Magali M. Moretto

Interleukin-17/Interleukin-17 Receptor-Mediated Signaling Is Important for Generation of an Optimal Polymorphonuclear Response against Toxoplasma gondii Infection

ABSTRACT We investigated the role of interleukin-17 (IL-17)/IL-17 receptor (IL-17R)-mediated signaling in the protective immunity against Toxoplasma gondii. IL-17R−/− mice developed a normal adaptive immunity against the parasite. However, increased mortality in the knockout animals can be attributed to a defect in the migration of polymorphonuclear leukocytes to infected sites during early infection.

CCR5 Is Essential for NK Cell Trafficking and Host Survival following Toxoplasma gondii Infection

The host response to intracellular pathogens requires the coordinated action of both the innate and acquired immune systems. Chemokines play a critical role in the trafficking of immune cells and transitioning an innate immune response into an acquired response. We analyzed the host response of mice deficient in the chemokine receptor CCR5 following infection with the intracellular protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii. We found that CCR5 controls recruitment of natural killer (NK) cells into infected tissues. Without this influx of NK cells, tissues from CCR5-deficient (CCR5−/−) mice were less able to generate an inflammatory response, had decreased chemokine and interferon γ production, and had higher parasite burden. As a result, CCR5−/− mice were more susceptible to infection with T. gondii but were less susceptible to the immune-mediated tissue injury seen in certain inbred strains. Adoptive transfer of CCR5+/+ NK cells into CCR5−/− mice restored their ability to survive lethal T. gondii infection and demonstrated that CCR5 is required for NK cell homing into infected liver and spleen. This study establishes CCR5 as a critical receptor guiding NK cell trafficking in host defense.

Aging Mice Exhibit a Functional Defect in Mucosal Dendritic Cell Response against an Intracellular Pathogen

Down-regulation of the immune response in aging individuals puts this population at a potential risk against infectious agents. In-depth studies conducted in humans and mouse models have demonstrated that with increasing age, the T cell immune response against pathogens is compromised and response to vaccinations is subdued. In the present study, using a mouse model, we demonstrate that older animals exhibit greater susceptibility to Encephalitozoon cuniculi infection, and their ability to evoke an Ag-specific T cell response at the gut mucosal site is reduced. The dampening of T cell immunity was due to the defective priming by the dendritic cells (DC) isolated from the mucosal tissues of aging animals. When primed with DC from younger mice, T cells from older animals were able to exhibit an optimal Ag-specific response. The functional defect in DC from older mice can be attributed to a large extent to reduced IL-15 message in these cells, which can be reversed by addition of exogenous IL-15 to the cultures. IL-15 treatment led to optimal expression of costimulatory molecules (CD80 and CD86) on the surface of older DC and restored their ability to prime a T cell response against the pathogen. To our knowledge, this is the first report which demonstrates the inability of the DC population from aging animals to prime a robust T cell response against an infectious agent. Moreover, the observation that IL-15 treatment can reverse this defect has far-reaching implications in developing strategies to increase vaccination protocols for aging populations.

NK Cells Help To Induce CD8+-T-Cell Immunity against Toxoplasma gondii in the Absence of CD4+ T Cells

ABSTRACT CD8+ T-cell immunity plays an important role in protection against intracellular infections. Earlier studies have shown that CD4+ T-cell help was needed for launching in vivo CD8+ T-cell activity against these pathogens and tumors. However, recently CD4+ T-cell-independent CD8 responses during several microbial infections including those with Toxoplasma gondii have been described, although the mechanism is not understood. We now demonstrate that, in the absence of CD4+ T cells, T. gondii-infected mice exhibit an extended NK cell response, which is mediated by continued interleukin-12 (IL-12) secretion. This prolonged NK cell response is critical for priming parasite-specific CD8+ T-cell immunity. Depletion of NK cells inhibited the generation of CD8+ T-cell immunity in CD4−/− mice. Similarly neutralization of IL-12 reduces NK cell numbers in infected animals and leads to the down-regulation of CD8+ T-cell immunity against T. gondii. Adoptive transfer of NK cells into the IL-12-depleted animals restored their CD8+ T-cell immune response, and animals exhibited reduced mortality. NK cell gamma interferon was essential for cytotoxic T-lymphocyte priming. Our studies for the first time demonstrate that, in the absence of CD4+ T cells, NK cells can play an important role in induction of primary CD8+ T-cell immunity against an intracellular infection. These observations have therapeutic implications for immunocompromised individuals, including those with human immunodeficiency virus infection.

