Inhibition of beta-defensin gene expression in airway epithelial cells by low doses of residual oil fly ash is mediated by vanadium.

Poor ambient air quality is associated with increased morbidity and mortality, including respiratory infections. However, its effects on various host-defense mechanisms are poorly understood. This study utilized an in vitro model to study the effect of particulate matter (PM(2.5)) on one antimicrobial mechanism of host defense in the airway, beta-defensin-2 and its bovine homologue, tracheal antimicrobial peptide (TAP) induction in response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and IL-1beta. Our model utilized cultured primary bovine tracheal epithelial (BTE) cells and the human alveolar type II epithelial cell line, A549, treated with 0-20 microg/cm(2) residual oil fly ash (ROFA) for 6 h. The cells were then washed and stimulated for 18 h with 100 ng/ml LPS or for 6 h with 100 ng/ml IL-1beta. ROFA inhibited the LPS-induced increase in TAP mRNA and protein without inducing significant cytotoxicity. As little as 2.5 microg/cm(2) of ROFA inhibited LPS-induced TAP gene expression by 30%. The inhibitory activity was associated with the soluble fraction and not the washed particle. The activity in the leachate was attributed to vanadium, but not nickel or iron. SiO(2) and TiO(2) were utilized as controls and did not inhibit LPS induction of TAP gene expression in BTE. ROFA also inhibited the increase of IL-1beta-induced human beta-defensin-2, a homologue of TAP, in A549 cells. The results show that ROFA, V(2)O(5), and VOSO(4) inhibit the ability of airway epithelial cells to respond to inflammatory stimuli at low, physiologically relevant doses and suggest that exposure to these agents could result in an impairment of defense against airborne pathogens.

Human {beta}-defensin 2 is expressed and associated with Mycobacterium tuberculosis during infection of human alveolar epithelial cells.

To determine the role of human beta-defensin 2 (HBD-2) in human tuberculosis, we studied the in vitro induction of HBD-2 gene expression by Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv infection in the human lung epithelial cell line A549, in alveolar macrophages (AM), and in blood monocytes (MN) by reverse transcription-PCR. We also studied the induction of HBD-2 gene expression by mannose lipoarabinomannan (manLAM) from M. tuberculosis. Intracellular production of HBD-2 peptide was detected by immunocytochemistry and electron microscopy. Our results demonstrated that there was induction of HBD-2 mRNA in A549 cells after infection with M. tuberculosis at various multiplicities of infection (MOI) and that there was stimulation with manLAM. AM expressed the HBD-2 gene only at a high MOI with M. tuberculosis. MN did not express HBD-2 at any of the experimental M. tuberculosis MOI. Immunostaining revealed the presence of intracellular HBD-2 peptide in A549 cells following infection with M. tuberculosis, and the staining was more intense in areas where there were M. tuberculosis clusters. By using electron microscopy we also demonstrated production of HBD-2 after M. tuberculosis infection and adherence of HBD-2 to the membranes of M. tuberculosis. Alveolar epithelial cells are among the first cells to encounter M. tuberculosis following aerogenic infection. As HBD-2 has been shown to control growth of M. tuberculosis and has chemotactic activity, our results suggest that HBD-2 induction by M. tuberculosis may have a role in the pathogenesis of human tuberculosis.

Suppression of NF-kappaB-mediated beta-defensin gene expression in the mammalian airway by the Bordetella type III secretion system.

Expression of innate immune genes such as beta-defensins is induced in airway epithelium by bacterial components via activation of NF-kappaB. We show here that live Gram-negative bacteria can similarly stimulate this pathway, resulting in upregulation of the beta-defensin tracheal antimicrobial peptide (TAP) in primary cultures of bovine tracheal epithelial cells (TECs), by a Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)-mediated pathway. The Gram-negative airway pathogen Bordetella bronchiseptica possesses a type III secretion system previously suggested to inhibit the nuclear translocation of NF-kappaB in a cell line by immunohistochemistry. We therefore hypothesized that this pathogen might interfere in the innate immune response of the epithelium. Exposure of TECs to wild-type B. bronchiseptica suppressed the activation of NF-kappaB and the subsequent induction of TAP mRNA levels, whereas a type III secretion-defective strain did not. These results suggest a mechanism for bacterial evasion of the innate immune response in the airway, which could allow for the observed persistent colonization of this pathogen.