Amal Kambal

Disease-Specific Alterations in the Enteric Virome in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Decreases in the diversity of enteric bacterial populations are observed in patients with Crohns disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). Less is known about the virome in these diseases. We show that the enteric virome is abnormal in CD and UC patients. In-depth analysis of preparations enriched for free virions in the intestine revealed that CD and UC were associated with a significant expansion of Caudovirales bacteriophages. The viromes of CD and UC patients were disease and cohort specific. Importantly, it did not appear that expansion and diversification of the enteric virome was secondary to changes in bacterial populations. These data support a model in which changes in the virome may contribute to intestinal inflammation and bacterial dysbiosis. We conclude that the virome is a candidate for contributing to, or being a biomarker for, human inflammatory bowel disease and speculate that the enteric virome may play a role in other diseases.

Pathogenic Simian Immunodeficiency Virus Infection Is Associated with Expansion of the Enteric Virome

Pathogenic simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection is associated with enteropathy, which likely contributes to AIDS progression. To identify candidate etiologies for AIDS enteropathy, we used next-generation sequencing to define the enteric virome during SIV infection in nonhuman primates. Pathogenic, but not nonpathogenic, SIV infection was associated with significant expansion of the enteric virome. We identified at least 32 previously undescribed enteric viruses during pathogenic SIV infection and confirmed their presence by using viral culture and PCR testing. We detected unsuspected mucosal adenovirus infection associated with enteritis as well as parvovirus viremia in animals with advanced AIDS, indicating the pathogenic potential of SIV-associated expansion of the enteric virome. No association between pathogenic SIV infection and the family-level taxonomy of enteric bacteria was detected. Thus, enteric viral infections may contribute to AIDS enteropathy and disease progression. These findings underline the importance of metagenomic analysis of the virome for understanding AIDS pathogenesis.

Commensal microbes and interferon-λ determine persistence of enteric murine norovirus infection

Turning viral persistence on and off Norovirus causes >90% of the worlds gastroenteritis. Norovirus can establish persistent infections, which may contribute to its spread. How does norovirus establish itself as a permanentw resident of the gut and how can such persistent infections be cured (see the Perspective by Wilks and Golovkina)? Baldridge et al. studied mice persistently infected with norovirus and found that viral persistence required the gut microbiota: resident bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract. Antibiotics prevented persistent mouse norovirus infection in a way that depended on the secreted antiviral protein interferon λ (IFN-λ). Nice et al. report that IFN-λ can cure mice persistently infected with norovirus, independent of the adaptive immune system. Science, this issue p. 266, p. 269; see also p. 233 Persistent norovirus infection in mice requires the gut microbiota. [Also see Perspective by Wilks and Golovkina] The capacity of human norovirus (NoV), which causes >90% of global epidemic nonbacterial gastroenteritis, to infect a subset of people persistently may contribute to its spread. How such enteric viruses establish persistent infections is not well understood. We found that antibiotics prevented persistent murine norovirus (MNoV) infection, an effect that was reversed by replenishment of the bacterial microbiota. Antibiotics did not prevent tissue infection or affect systemic viral replication but acted specifically in the intestine. The receptor for the antiviral cytokine interferon-λ, Ifnlr1, as well as the transcription factors Stat1 and Irf3, were required for antibiotics to prevent viral persistence. Thus, the bacterial microbiome fosters enteric viral persistence in a manner counteracted by specific components of the innate immune system.

Gene-microbiota interactions contribute to the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease.

Genes and microbes converge in colitis Both host genetics and intestinal microbes probably contribute to a persons overall susceptibility to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The human gut microbe Bacteroides fragilis produces immunomodulatory molecules that it releases via outer membrane vesicles (OMVs). These molecules can protect mice from experimentally induced colitis. Chu et al. now find that OMV-mediated protection from colitis requires Atg16l1 and Nod2 genes whose human orthologs are associated with an increased risk for developing IBD. OMVs trigger an ATG16L1 and NOD2–dependent noncanonical autophagy pathway in dendritic cells (DCs). OMV-primed DCs, in turn, induce regulatory T cells in the intestine that protect against colitis. Science, this issue p. 1116 A human gut microbe uses Crohn’s disease–associated genes to promote immune tolerance in the intestine. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is associated with risk variants in the human genome and dysbiosis of the gut microbiome, though unifying principles for these findings remain largely undescribed. The human commensal Bacteroides fragilis delivers immunomodulatory molecules to immune cells via secretion of outer membrane vesicles (OMVs). We reveal that OMVs require IBD-associated genes, ATG16L1 and NOD2, to activate a noncanonical autophagy pathway during protection from colitis. ATG16L1-deficient dendritic cells do not induce regulatory T cells (Tregs) to suppress mucosal inflammation. Immune cells from human subjects with a major risk variant in ATG16L1 are defective in Treg responses to OMVs. We propose that polymorphisms in susceptibility genes promote disease through defects in “sensing” protective signals from the microbiome, defining a potentially critical gene-environment etiology for IBD.

