Mingfang Lu

Lipopolysaccharide deacylation by an endogenous lipase controls innate antibody responses to Gram-negative bacteria

T cell–independent type 1 agonists such as Gram-negative bacterial lipopolysaccharides can stimulate B lymphocytes to proliferate and produce antibodies by signaling through Toll-like receptors. This phenomenon is well established in vitro, yet polyclonal B cell responses after bacterial infection in vivo are often weak and short-lived. We show here that B cell proliferation and polyclonal antibody production in response to Gram-negative bacterial infection are modulated by acyloxyacyl hydrolase, a host enzyme that deacylates bacterial lipopolysaccharides. Deacylation of lipopolysaccharide occurred over several days, allowing lipopolysaccharide to act as an innate immune stimulant yet limiting the eventual amount of B cell proliferation and polyclonal antibody production. Control of lipopolysaccharide activation by acyloxyacyl hydrolase indicates that mammals can regulate immune responses to bacterial infection by chemical modification of a Toll-like receptor agonist.

A Host Lipase Detoxifies Bacterial Lipopolysaccharides in the Liver and Spleen

Much of the inflammatory response of the body to bloodborne Gram-negative bacteria occurs in the liver and spleen, the major organs that remove these bacteria and their lipopolysaccharide (LPS, endotoxin) from the bloodstream. We show here that LPS undergoes deacylation in the liver and spleen by acyloxyacyl hydrolase (AOAH), an endogenous lipase that selectively removes the secondary fatty acyl chains that are required for LPS recognition by its mammalian signaling receptor, MD-2-TLR4. We further show that Kupffer cells produce AOAH and are required for hepatic LPS deacylation in vivo. AOAH-deficient mice did not deacylate LPS and, whereas their inflammatory responses to low doses of LPS were similar to those of wild type mice for ∼3 days after LPS challenge, they subsequently developed pronounced hepatosplenomegaly. Providing recombinant AOAH restored LPS deacylating ability to Aoah-/- mice and prevented LPS-induced hepatomegaly. AOAH-mediated deacylation is a previously unappreciated mechanism that prevents prolonged inflammatory reactions to Gram-negative bacteria and LPS in the liver and spleen.

Host Inactivation of Bacterial Lipopolysaccharide Prevents Prolonged Tolerance Following Gram-Negative Bacterial Infection

A transient state of tolerance to microbial molecules accompanies many infectious diseases. Such tolerance is thought to minimize inflammation-induced injury, but it may also alter host defenses. Here we report that recovery from the tolerant state induced by Gram-negative bacteria is greatly delayed in mice that lack acyloxyacyl hydrolase (AOAH), a lipase that partially deacylates the bacterial cell-wall lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Whereas wild-type mice regained normal responsiveness within 14 days after they received an intraperitoneal injection of LPS or Gram-negative bacteria, AOAH-deficient mice had greatly reduced proinflammatory responses to a second LPS injection for at least 3 weeks. In contrast, LPS-primed Aoah- knockout mice maintained an anti-inflammatory response, evident from their plasma levels of interleukin-10 (IL-10). LPS-primed Aoah-knockout mice experiencing prolonged tolerance were highly susceptible to virulent E. coli challenge. Inactivating LPS, an immunostimulatory microbial molecule, is thus important for restoring effective host defenses following Gram-negative bacterial infection in animals.

Altered inactivation of commensal LPS due to acyloxyacyl hydrolase deficiency in colonic dendritic cells impairs mucosal Th17 immunity

Significance Th17 cells are a subset of T cells that secrete the cytokine IL-17 and play a role in mucosal immunity. LPS is a bacterial product that can influence the development of Th17 responses. We find that acyloxyacyl hydrolase (AOAH), a mammalian enzyme that inactivates LPS, is uniquely expressed in a subset of colonic dendritic cells and acts to maintain dendritic cell responsiveness to LPS expressed by commensal bacteria. This dendritic cell responsiveness is required to promote Th17 responses. These data identify the ability of AOAH to modulate microbial signals that influence mucosal T cell immunity, and suggest that host pathways to handle microbial products may be targeted to modulate Th17 responses in the context of inflammation or infection at mucosal surfaces. Interleukin (IL) 17-secreting CD4+ helper T cells (Th17 cells) are essential for host defense at mucosal surfaces, and Th17 cell dysregulation can result in autoimmunity. Exposure to microbial products, such as bacterial LPS, can affect the ability of dendritic cells (DCs) to polarize Th17 cells. Acyloxyacyl hydrolase (AOAH) is a mammalian enzyme expressed by antigen (Ag)-presenting cells that deacylates and thereby inactivates LPS in host tissues. We hypothesized that inactivation of intestinal microbiota-derived LPS by AOAH influences the ability of DCs to polarize and generate Th17 effector cells. We found that LPS-containing Gram-negative microbiota augmented the differentiation of Ag-specific Th17 cells, and identified a colonic DC subset (CD103+CD11b+ALDH−) displaying a unique capacity to both express AOAH and polarize Th17 cells. Compared with WT, these Aoah−/− colonic DCs produce less IL-6, resulting in diminished Ag-specific Th17 polarization and increased regulatory T-cell induction in vitro. Oral administration of LPS led to reduced IL-6 production from CD103+CD11b+ALDH− colonic DCs in Aoah−/− mice compared with Aoah+/+ mice, resulting in an abrogated Ag-specific Th17 response in the colon after mucosal immunization that could be rescued by systemic delivery of recombinant IL-6. These data identify the ability of AOAH to modulate microbiota signals that drive Th17 polarization and influence mucosal T-cell immunity, and suggest that host pathways to handle microbiota-derived products may be targeted to modulate Th17 responses in the context of inflammatory disorders or infection at mucosal surfaces.

