Immune responses of juvenile chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) to p,p-̓DDE and tributyltin

In this thesis, we examined the effects of the exposures to anthropogenic pollutants on the fish, primarily juvenile chinook salmon, immune system using newly and recently developed immune assays. In addition, we developed a new assay for measuring immunocompetence of fish. In the first chapter, the Alamar Blue assay was developed to quantify the proliferation of chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) leukocytes. Isolated splenic and pronephric leukocytes were stimulated with different concentration of mitogens (LPS, PWM, and ConA) for various incubation times. Optimum cell culture conditions (cell density, mitogen concentration, and incubation time) for the Alamar Blue assay were evaluated by comparison with flow cytometric analysis. The Alamar Blue dye was non-toxic for leukocytes, and the assay proved to be able to quantify the mitogenic responses using LPS, but PWM and ConA. In the second chapter, we determined the effects and mechanisms by which p,p'- DDE exposure might affect the immune system of chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). Isolated salmon splenic and pronephric leucocytes were incubated with different concentrations of p,p'-DDE, and cell viability, induction of apoptosis, and mitogenic responses were measured by flow cytometry and Alamar Blue assay. p,p'- DDE significantly reduced cell viability and proliferation and increased apoptosis. The effect of p,p'-DDE on pronephric leukocytes was more severe than on splenic leukocytes, likely because pronephric leucocytes had a higher proportion of granulocytes, cells that appear more sensitive to p,p'-DDE. The effect of p,p'-DDE on leucocytes appeared to vary between developmental stages or season. The mitogenic response of leukocytes of chinook salmon exposed to p,p'-DDE in vivo exhibited a biphasic dose-response relationship. Only leukocytes isolated from salmon treated with 59 ppm p,p'-DDE had a significantly lower percentage of Ig+ blasting cells than controls. Our results support the theory that exposure to chemical contaminants could lead to an increase in disease susceptibility and mortality of fish due to immune suppression. In the third chapter, we evaluated the direct effects of in vitro exposures to tributyltin (TBT), widely used biocide, on the cell mediated immune system of chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). Splenic and pronephric leukocytes isolated from juvenile chinook salmon were exposed for 6, 24, or 96 hr to a concentration range of 0.03 0.1 mg TBT 1⁻¹ in cell cultures. Effects of TBT on cell viability, induction of apoptosis, and mitogenic responses were measured by flow cytometry. Splenic and pronephric leukocytes in the presence of TBT experienced a concentration-dependent decrease in the viability in cell cultures following the induction of apoptosis. In addition, pronephric lymphocytes exhibited a greater sensitivity to TBT exposure than pronephric granulocytes. The functional ability of splenic B-cells to undergo blastogenesis upon LPS stimulation was also significantly inhibited in the presence of 0.05, 0.07, or 0.10 mg 1⁻¹ of TBT in the cell cultures. Flow cytometric assay with the fluorescent conjugated monoclonal antibody against salmon surface immunoglobulin was employed for the conclusive identification of B-cell in the chinook salmon leukocytes. Our findings suggest that adverse effects of TBT on the function or development of fish immune systems could lead to an increase in disease susceptibility and its subsequent ecological implications

B Cell Depletion Curtails CD4+ T Cell Memory and Reduces Protection against Disseminating Virus Infection

Dynamic interactions between CD4+ T cells and B cells are needed for humoral immunity and CD4+ T cell memory. It is not known whether B cells are needed early on to induce the formation of memory precursor cells or are needed later to sustain memory cells. Herein, primary and memory CD4+ T cells responses were followed in wildtype mice that were depleted of mature B cells by anti-CD20 before or different times after acute lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) infection. The antibody treatment led to a 1000-fold reduction in B cell number that lasted 6 weeks. Primary virus-specific CD4+ Th1 cells were generated in B cell-depleted mice, however, there was a decrease in the CD4+Ly6CloTbet+ memory precursor population and a corresponding 4-fold reduction in CD4+ memory cell number. Memory T cells showed impaired cytokine production when they formed without B cells. B cell-depletion had no effect on established memory populations. During disseminating virus infection, B cell depletion led to sustained weight loss, functional exhaustion of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, and prevented mice from resolving the infection. Thus, B cells contribute to the establishment and survival of memory CD4+ T cells following acute infection and play an essential role in immune protection against disseminating virus infection

