Eugenia Kress

Role of the Cathelicidin-Related Antimicrobial Peptide in Inflammation and Mortality in a Mouse Model of Bacterial Meningitis

Antimicrobial peptides (AP) are important components of the innate immune system, yet little is known about their expression and function in the brain. Our previous work revealed upregulated gene expression of cathelicidin-related AP (CRAMP) following bacterial meningitis in primary rat glial cells as well as bactericidal activity against frequent meningitis-causing bacteria. However, the effect of cathelicidin expression on the progression of inflammation and mortality in bacterial meningitis remains unknown. Therefore, we used CRAMP-deficient mice to investigate the effect of CRAMP on bacterial growth, inflammatory responses and mortality in meningitis. Meningitis was induced by intracerebral injection of type 3 Streptococcus pneumoniae. The degree of inflammation was analyzed in various brain regions by means of immunohistochemistry and real-time RT-PCR. CRAMP deficiency led to a higher mortality rate that was associated with increased bacterial titers in the cerebellum, blood and spleen as well as decreased meningeal neutrophil infiltration. CRAMP-deficient mice displayed a higher degree of glial cell activation that was accompanied by a more pronounced proinflammatory response. Taken together, this work provides insight into the important role of CRAMP as part of the innate immune defense against pathogens in bacterial CNS infections.

Lack of formyl peptide receptor 1 and 2 leads to more severe inflammation and higher mortality in mice with of pneumococcal meningitis.

Bacterial meningitis is, despite progress in research and the development of new treatment strategies, still a cause of severe neuronal sequelae. The brain is protected from penetrating pathogens by both the blood–brain barrier and the innate immune system. The invading pathogens are recognized by pattern recognition receptors including the G‐protein coupled formyl peptide receptors (FPRs), which are expressed by immune cells of the central nervous system. The expression of FPRs is up‐regulated during bacterial meningitis, but the consequence on the progression of inflammation and impact on mortality are far from clear. Therefore, we used mFPR1 and mFPR2‐deficient mice to investigate the effects on inflammation, bacterial growth and mortality in a mouse model of pneumococcal meningitis. Our results revealed increased bacterial burden, increased neutrophil infiltration and higher mortality in mFPR1/2‐deficient mice in comparison to wild‐type mice. The mFPR1‐ or mFPR2‐deficient mice also showed significantly increased glial cell density, whereas the immune responses including the expression of anti‐inflammatory cytokines and antimicrobial peptides were decreased in bacterial meningitis. Taken together, the results suggest that FPR1 and FPR2 play an important role in the innate immune responses against Streptococcus pneumoniae within the central nervous system and the lack of the receptors leads to a dysregulation of the inflammatory response compared with wild‐type mice.

Intrathecal application of the antimicrobial peptide CRAMP reduced mortality and neuroinflammation in an experimental model of pneumococcal meningitis

Antimicrobial peptides (AP) are important components of the innate immune system. Our previous work revealed a higher mortality rate and up-regulation of proinflammatory gene expression as well as glial cell activation in cathelicidin-related antimicrobial peptide (CRAMP)-deficient mice after bacterial meningitis. However, the influence of CRAMP application on the progression of inflammation and its impact on mortality after bacterial meningitis remains unknown. To assess the effects of continuous CRAMP exposure in the brain, C57BL/6 wildtype mice were given intracerebroventricular infusion of CRAMP to investigate the effects on mortality, glial cell activation and inflammation in a mouse model of pneumococcal meningitis using immunohistochemistry and realtime RT-PCR. Our results revealed a decrease of mortality after CRAMP infusion. The intrathecal CRAMP infusion after pneumococcal meningitis resulted in a decreased mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, whereas the immune responses including the expression of pattern recognition receptors and chemokines were increased in bacterial meningitis. Taken together, the results support the important role of CRAMP as part of the innate immune response against pathogens in bacterial CNS infections. The APs may be a promising approach for the development of an adjuvant therapy for bacterial meningitis.

Combination of cuprizone and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis to study inflammatory brain lesion formation and progression

Brain‐intrinsic degenerative cascades are a proposed factor driving inflammatory lesion formation in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. We recently described a model combining noninflammatory cytodegeneration (via cuprizone) with the classic active experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (Cup/EAE model), which exhibits inflammatory forebrain lesions. Here, we describe the histopathological characteristics and progression of these Cup/EAE lesions. We show that inflammatory lesions develop at various topographical sites in the forebrain, including white matter tracts and cortical and subcortical grey matter areas. The lesions are characterized by focal demyelination, discontinuation of the perivascular glia limitans, focal axonal damage, and neutrophil granulocyte extravasation. Transgenic mice with enhanced green fluorescent protein‐expressing microglia and red fluorescent protein‐expressing monocytes reveal that both myeloid cell populations contribute to forebrain inflammatory infiltrates. EAE‐triggered inflammatory cerebellar lesions were augmented in mice pre‐intoxicated with cuprizone. Gene expression studies suggest roles of the chemokines Cxcl10, Ccl2, and Ccl3 in inflammatory lesion formation. Finally, follow‐up experiments in Cup/EAE mice with chronic disease revealed that forebrain, but not spinal cord, lesions undergo spontaneous reorganization and repair. This study underpins the significance of brain‐intrinsic degenerative cascades for immune cell recruitment and, in consequence, MS lesion formation.

