Aj Hoogendijk

The gut microbiota plays a protective role in the host defence against pneumococcal pneumonia

Objective Pneumonia accounts for more deaths than any other infectious disease worldwide. The intestinal microbiota supports local mucosal immunity and is increasingly recognised as an important modulator of the systemic immune system. The precise role of the gut microbiota in bacterial pneumonia, however, is unknown. Here, we investigate the function of the gut microbiota in the host defence against Streptococcus pneumoniae infections. Design We depleted the gut microbiota in C57BL/6 mice and subsequently infected them intranasally with S. pneumoniae. We then performed survival and faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) experiments and measured parameters of inflammation and alveolar macrophage whole-genome responses. Results We found that the gut microbiota protects the host during pneumococcal pneumonia, as reflected by increased bacterial dissemination, inflammation, organ damage and mortality in microbiota-depleted mice compared with controls. FMT in gut microbiota-depleted mice led to a normalisation of pulmonary bacterial counts and tumour necrosis factor-α and interleukin-10 levels 6 h after pneumococcal infection. Whole-genome mapping of alveolar macrophages showed upregulation of metabolic pathways in the absence of a healthy gut microbiota. This upregulation correlated with an altered cellular responsiveness, reflected by a reduced responsiveness to lipopolysaccharide and lipoteichoic acid. Compared with controls, alveolar macrophages derived from gut microbiota-depleted mice showed a diminished capacity to phagocytose S. pneumoniae. Conclusions This study identifies the intestinal microbiota as a protective mediator during pneumococcal pneumonia. The gut microbiota enhances primary alveolar macrophage function. Novel therapeutic strategies could exploit the gut–lung axis in bacterial infections.

Host defence during Klebsiella pneumonia relies on haematopoietic-expressed Toll-like receptors 4 and 2

In this study, the relative roles of Toll-like receptor (TLR)2 and TLR4 were investigated independently and together. Moreover, we studied the role of haematopoietic compartment in anti-Klebsiella host defence. We infected TLR2 and TLR4 single-, and TLR2×4 double knockout (KO) animals with different doses of Klebsiella pneumoniae. In addition, bone marrow chimeric mice were created and infected. TLR4 played a more prominent role in antibacterial defence than TLR2, considering that only TLR4 KO mice demonstrated enhanced bacterial growth in lungs and spleen 24 h after infection with 3×103 colony-forming units of Klebsiella compared with wild-type (WT) mice. In late-stage infection or after exposure to a higher infectious dose, bacterial counts in lungs of TLR2 KO animals were elevated compared with WT mice and TLR2×4 KO animals were more susceptible to infection than TLR4 KO mice. TLR signalling in cells of haematopoietic origin is of primary importance in host defence against K. pneumoniae. These data suggest that: 1) TLR4 drives the antibacterial host response after induction of pneumonia with relatively low Klebsiella doses; 2) TLR2 becomes involved at a later phase of the infection and/or upon exposure to higher bacterial burdens; and 3) haematopoietic TLR2 and TLR4 are important for an adequate host response during Klebsiella pneumonia.

Glyburide Reduces Bacterial Dissemination in a Mouse Model of Melioidosis

Background Burkholderia pseudomallei infection (melioidosis) is an important cause of community-acquired Gram-negative sepsis in Northeast Thailand, where it is associated with a ∼40% mortality rate despite antimicrobial chemotherapy. We showed in a previous cohort study that patients taking glyburide ( = glibenclamide) prior to admission have lower mortality and attenuated inflammatory responses compared to patients not taking glyburide. We sought to define the mechanism underlying this observation in a murine model of melioidosis. Methods Mice (C57BL/6) with streptozocin-induced diabetes were inoculated with ∼6×102 cfu B. pseudomallei intranasally, then treated with therapeutic ceftazidime (600 mg/kg intraperitoneally twice daily starting 24 h after inoculation) in order to mimic the clinical scenario. Glyburide (50 mg/kg) or vehicle was started 7 d before inoculation and continued until sacrifice. The minimum inhibitory concentration of glyburide for B. pseudomallei was determined by broth microdilution. We also examined the effect of glyburide on interleukin (IL) 1β by bone-marrow-derived macrophages (BMDM). Results Diabetic mice had increased susceptibility to melioidosis, with increased bacterial dissemination but no effect was seen of diabetes on inflammation compared to non-diabetic controls. Glyburide treatment did not affect glucose levels but was associated with reduced pulmonary cellular influx, reduced bacterial dissemination to both liver and spleen and reduced IL1β production when compared to untreated controls. Other cytokines were not different in glyburide-treated animals. There was no direct effect of glyburide on B. pseudomallei growth in vitro or in vivo. Glyburide directly reduced the secretion of IL1β by BMDMs in a dose-dependent fashion. Conclusions Diabetes increases the susceptibility to melioidosis. We further show, for the first time in any model of sepsis, that glyburide acts as an anti-inflammatory agent by reducing IL1β secretion accompanied by diminished cellular influx and reduced bacterial dissemination to distant organs. We found no evidence for a direct effect of glyburide on the bacterium.