Unique role for ATG5 in neutrophil-mediated immunopathology during M. tuberculosis infection.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a major global health threat, replicates in macrophages in part by inhibiting phagosome–lysosome fusion, until interferon-γ (IFNγ) activates the macrophage to traffic M. tuberculosis to the lysosome. How IFNγ elicits this effect is unknown, but many studies suggest a role for macroautophagy (herein termed autophagy), a process by which cytoplasmic contents are targeted for lysosomal degradation. The involvement of autophagy has been defined based on studies in cultured cells where M. tuberculosis co-localizes with autophagy factors ATG5, ATG12, ATG16L1, p62, NDP52, BECN1 and LC3 (refs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6), stimulation of autophagy increases bacterial killing, and inhibition of autophagy increases bacterial survival. Notably, these studies reveal modest (~1.5–3-fold change) effects on M. tuberculosis replication. By contrast, mice lacking ATG5 in monocyte-derived cells and neutrophils (polymorponuclear cells, PMNs) succumb to M. tuberculosis within 30 days, an extremely severe phenotype similar to mice lacking IFNγ signalling. Importantly, ATG5 is the only autophagy factor that has been studied during M. tuberculosis infection in vivo and autophagy-independent functions of ATG5 have been described. For this reason, we used a genetic approach to elucidate the role for multiple autophagy-related genes and the requirement for autophagy in resistance to M. tuberculosis infection in vivo. Here we show that, contrary to expectation, autophagic capacity does not correlate with the outcome of M. tuberculosis infection. Instead, ATG5 plays a unique role in protection against M. tuberculosis by preventing PMN-mediated immunopathology. Furthermore, while Atg5 is dispensable in alveolar macrophages during M. tuberculosis infection, loss of Atg5 in PMNs can sensitize mice to M. tuberculosis. These findings shift our understanding of the role of ATG5 during M. tuberculosis infection, reveal new outcomes of ATG5 activity, and shed light on early events in innate immunity that are required to regulate disease pathology and bacterial replication.

Helminth infection reactivates latent γ-herpesvirus via cytokine competition at a viral promoter

Parasites make it hard to fight viruses Microbial co-infections challenge the immune system—different pathogens often require different flavors of immune responses for their elimination or containment (see the Perspective by Maizels and Gause). Two teams studied what happens when parasitic worms and viruses infect mice at the same time. Reese et al. found that parasite co-infection woke up a dormant virus. Osborne et al. found that mice already infected with parasitic worms were worse at fighting off viruses. In both cases, worms skewed the immune response so that the immune cells and the molecules they secreted created an environment favorable for the worm at the expense of antiviral immunity. Science, this issue p. 573 and p. 578; see also p. 517 Coinfection with intestinal parasites leads to altered antiviral immunity in mice. Mammals are coinfected by multiple pathogens that interact through unknown mechanisms. We found that helminth infection, characterized by the induction of the cytokine interleukin-4 (IL-4) and the activation of the transcription factor Stat6, reactivated murine γ-herpesvirus infection in vivo. IL-4 promoted viral replication and blocked the antiviral effects of interferon-γ (IFNγ) by inducing Stat6 binding to the promoter for an important viral transcriptional transactivator. IL-4 also reactivated human Kaposi’s sarcoma–associated herpesvirus from latency in cultured cells. Exogenous IL-4 plus blockade of IFNγ reactivated latent murine γ-herpesvirus infection in vivo, suggesting a “two-signal” model for viral reactivation. Thus, chronic herpesvirus infection, a component of the mammalian virome, is regulated by the counterpoised actions of multiple cytokines on viral promoters that have evolved to sense host immune status.