IFN- Exerts Opposing Effects on T Cell Responses Depending on the Chronicity of the Virus Infection

IFN-lambda (IFN-λ) induces an antiviral state in many cell types and may contribute to the overall inflammatory environment following infection. Either of these effects may influence adaptive immune responses, but the role of type-3 interferons in the development of primary and memory T cell responses to infection has not been evaluated. Herein, we examined T cell responses to acute or persistent lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) infection in IFN-λR1-deficient mice. Following acute infection, we find that IFN-λR1-deficient mice produced normal levels of interferon, robust NK cell responses, but greater than normal CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses compared to WT Balb/c mice. There were more T cells that were IL-7Rhi and, correspondingly, the IFN-λR-deficient mice showed a 2–3-fold increase in memory T cell number. The inhibitory effect of IFN-λR expression was independent of direct cytokine signaling into T cells. In contrast to acute infection, the IFN-λR-deficient mice generated markedly diminished T cell responses and had greater weight loss compared to WT mice when confronted with a highly disseminating variant of LCMV. These data indicate that IFN-λR limits T cell responses and memory following transient infection but augments T cell responses during persisting infection. Thus, the immune regulatory functions for IFN-λR are complex and vary with the overall inflammatory environment

Differential T Cell Responses to Residual Viral Antigen Prolong CD4+ T Cell Contraction following the Resolution of Infection

The contraction phase of the T cell response is a poorly understood period after the resolution of infection when virus-specific effector cells decline in number and memory cells emerge with increased frequencies. CD8(+) T cells plummet in number and quickly reach stable levels of memory following acute lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus infection in mice. In contrast, virus-specific CD4(+) T cells gradually decrease in number and reach homeostatic levels only after many weeks. In this study, we provide evidence that MHCII-restricted viral Ag persists during the contraction phase following this prototypical acute virus infection. We evaluated whether the residual Ag affected the cell division and number of virus-specific naive and memory CD4(+) T cells and CD8(+) T cells. We found that naive CD4(+) T cells underwent cell division and accumulated in response to residual viral Ag for >2 mo after the eradication of infectious virus. Surprisingly, memory CD4(+) T cells did not undergo cell division in response to the lingering Ag, despite their heightened capacity to recognize Ag and make cytokine. In contrast to CD4(+) T cells, CD8(+) T cells did not undergo cell division in response to the residual Ag. Thus, CD8(+) T cells ceased division within days after the infection was resolved, indicating that CD8(+) T cell responses are tightly linked to endogenous processing of de novo synthesized virus protein. Our data suggest that residual viral Ag delays the contraction of CD4(+) T cell responses by recruiting new populations of CD4(+) T cells

MAVS-dependent host species range and pathogenicity of human hepatitis A virus

Although hepatotropic viruses are important causes of human disease, the intrahepatic immune response to hepatitis viruses is poorly understood due to a lack of tractable small animal models. Here we describe a murine model of hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection that recapitulates critical features of type A hepatitis in humans. We demonstrate that the capacity of HAV to evade MAVS-mediated type I interferon responses defines its host species range. HAV-induced liver injury was associated with interferon-independent intrinsic hepatocellular apoptosis and hepatic inflammation that unexpectedly results from MAVS and IRF3/7 signaling. This murine model thus reveals a previously undefined link between innate immune responses to virus infection and acute liver injury, providing a new paradigm for viral pathogenesis in the liver

NLRX1 promotes immediate IRF1-directed antiviral responses by limiting dsRNA-activated translational inhibition mediated by PKR