NK cells enhance dendritic cell response against parasite antigens via NKG2D pathway.

Recent studies have shown that NK-dendritic cell (DC) interaction plays an important role in the induction of immune response against tumors and certain viruses. Although the effect of this interaction is bidirectional, the mechanism or molecules involved in this cross-talk have not been identified. In this study, we report that coculture with NK cells causes several fold increase in IL-12 production by Toxoplasma gondii lysate Ag-pulsed DC. This interaction also leads to stronger priming of Ag-specific CD8+ T cell response by these cells. In vitro blockade of NKG2D, a molecule present on human and murine NK cells, neutralizes the NK cell-induced up-regulation of DC response. Moreover, treatment of infected animals with Ab to NKG2D receptor compromises the development of Ag-specific CD8+ T cell immunity and reduces their ability to clear parasites. These studies emphasize the critical role played by NKG2D in the NK-DC interaction, which apparently is important for the generation of robust CD8+ T cell immunity against intracellular pathogens. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work that describes in vivo importance of NKG2D during natural infection.

Induction of a Rapid and Strong Antigen-Specific Intraepithelial Lymphocyte Response during Oral Encephalitozoon cuniculi Infection

Encephalitozoon cuniculi continues to pose a problem for immunocompromised patients. Previous studies from our laboratory have elucidated the importance of the CD8+ T cell subset in the protection against systemic parasite infection. There have been no studies related to the mucosal immunity induced against this orally acquired pathogen. In the present study, the immune response generated in the gut after oral E. cuniculi infection was evaluated. An early and rapid increase of the intraepithelial lymphocyte (IEL) population of orally infected animals was observed. This increase in the IEL population started as early as day 3 and peaked at day 7 postinfection with persistent elevation thereafter. At day 7 postinfection, IELs expressed strong cytokine messages (IFN-γ and IL-10) and were highly cytotoxic for parasite-infected syngeneic macrophages. At an E:T ratio of 80:1, these cells were able to cause >60% Ag-specific target cell lysis. A significant increase in the CD8αα subset of IEL in response to an oral E. cuniculi infection was observed. To the best of our knowledge, such an early expansion of an IEL population exhibiting strong ex vivo cytotoxicity has not been reported with infectious models. These data suggest that IELs act as important barriers for multiplication of this organism leading to the successful resolution of infection. The protective role of IELs may be due both to their inflammatory (IFN-γ production and cytotoxic response) as well as immunoregulatory (IL-10 production) properties.

IFN-γ-Producing Dendritic Cells Are Important for Priming of Gut Intraepithelial Lymphocyte Response Against Intracellular Parasitic Infection

The importance of intraepithelial lymphocytes (IEL) in immunoprotection against orally acquired pathogens is being increasingly recognized. Recent studies have demonstrated that Ag-specific IEL can be generated and can provide an important first line of defense against pathogens acquired via oral route. However, the mechanism involved in priming of IEL remains elusive. Our current study, using a microsporidial model of infection, demonstrates that priming of IEL is dependent on IFN-γ-producing dendritic cells (DC) from mucosal sites. DC from mice lacking the IFN-γ gene are unable to prime IEL, resulting in failure of these cells to proliferate and lyse pathogen-infected targets. Also, treatment of wild-type DC from Peyer’s patches with Ab to IFN-γ abrogates their ability to prime an IEL response against Encephalitozoon cuniculi in vitro. Moreover, when incubated with activated DC from IFN-γ knockout mice, splenic CD8+ T cells are not primed efficiently and exhibit reduced ability to home to the gut compartment. These data strongly suggest that IFN-γ-producing DC from mucosal sites play an important role in the generation of an Ag-specific IEL response in the small intestine. To our knowledge, this report is the first demonstrating a role for IFN-γ-producing DC from Peyer’s patches in the development of Ag-specific IEL population and their trafficking to the gut epithelium.