Lack of Proinflammatory Cytokine Interleukin-6 or Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor-1 Results in a Failure of the Innate Immune Response after Bacterial Meningitis

The most frequent pathogen that causes bacterial meningitis is the Gram-positive bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae. By entering the brain, host cells will be activated and proinflammatory cytokines like interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) are released. The goal of the current study was to examine the interaction between IL-6 and TNFR1 as receptor for TNF-α and the innate immune response in vivo in a model of Streptococcus pneumoniae-induced meningitis. For the experiments IL-6−/−, TNFR1−/−, and TNFR1-IL-6−/− KO mice were used. Our results revealed higher mortality rates and bacterial burden after infection in TNFR1−/−, IL-6−/−, and TNFR1-IL-6−/− mice and a decreased immune response including lower neutrophil infiltration in the meninges of TNFR1−/− and TNFR1-IL-6−/− mice in contrast to IL-6−/− and wild type mice. Furthermore, the increased mortality of TNFR1−/− and TNFR1-IL-6−/− mice correlated with decreased glial cell activation compared to IL-6−/− or wild type mice after pneumococcal meningitis. Altogether, the results show the importance of TNFR1 and IL-6 in the regulation of the innate immune response. The lack of TNFR1 and IL-6 results in higher mortality by weakened immune defence, whereas the lack of TNFR1 results in more severe impairment of the innate immune response than the lack of IL-6 alone.

Toll-Like Receptor 2-Mediated Glial Cell Activation in a Mouse Model of Cuprizone-Induced Demyelination

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic degenerative disease of the central nervous system that is characterized by myelin abnormalities, oligodendrocyte pathology, and concomitant glia activation. The factors triggering gliosis and demyelination are currently not well characterized. New findings suggest an important role of the innate immune response in the initiation and progression of active demyelinating lesions. Especially during progressive disease, aberrant glia activation rather than the invasion of peripheral immune cells is accountable for progressive neuronal injury. The innate immune response can be induced by pathogen-associated or danger-associated molecular patterns, which are identified by pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), including the Toll-like receptors (TLRs). In this study, we used the cuprizone model in mice to investigate the expression of TLR2 during the course of cuprizone-induced demyelination. In addition, we used TLR2-deficient mice to analyze the functional role of TLR2 activation during cuprizone-induced demyelination and reactive gliosis. We show a significantly increased expression of TLR2 in the corpus callosum and hippocampus of cuprizone-intoxicated mice. The absence of receptor signaling in TLR2-deficient mice resulted in less severe reactive astrogliosis in the corpus callosum and cortex. In addition, microglia activation was ameliorated in the corpus callosum of TLR2-deficient mice, but augmented in the cortex compared to wild-type littermates. Extent of demyelination and loss of mature oligodendrocytes was comparable in both genotypes. These results suggest that the TLR2 orchestrates glia activation during gray and white matter demyelination in the presence of an intact blood-brain barrier. Future studies now have to address the underlying mechanisms of the region-specific TLR2-mediated glia activation.

Formyl Peptide Receptor 1-Mediated Glial Cell Activation in a Mouse Model of Cuprizone-Induced Demyelination

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic degenerative disease of the central nervous system that is characterized by myelin abnormalities, oligodendrocyte pathology, and concomitant glia activation. Unclear are the factors triggering gliosis and demyelination. New findings suggest an important role of the innate immune response in the initiation and progression of active demyelinating lesions. The innate immune response is induced by pathogen-associated or danger-associated molecular patterns, which are identified by pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), including the G-protein coupled with formyl peptide receptors (FPRs). Glial cells, the immune cells of the central nervous system, also express the PRRs. In this study, we used the cuprizone mice model to investigate the expression of the FPR1 in the course of cuprizone-induced demyelination In addition, we used FPR1-deficient mice to analyze glial cell activation through immunohistochemistry and real-time RT-PCR in cuprizone model. Our results revealed a significantly increased expression of FPR1 in the cortex of cuprizone-treated mice. FPR1-deficient mice showed a slight but significant decrease of demyelination in the corpus callosum compared to the wild-type mice. Furthermore, FPR1 deficiency resulted in reduced glial cell activation and mRNA expression of microglia/macrophages markers, as well as pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in the cortex, compared to wild-type mice after cuprizone-induced demyelination. Combined together, these results suggest that the FPR1 is an important part of the innate immune response in the course of cuprizone-induced demyelination.