Toll-like Receptor Agonists Promote Prolonged Triglyceride Storage in Macrophages

Background: How microbial agonists induce macrophages to store triglycerides (TAG) for prolonged periods was not known. Results: Toll-like receptor (TLR)1/2, TLR3, and TLR4 agonists increased fatty acid uptake, increased TAG synthesis, and decreased lipolysis, augmenting TAG storage for ≥72 h. Conclusion: TAG retention is an active, multifaceted, and long lasting response to sensing microbes. Significance: Prolonged TAG storage contributes to foam cell formation. Macrophages in infected tissues may sense microbial molecules that significantly alter their metabolism. In a seeming paradox, these critical host defense cells often respond by increasing glucose catabolism while simultaneously storing fatty acids (FA) as triglycerides (TAG) in lipid droplets. We used a load-chase strategy to study the mechanisms that promote long term retention of TAG in murine and human macrophages. Toll-like receptor (TLR)1/2, TLR3, and TLR4 agonists all induced the cells to retain TAG for ≥3 days. Prolonged TAG retention was accompanied by the following: (a) enhanced FA uptake and FA incorporation into TAG, with long lasting increases in acyl-CoA synthetase long 1 (ACSL1) and diacylglycerol acyltransferase-2 (DGAT2), and (b) decreases in lipolysis and FA β-oxidation that paralleled a prolonged drop in adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL). TLR agonist-induced TAG storage is a multifaceted process that persists long after most early pro-inflammatory responses have subsided and may contribute to the formation of “lipid-laden” macrophages in infected tissues.

The Transport and Inactivation Kinetics of Bacterial Lipopolysaccharide Influence Its Immunological Potency In Vivo

The extraordinary potency and pathological relevance of Gram-negative bacterial LPSs have made them very popular experimental agonists, yet little is known about what happens to these stimulatory molecules within animal tissues. We tracked fluorescent and radiolabeled LPS from a s.c. inoculation site to its draining lymph nodes (DLN), blood, and liver. Although we found FITC-labeled LPS in DLN within minutes of injection, drainage of radiolabeled LPS continued for >6 wk. Within the DLN, most of the LPS was found in the subcapsular sinus or medulla, near or within lymphatic endothelial cells and CD169+ macrophages. Whereas most of the LPS seemed to pass through the DLN without entering B cell follicles, by 24 h after injection a small amount of LPS was found in the paracortex. In wild-type mice, ≥70% of the injected radiolabeled LPS underwent inactivation by deacylation before it left the footpad; in animals that lacked acyloxyacyl hydrolase, the LPS-deacylating enzyme, prolonged drainage of fully acylated (active) LPS boosted polyclonal IgM and IgG3 Ab titers. LPS egress from a s.c. injection site thus occurred during many weeks and was mainly via lymphatic channels. Its immunological potency, as measured by its ability to stimulate polyclonal Ab production, was greatly influenced by the kinetics of both lymphatic drainage and enzymatic inactivation.

Prolonged triglyceride storage in macrophages: pHo trumps pO2 and TLR4.

Lipid-laden macrophages contribute to pathologies as diverse as atherosclerosis and tuberculosis. Three common stimuli are known to promote macrophage lipid storage: low tissue oxygen tension (pO2), low extracellular pH (pHo), and exposure to agonists such as bacterial LPS. Noting that cells responding to low pO2 or agonistic bacterial molecules often decrease pHo by secreting lactic and other carboxylic acids, we studied how pHo influences the stimulation of triacylglycerol (TAG) storage by low pO2 and LPS. We found that TAG retention after incubation for 48–72 h was inversely related to pHo when primary macrophages were cultured in 21% oxygen, 4% oxygen, or with LPS at either oxygen concentration. Maintaining pHo at ∼7.4 was sufficient to prevent the increase in prolonged TAG storage induced by either low pO2 or LPS. The strong influence of pHo on TAG retention may explain why lipid-laden macrophages are found in some tissue environments and not in others. It is also possible that other long-term cellular changes currently attributed to low pO2 or bacterial agonists may be promoted, at least in part, by the decrease in pHo that these stimuli induce.

LPS stimulates IgM production in vivo without help from non-B cells

Gram-negative bacterial LPS induce murine B-cell activation and innate (polyclonal) Ab production. Mouse B cells express the LPS signaling receptor (TLR4), yet how LPS activates B-cell responses in vivo is not known. Can LPS directly stimulate B cells to induce innate Ab production? Is activation of non-B cells also required? To address these questions, we transfused LPS-responsive (Tlr4+/+) or non-responsive (Tlr4−/−) B cells into LPS-responsive or non-responsive mice. Increased expression of the early activation markers CD69 and CD86 could be induced on transfused Tlr4−/− B cells by injecting LPS subcutaneously into Tlr4+/+ mice, demonstrating indirect activation of B cells by TLR4-responsive non-B cells in vivo, but the Tlr4−/− B cells did not increase serum IgM levels. In contrast, when Tlr4−/− recipients were transfused with Tlr4+/+ B cells, LPS induced large amounts of serum IgM and LPS could also enhance specific Ab production to a protein that was co-injected with it (adjuvant response). Thus, LPS-exposed non-B cells mediated increased surface expression of early B-cell activation markers, but this response did not predict innate Ab responses or LPS adjuvanticity in vivo. Direct stimulation of B cells by LPS via TLR4 was necessary and sufficient to induce B cells to produce Ab in vivo.