NLRX1 is unique among the nucleotide-binding-domain and leucine-rich-repeat (NLR) proteins in its mitochondrial localization and ability to negatively regulate antiviral innate immunity dependent on the adaptors MAVS and STING. However, some studies have suggested a positive regulatory role for NLRX1 in inducing antiviral responses. We found that NLRX1 exerted opposing regulatory effects on viral activation of the transcription factors IRF1 and IRF3, which might potentially explain such contradictory results. Whereas NLRX1 suppressed MAVS-mediated activation of IRF3, it conversely facilitated virus-induced increases in IRF1 expression and thereby enhanced control of viral infection. NLRX1 had a minimal effect on the transcription of IRF1 mediated by the transcription factor NF-kB and regulated the abundance of IRF1 post-transcriptionally by preventing translational shutdown mediated by the double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)-activated kinase PKR and thereby allowed virus-induced increases in the abundance of IRF1 protein

Regulation of the hepatitis C virus RNA replicase by endogenous lipid peroxidation

Although oxidative tissue injury often accompanies viral infection, there is little understanding of how it influences virus replication. We show that multiple hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes are exquisitely sensitive to oxidative membrane damage, a property distinguishing them from other pathogenic RNA viruses. Lipid peroxidation, regulated in part through sphingosine kinase 2, severely restricts HCV replication in Huh-7 cells and primary human hepatoblasts. Endogenous oxidative membrane damage lowers the 50% effective concentration of direct-acting antivirals, suggesting critical regulation of the conformation of the NS3/4A protease and NS5B polymerase, membrane-bound HCV replicase components. Resistance to lipid peroxidation maps genetically to trans-membrane and membrane-proximal residues within these proteins, and is essential for robust replication in cell culture, as exemplified by the atypical JFH1 strain. Thus, the typical, wild-type HCV replicase is uniquely regulated by lipid peroxidation, providing a novel mechanism for attenuating replication in stressed tissue and possibly facilitating long-term viral persistence

IFN-λ Exerts Opposing Effects on T Cell Responses Depending on the Chronicity of the Virus Infection

IFN-lambda (IFN-λ) induces an antiviral state in many cell types and may contribute to the overall inflammatory environment following infection. Either of these effects may influence adaptive immune responses, but the role of type-3 interferons in the development of primary and memory T cell responses to infection has not been evaluated. Herein, we examined T cell responses to acute or persistent lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) infection in IFN-λR1-deficient mice. Following acute infection, we find that IFN-λR1-deficient mice produced normal levels of interferon, robust NK cell responses, but greater than normal CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses compared to WT Balb/c mice. There were more T cells that were IL-7Rhi and, correspondingly, the IFN-λR-deficient mice showed a 2–3-fold increase in memory T cell number. The inhibitory effect of IFN-λR expression was independent of direct cytokine signaling into T cells. In contrast to acute infection, the IFN-λR-deficient mice generated markedly diminished T cell responses and had greater weight loss compared to WT mice when confronted with a highly disseminating variant of LCMV. These data indicate that IFN-λR limits T cell responses and memory following transient infection but augments T cell responses during persisting infection. Thus, the immune regulatory functions for IFN-λR are complex and vary with the overall inflammatory environment

Three Isoforms of Cyclophilin A Associated with Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Were Found by Proteomics by Using Two-Dimensional Gel Electrophoresis and Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) strain LAV-1 (HIV-1(LAV-1)) particles were collected by ultracentrifugation, treated with subtilisin, and then purified by Sepharose CL-4B column chromatography to remove microvesicles. The lysate of the purified HIV-1(LAV-1) particles was subjected to two-dimensional (2D) gel electrophoresis and stained. The 2D gel electrophoresis image suggested that 24 proteins can be identified inside the virion. Furthermore, the stained protein spots were excised and digested with trypsin. The resulting peptide fragments were characterized by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry. Peptide mass fingerprinting data suggested that two isoforms of cyclophilin A (CyPA), one with an isoelectric point (pI) of 6.40 and one with a pI of 6.53, are inside the viral membrane; that another isoform, with a pI of 6.88, is outside the viral membrane; and that the CyPA isoform with a pI of 6.53 is N acetylated. The mechanisms that permit the redistribution of CyPA on the viral surface have not yet been clarified, but it is surmised that the CyPA isoform with a pI of 6.88 may play a critical role in the attachment of virions to the surface of target cells and that both CyPA isoforms with pIs of 6.40 and 6.53 may regulate the conformation of the HIV-1 capsid protein