Lack of Toll-like receptor 2 results in higher mortality of bacterial meningitis by impaired host resistance

Bacterial meningitis is - despite therapeutical progress during the last decades - still characterized by high mortality and severe permanent neurogical sequelae. The brain is protected from penetrating pathogens by both the blood-brain barrier and the innate immune system. Invading pathogens are recognized by so-called pattern recognition receptors including the Toll-like receptors (TLR) which are expressed by glial immune cells in the central nervous system. Among these, TLR2 is responsible for the detection of Gram-positive bacteria such as the meningitis-causing pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae. Here, we used TLR2-deficient mice to investigate the effects on mortality, bacterial growth and inflammation in a mouse model of pneumococcal meningitis. Our results revealed a significantly increased mortality rate and higher bacterial burden in TLR2-deficient mice with pneumococcal meningitis. Furthermore, infected TLR2-deficient mice suffered from a significantly increased pro-inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and Chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 2 (CCL2) or CCL3 chemokine expression and decreased expression of anti-inflammatory cytokines and antimicrobial peptides. In contrast, glial cell activation assessed by glial cell marker expression was comparable to wildtype mice. Taken together, the results suggest that TLR2 is essential for an efficient immune response against Streptococcus pneumoniae meningitis since lack of the receptor led to a worse outcome by higher mortality due to increased bacterial burden, weakened innate immune response and reduced expression of antimicrobial peptides.

CRAMP deficiency leads to a pro-inflammatory phenotype and impaired phagocytosis after exposure to bacterial meningitis pathogens

BackgroundAntimicrobial peptides are important components of the host defence with a broad range of functions including direct antimicrobial activity and modulation of inflammation. Lack of cathelin-related antimicrobial peptide (CRAMP) was associated with higher mortality and bacterial burden and impaired neutrophil granulocyte infiltration in a model of pneumococcal meningitis. The present study was designed to characterize the effects of CRAMP deficiency on glial response and phagocytosis after exposure to bacterial stimuli.MethodsCRAMP-knock out and wildtype glial cells were exposed to bacterial supernatants from Streptococcus pneumoniae and Neisseria meningitides or the bacterial cell wall components lipopolysaccharide and peptidoglycan. Cell viability, expression of pro- and anti-inflammatory mediators and activation of signal transduction pathways, phagocytosis rate and glial cell phenotype were investigated by means of cell viability assays, immunohistochemistry, real-time RT-PCR and Western blot.ResultsCRAMP-deficiency was associated with stronger expression of pro-inflammatory and weakened expression of anti-inflammatory cytokines indicating a higher degree of glial cell activation even under resting-state conditions. Furthermore, increased translocation of nuclear factor ‘kappa-light-chain-enhancer’ of activated B-cells was observed and phagocytosis of S. pneumoniae was reduced in CRAMP-deficient microglia indicating impaired antimicrobial activity.ConclusionsIn conclusion, the present study detected severe alterations of the glial immune response due to lack of CRAMP. The results indicate the importance of CRAMP to maintain and regulate the delicate balance between beneficial and harmful immune response in the brain.

Lack of chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 3 leads to decreased survival and reduced immune response after bacterial meningitis

HighlightsCCL3 lack resulted in an ineffective immune response against bacteria in the brain.There is less neutrophils infiltration into the CNS.Decrease of banded neutrophils in the blood of infected CCL3 mice.CCL3‐KO mice showed an decreased cytokine expression profile after infection. Abstract Pneumococcal meningitis, caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, is the most common type of bacterial meningitis. The clinical management of this disease has been challenged by the emergence of multidrug‐resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae, requiring the urgent development of new therapeutic alternatives. Over the course of bacterial meningitis, pathogen invasion is accompanied by a massive recruitment of peripheral immune cells, especially neutrophil granulocytes, which are recruited under the coordination of several cytokines and chemokines. Here, we used chemokine (C‐C motif) ligand 3 (Ccl3)‐deficient mice to investigate the functional role of CCL3 in a mouse model of pneumococcal meningitis. Following intrathecal infection with Streptococcus pneumoniae Ccl3‐deficient mice presented a significantly shorter survival and higher bacterial load than wildtype mice, paralleled by an ameliorated infiltration of neutrophil granulocytes into the CNS. Blood sample analysis revealed that infected Ccl3‐deficient mice showed a significant decrease in erythrocytes, hemoglobin and hematocrit as well as in the number of banded neutrophils. Moreover, infected Ccl3‐deficient mice showed an altered cytokine expression profile. Glial cell activation remained unchanged in both genotypes. In summary, this study demonstrates that CCL3 is beneficial in Streptococcus pneumoniae‐induced meningitis. Pharmacological modulation of the CCL3 pathways might, therefore, represent a future therapeutic option to manage Streptococcus pneumoniae meningitis.