Protease activated receptor 4 limits bacterial growth and lung pathology during late stage Streptococcus pneumoniae induced pneumonia in mice

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a common causative pathogen of pneumonia and sepsis. Pneumonia and sepsis are associated with enhanced activation of coagulation, resulting in the production of several host-derived proteases at the primary site of infection and in the circulation. Serine proteases cleave protease activated receptors (PARs), which form a molecular link between coagulation and inflammation. PAR4 is one of four subtypes of PARs and is widely expressed by multiple cell types in the respiratory tract implicated in pulmonary inflammation, by immune cells and by platelets. In mice, mouse (m)PAR4 is the only thrombin receptor expressed by platelets. We here sought to determine the contribution of mPAR4 to the host response during pneumococcal pneumonia. Pneumonia was induced by intranasal inoculation with S. pneumoniae in mPAR4-deficient (par4-/-) and wild-type mice. Mice were sacrificed after 6, 24 or 48 hours (h). Blood, lungs, liver and spleen were collected for analyses. Ex vivo stimulation assays were performed with S. pneumoniae and mPAR4 activating peptides. At 48 h after infection, higher bacterial loads were found in the lungs and blood of par4-/- mice (p < 0.05), accompanied by higher histopathology scores and increased cytokine levels (p < 0.05) in the lungs. Ex vivo, co-stimulation with mPAR4 activating peptide enhanced the whole blood cytokine response to S. pneumoniae. Thrombin inhibition resulted in decreased cytokine release after S. pneumoniae stimulation in human whole blood. Our findings suggest that mPAR4 contributes to antibacterial defence during murine pneumococcal pneumonia.

Identification and validation of distinct biological phenotypes in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome by cluster analysis

Rationale We hypothesised that patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) can be clustered based on concentrations of plasma biomarkers and that the thereby identified biological phenotypes are associated with mortality. Methods Consecutive patients with ARDS were included in this prospective observational cohort study. Cluster analysis of 20 biomarkers of inflammation, coagulation and endothelial activation provided the phenotypes in a training cohort, not taking any outcome data into account. Logistic regression with backward selection was used to select the most predictive biomarkers, and these predicted phenotypes were validated in a separate cohort. Multivariable logistic regression was used to quantify the independent association with mortality. Results Two phenotypes were identified in 454 patients, which we named ‘uninflamed’ (N=218) and ‘reactive’ (N=236). A selection of four biomarkers (interleukin-6, interferon gamma, angiopoietin 1/2 and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1) could be used to accurately predict the phenotype in the training cohort (area under the receiver operating characteristics curve: 0.98, 95% CI 0.97 to 0.99). Mortality rates were 15.6% and 36.4% (p<0.001) in the training cohort and 13.6% and 37.5% (p<0.001) in the validation cohort (N=207). The ‘reactive phenotype’ was independent from confounders associated with intensive care unit mortality (training cohort: OR 1.13, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.23; validation cohort: OR 1.18, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.31). Conclusions Patients with ARDS can be clustered into two biological phenotypes, with different mortality rates. Four biomarkers can be used to predict the phenotype with high accuracy. The phenotypes were very similar to those found in cohorts derived from randomised controlled trials, and these results may improve patient selection for future clinical trials targeting host response in patients with ARDS.

Platelet and endothelial cell P-selectin are required for host defense against Klebsiella pneumoniae-induced pneumosepsis

Sepsis is associated with activation of platelets and endothelial cells accompanied by enhanced P‐selectin surface expression. Both platelet‐ and endothelial P‐selectin have been associated with leukocyte recruitment and induction of inflammatory alterations. Klebsiella (K.) pneumoniae is a common human sepsis pathogen, particularly in the context of pneumonia.

Effects of helium and air inhalation on the innate and early adaptive immune system in healthy volunteers ex vivo

BackgroundHelium inhalation protects myocardium, brain and endothelium against ischemia/reperfusion injury in animals and humans, when applied according to specific “conditioning” protocols. Before widespread use of this “conditioning” agent in clinical practice, negative side effects have to be ruled out. We investigated the effect of prolonged helium inhalation on the responsiveness of the human immune response in whole blood ex vivo.MethodsMale healthy volunteers inhaled 30 minutes heliox (79%He/21%O2) or air in a cross over design, with two weeks between measurements. Blood was withdrawn at T0 (baseline), T1 (25 min inhalation) and T2-T5 (1, 2, 6, 24 h after inhalation) and incubated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), lipoteichoic acid (LTA), T-cell stimuli anti-CD3/ anti-CD28 (TCS) or RPMI (as control) for 2, 4 and 24 hours or not incubated (0 h). An additional group of six volunteers inhaled 60 minutes of heliox or air, followed by blood incubation with LPS and RPMI. Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8), interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and interleukin-2 (IL-2) was analyzed by cytometric bead array. Statistical analysis was performed by the Wilcoxon test for matched samples.ResultsIncubation with LPS, LTA or TCS significantly increased TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IFN-γ and IL-2 in comparison to incubation with RPMI alone. Thirty min of helium inhalation did not influence the amounts of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IFN-γ and IL-2 in comparison to air. Sixty min of helium inhalation did not affect cytokine production after LPS stimulation.ConclusionsWe conclude that 79% helium inhalation does not affect the responsiveness of the human immune system in healthy volunteers.Trial registrationDutch Trial Register:http://www.trialregister.nl/ NTR2152

Cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor r-roscovitine reduces lipoteichoic acid lung inflammation and improves the resolution of antibiotic-treated Streptococcus pneumoniae pneumonia

Streptoccocus pneumoniae pneumonia remains associated with high morbidity and mortality. Antibiotic treatment frequently is insufficient in limiting lung damage due to inflammation. Therefore, additional treatment strategies are needed. The drug r-roscovitine, a cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitor, was demonstrated to reduce inflammation in several models of inflammation.