN-α/ß in upregulating costimulatory molecules on pDCs during Listeria infection and their impact on activation of naïve CD8 T cells. We show that pDCs efficiently upregulate CD80 and CD86 during systemic Listeria infection, yet express lower levels of these molecules than conventional dendritic cells (cDCs). Furthermore, pDCs are able to stimulate CD8 T cell proliferation and IFN-γ production, although less efficiently than cDCs. Despite these differences, the influence of MyD88 and IFN-α/ß on CD80 and CD86 expression on pDCs and cDCs is similar. Thus, our data show for the first time the potential of pDCs to activate CD8 T cells in response to a bacterial infection.

Salmonella inhibits monocyte differentiation into CD11c hi MHC-II hi cells in a MyD88-dependent fashion.

Monocytes and DCs originate from a shared precursor in the bone marrow, and steady-state DCs in lymphoid organs develop directly from the precursor rather than via a monocyte intermediate. However, monocytes can differentiate into DCs in tissues such as the lung and gut mucosa and into macrophages in most tissues. As Ly6C hi monocytes accumulate in lymphoid organs during oral Salmonella infection, we investigated their ability to develop into potential DCs, identified as CD11c hi MHC-II hi cells, in infected hosts. Ly6C hi monocytes, isolated from the blood of Salmonella-infected mice, developed into CD11c hi MHC-II hi cells after culture with GM-CSF or Flt3L. In contrast, the same monocytes cultured in the presence of GM-CSF and heat-killed Salmonella did not differentiate into CD11c hi MHC-II hi cells. The bacteria-induced differentiation block was dependent on TLRs, as monocytes from MyD88-/- mice converted into CD11c hi MHC-II hi cells even in the presence of bacteria. We hypothesized that Salmonella-activated wild-type monocytes secreted mediators that inhibited differentiation of MyD88-/--derived monocytes. However, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-alpha, or IL-12p70 did not account for the inhibition. Finally, monocyte-derived CD11c hi MHC-II hi cells pulsed with OVA peptide or protein did not induce proliferation of antigen-specific CD4+ T cells but rather, suppressed the ability of DCs to activate CD4+ T cells. Overall, the data show that Ly6C hi monocytes from Salmonella-infected mice develop into CD11c hi MHC-II hi cells with poor antigen-presentation capacity when cultured ex vivo, and that monocyte exposure to Salmonella inhibits their differentiation into CD11c hi MHC-II hi cells in a MyD88-dependent fashion.

Monocyte and neutrophil recruitment during oral Salmonella infection is driven by MyD88-derived chemokines.

Oral Salmonella infection recruits phagocytes to Peyer's patches (PP) and MLN. The chemokines induced in infected PP and MLN, the cellular sources during infection and the TLR signaling pathways involved in vivo are not known. Here, we show that CCL2, CXCL9 and CXCL2 mRNA are up-regulated in PP and MLN coincident with the first arrival of monocytes and neutrophils. Laser capture microdissection microscopy revealed that chemokine mRNA up-regulation was differently distributed in PP. Despite this, recruited monocytes and neutrophils formed inflammatory cell clusters throughout PP. Monocytes and neutrophils purified from infected mice preferentially produced CXCL2 and small amounts of CCL2, and neutrophils from infected mice migrated towards CXCL2 and CCL3. Furthermore, phagocyte recruitment to PP and MLN was intact in mice lacking TLR4 alone and when signaling through TLR4 and TLR5 was simultaneously absent; however, recruitment was compromised in MyD88(-/-) and more so in MyD88(-/-)TLR4(-/-) double knockout mice. Phagocyte release into the blood, however, was only marginally reduced in MyD88(-/-)TLR4(-/-) mice. Defective phagocyte recruitment to PP and MLN of MyD88(-/-)TLR4(-/-) mice was paralleled by low chemokine induction. These data provide insight into the chemokines and TLR signaling pathways that orchestrate the early phagocyte response to oral Salmonella infection.

MyD88 and interferon-alpha/beta are differentially required for dendritic cell maturation but dispensable for development of protective memory against Listeria.

Signalling pathways mediated by MyD88 are important for sensing Toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands and directing an immune response. However, the influence of MyD88-derived cytokines and interferon (IFN)-alpha/beta, the latter being made by both MyD88-dependent and -independent pathways, in phenotypic and functional dendritic cell (DC) maturation during infection is poorly understood. Here we investigate the contribution of MyD88-dependent and -independent pathways to DC maturation, CD8 T-cell activation and the generation of protective memory against Listeria monocytogenes. We show that neither MyD88 deficiency alone nor MyD88/IFN-alphabetaR double deficiency alters Listeria-induced costimulatory molecule up-regulation on DCs in vivo. In contrast, DCs from infected IFN-alphabetaR(-/-) mice had higher CD80 and CD86 expression than wild-type DCs. We then examined the function of DCs matured in infected knockout mice. We found that DCs from Listeria-infected MyD88(-/-) and MyD88(-/-) IFN-alphabetaR(-/-) mice induced little or no IFN-gamma by CD8 T cells, respectively. In contrast, DCs from infected IFN-alphabetaR(-/-) mice had a greater capacity to induce IFN-gamma compared with DCs from infected wild-type mice. When the CD8 T-cell memory response was analysed, infected MyD88(-/-) and MyD88(-/- )IFN-alphabetaR(-/-) mice were found to have fewer bacteria-specific memory CD8 T cells than wild-type mice. However, the fraction of bacteria-specific CD8 T cells making IFN-gamma was similar in all mouse strains, and MyD88(-/-) and MyD88(-/- )IFN-alphabetaR(-/-) mice survived lethal challenge. Together the data suggest an inhibitory effect of IFN-alpha/beta on functional DC maturation during Listeria infection and reveal overlapping roles of MyD88-induced cytokines and IFN-alpha/beta in DC maturation and protective anti-Listeria immunity.