Sequential Infection with Common Pathogens Promotes Human-like Immune Gene Expression and Altered Vaccine Response

Immune responses differ between laboratory mice and humans. Chronic infection with viruses and parasites are common in humans, but are absent in laboratory mice, and thus represent potential contributors to inter-species differences in immunity. To test this, we sequentially infected laboratory mice with herpesviruses, influenza, and an intestinal helminth and compared their blood immune signatures to mock-infected mice before and after vaccination against yellow fever virus (YFV-17D). Sequential infection altered pre- and post-vaccination gene expression, cytokines, and antibodies in blood. Sequential pathogen exposure induced gene signatures that recapitulated those seen in blood from pet store-raised versus laboratory mice, and adult versus cord blood in humans. Therefore, basal and vaccine-induced murine immune responses are altered by infection with agents common outside of barrier facilities. This raises the possibility that we can improve mouse models of vaccination and immunity by selective microbial exposure of laboratory animals to mimic that of humans.

Critical Role for Interferon Regulatory Factor 3 (IRF-3) and IRF-7 in Type I Interferon-Mediated Control of Murine Norovirus Replication

ABSTRACT Human noroviruses (HuNoV) are the major cause of epidemic, nonbacterial gastroenteritis in the world. The short course of HuNoV-induced symptoms has implicated innate immunity in control of norovirus (NoV) infection. Studies using murine norovirus (MNV) confirm the importance of innate immune responses during NoV infection. Type I alpha and beta interferons (IFN-α/β) limit HuNoV replicon function, restrict MNV replication in cultured cells, and control MNV replication in vivo. Therefore, the cell types and transcription factors involved in antiviral immune responses and IFN-α/β-mediated control of NoV infection are important to define. We used mice with floxed alleles of the IFNAR1 chain of the IFN-α/β receptor to identify cells expressing lysozyme M or CD11c as cells that respond to IFN-α/β to restrict MNV replication in vivo. Furthermore, we show that the transcription factors IRF-3 and IRF-7 work in concert to initiate unique and overlapping antiviral responses to restrict MNV replication in vivo. IRF-3 and IRF-7 restrict MNV replication in both cultured macrophages and dendritic cells, are required for induction of IFN-α/β in macrophages but not dendritic cells, and are dispensable for the antiviral effects of IFN-α/β that block MNV replication. These studies suggest that expression of the IFN-α/β receptor on macrophages/neutrophils and dendritic cells, as well as of IRF-3 and IRF-7, is critical for innate immune responses to NoV infection.

Phenotypic complementation of genetic immunodeficiency by chronic herpesvirus infection

Variation in the presentation of hereditary immunodeficiencies may be explained by genetic or environmental factors. Patients with mutations in HOIL1 (RBCK1) present with amylopectinosis-associated myopathy with or without hyper-inflammation and immunodeficiency. We report that barrier-raised HOIL-1-deficient mice exhibit amylopectin-like deposits in the myocardium but show minimal signs of hyper-inflammation. However, they show immunodeficiency upon acute infection with Listeria monocytogenes, Toxoplasma gondii or Citrobacter rodentium. Increased susceptibility to Listeria was due to HOIL-1 function in hematopoietic cells and macrophages in production of protective cytokines. In contrast, HOIL-1-deficient mice showed enhanced control of chronic Mycobacterium tuberculosis or murine γ-herpesvirus 68 (MHV68), and these infections conferred a hyper-inflammatory phenotype. Surprisingly, chronic infection with MHV68 complemented the immunodeficiency of HOIL-1, IL-6, Caspase-1 and Caspase-1;Caspase-11-deficient mice following Listeria infection. Thus chronic herpesvirus infection generates signs of auto-inflammation and complements genetic immunodeficiency in mutant mice, highlighting the importance of accounting for the virome in genotype-phenotype studies. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.04494.001

Homeostatic Control of Innate Lung Inflammation by Vici Syndrome Gene Epg5 and Additional Autophagy Genes Promotes Influenza Pathogenesis

Mutations in the autophagy gene EPG5 are linked to the multisystem human disease Vici syndrome, which is characterized in part by pulmonary abnormalities, including recurrent infections. We found that Epg5-deficient mice exhibited elevated baseline innate immune cellular and cytokine-based lung inflammation and were resistant to lethal influenza virus infection. Lung transcriptomics, bone marrow transplantation experiments, and analysis of cellular cytokine expression indicated that Epg5 plays a role in lung physiology through its function in macrophages. Deletion of other autophagy genes including Atg14, Fip200, Atg5, and Atg7 in myeloid cells also led to elevated basal lung inflammation and influenza resistance. This suggests that Epg5 and other Atg genes function in macrophages to limit innate immune inflammation in the lung. Disruption of this normal homeostatic dampening of lung inflammation results in increased resistance to influenza, suggesting that normal homeostatic mechanisms that limit basal tissue inflammation support some infectious diseases.