γδ T Cell-Deficient Mice Have a Down-Regulated CD8+ T Cell Immune Response Against Encephalitozoon cuniculi Infection

γδ T cells have been reported to play an essential effector role during the early immune response against a wide variety of infectious agents. Recent studies have suggested that the γδ T cell subtype may also be important for the induction of adaptive immune response against certain microbial pathogens. In the present study, an early increase of γδ T cells during murine infection with Encephalitozoon cuniculi, an intracellular parasite, was observed. The role of γδ T cells against E. cuniculi infection was further evaluated by using gene-knockout mice. Mice lacking γδ T cells were susceptible to E. cuniculi infection at high challenge doses. The reduced resistance of δ−/− mice was attributed to a down-regulated CD8+ immune response. Compared with parental wild-type animals, suboptimal Ag-specific CD8+ T cell immunity against E. cuniculi infection was noted in δ−/− mice. The splenocytes from infected knockout mice exhibited a lower frequency of Ag-specific CD8+ T cells. Moreover, adoptive transfer of immune TCRαβ+ CD8+ T cells from the δ−/− mice failed to protect naive CD8−/− mice against a lethal E. cuniculi challenge. Our studies suggest that γδ T cells, due to their ability to produce cytokines, are important for the optimal priming of CD8+ T cell immunity against E. cuniculi infection. This is the first evidence of a parasitic infection in which down-regulation of CD8+ T cell immune response in the absence of γδ T cells has been demonstrated.

Treatment with Soluble Interleukin-15Rα Exacerbates Intracellular Parasitic Infection by Blocking the Development of Memory CD8+ T Cell Response

Interferon (IFN)-γ–producing CD8+ T cells are important for the successful resolution of the obligate intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii by preventing the reactivation or controlling a repeat infection. Previous reports from our laboratory have shown that exogenous interleukin (IL)-15 treatment augments the CD8+ T cell response against the parasite. However, the role of endogenous IL-15 in the proliferation of activated/memory CD8+ T cells during toxoplasma or any other infection is unknown. In this study, we treated T. gondii immune mice with soluble IL-15 receptor α (sIL-15Rα) to block the host endogenous IL-15. The treatment markedly reduced the ability of the immune animals to control a lethal infection. CD8+ T cell activities in the sIL-15Rα–administered mice were severely reduced as determined by IFN-γ release and target cell lysis assays. The loss of CD8+ T cell immunity due to sIL-15Rα treatment was further demonstrated by adoptive transfer experiments. Naive recipients transferred with CD44hi activated/memory CD8+ T cells and treated with sIL-15Rα failed to resist a lethal T. gondii infection. Moreover, sIL-15Rα treatment of the recipients blocked the ability of donor CD44hi activated/memory CD8+ T cells to replicate in response to T. gondii challenge. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of the important role of host IL-15 in the development of antigen-specific memory CD8+ T cells against an intracellular infection.

Intrinsic TGF-β signaling promotes age-dependent CD8+ T cell polyfunctionality attrition

Advanced age is associated with immune system deficits that result in an increased susceptibility to infectious diseases; however, specific mediators of age-dependent immune dysfunction have not been fully elucidated. Here we demonstrated that aged mice exhibit poor effector CD8+ T cell polyfunctionality, primarily due to CD8+ T cell-extrinsic deficits, and that reduced CD8+ T cell polyfunctionality correlates with increased susceptibility to pathogenic diseases. In aged animals challenged with the parasite Encephalitozoon cuniculi, effector CD8+ T cell survival and polyfunctionality were suppressed by highly elevated TGF-β1. Furthermore, TGF-β depletion reduced effector CD8+ T cell apoptosis in both young and aged mice and enhanced effector CD8+ T cell polyfunctionality in aged mice. Surprisingly, intrinsic blockade of TGF-β signaling in CD8+ T cells was sufficient to rescue polyfunctionality in aged animals. Together, these data demonstrate that low levels of TGF-β1 promote apoptosis of CD8+ effector T cells and high TGF-β1 levels associated with age result in both CD8+ T cell apoptosis and an altered transcriptional profile, which correlates with loss of polyfunctionality. Furthermore, elevated TGF-β levels are observed in the elderly human population and in aged Drosophila, suggesting that TGF-β represents an evolutionarily conserved negative regulator of the immune response in aging organisms.