Type I interferons in tuberculosis: Foe and occasionally friend

Tuberculosis remains one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide, and, despite its clinical significance, there are still significant gaps in our understanding of pathogenic and protective mechanisms triggered by Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. Type I interferons (IFN) regulate a broad family of genes that either stimulate or inhibit immune function, having both host-protective and detrimental effects, and exhibit well-characterized antiviral activity. Transcriptional studies have uncovered a potential deleterious role for type I IFN in active tuberculosis. Since then, additional studies in human tuberculosis and experimental mouse models of M. tuberculosis infection support the concept that type I IFN promotes both bacterial expansion and disease pathogenesis. More recently, studies in a different setting have suggested a putative protective role for type I IFN. In this study, we discuss the mechanistic and contextual factors that determine the detrimental versus beneficial outcomes of type I IFN induction during M. tuberculosis infection, from human disease to experimental mouse models of tuberculosis

IL-10 Regulates Viral Lung Immunopathology during Acute Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection in Mice

Interleukin (IL-) 10 is a pleiotropic cytokine with broad immunosuppressive functions, particularly at mucosal sites such as the intestine and lung. Here we demonstrate that infection of BALB/c mice with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) induced IL-10 production by CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells in the airways at later time points (e.g. day 8); a proportion of these cells also co-produced IFN-γ. Furthermore, RSV infection of IL-10(−/−) mice resulted in more severe disease with enhanced weight loss, delayed recovery and greater cell infiltration of the respiratory tract without affecting viral load. In addition, IL-10(−/−) mice had a pronounced airway neutrophilia and heightened levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Notably, the proportion of lung T cells producing IFN-γ was enhanced, suggesting that IL-10 may act in an autocrine manner to dampen effector T cell responses. Similar findings were made in mice treated with anti-IL-10R antibody and infected with RSV. Therefore, IL-10 inhibits disease and inflammation in mice infected with RSV, especially during recovery from infection

The chemokine receptor CCR8 is preferentially expressed in Th2 but not Th1 cells

In this paper we report on the cloning and characterization of mouse CCR8. Like its human homologue, it is predominantly expressed in the thymus. In the periphery, murine CCR8 mRNA was found most abundantly expressed in activated Th2-polarized cells and in NK1.1+ CD4+ T cells. Human CCR8 is also preferentially expressed in human Th2-polarized cells and clones. This pattern of expression suggests that CCR8 is part of a Th2-specific gene expression program. The CCR8 ligands I-309 and its mouse homologue T cell activation gene 3 (TCA-3) are potent chemoattractants for Th2-polarized cells. Taken together, these observations strongly suggest that CCR8 plays a role in the control of Th2 responses, and may represent a potential target for treatment of allergic diseases

A T cell-myeloid IL-10 axis regulates pathogenic IFN-γ-dependent immunity in a mouse model of type 2-low asthma

Background Although originally defined as a type 2 (T2) immune-mediated condition, non-T2 cytokines, such as IFN-γ and IL-17A, have been implicated in asthma pathogenesis, particularly severe disease. IL-10 regulates T helper (Th) cell phenotypes and can dampen T2 immunity to allergens, but its functions in controlling non-T2 cytokine responses in asthma are unclear. Objective: Determine how IL-10 regulates the balance of Th cell responses to inhaled allergen. Methods Allergic airway disease (AAD) was induced in wild-type, IL-10 reporter and conditional IL-10 or IL-10 receptor α (IL-10Rα) knockout mice, by repeated intranasal administration of house dust mite (HDM). IL-10 and IFN-γ signalling were disrupted using blocking antibodies. Results Repeated HDM inhalation induced a mixed IL-13/IL-17A response and accumulation of IL-10-producing FoxP3- effector CD4+ T cells in the lungs. Ablation of T cell-derived IL-10 increased the IFN-γ and IL-17A response to HDM, reducing IL-13 levels and airway eosinophilia without affecting IgE or airway hyperresponsiveness. The increased IFN-γ response could be recapitulated by IL-10Rα deletion in CD11c+ myeloid cells or local IL-10Rα blockade. Disruption of the T cell-myeloid IL-10 axis resulted in elevated pulmonary monocyte-derived dendritic cell numbers and increased IFN-γ-dependent expression of CXCR3 ligands by airway macrophages, suggestive of a feedforward loop of Th1 cell recruitment. Augmented IFN-γ responses in the HDM AAD model were accompanied by increased disruption of airway epithelium, which was reversed by therapeutic blockade of IFN-γ. Conclusions IL-10 from effector T cells signals to CD11c+ myeloid cells to suppress an atypical and pathogenic IFN-γ response to inhaled HDM

High-Dose IL-2 Skews a Glucocorticoid-Driven IL-17(+)IL-10(+) Memory CD4(+) T Cell Response towards a Single IL-10-Producing Phenotype

This is the accepted, uncopyedited version of the manuscript. The definitive version was published in J Immunol December 31, 2018, ji1800697; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4049/jimmunol.1800697This work was supported by the Medical Research Council and Asthma UK Centre in Allergic Mechanisms of Asthma, which funded E.H.M., who initiated this work as a Ph.D. student. The research also received support from the National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Centre based at Guy’s and St Thomas’ National Health Service Foundation Trust and King’s College London. This work, as well as A.O., L.G., and E.H.M., was subsequently supported by the Francis Crick Institute (FC001126), which receives its core funding from Cancer Research UK, the UK Medical Research Council, and the Wellcome Trust

Programmed death ligand 1 is over-expressed by neutrophils in the blood of patients with active tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB), caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), remains one of the world's largest infectious disease problems. Despite decades of intensive study, the immune response to Mtb is incompletely characterised, reflecting the extremely complex interaction between pathogen and host. Pathways that may alter the balance between host protection and pathogenesis are therefore of great interest. One pathway shown to play a role in the pathogenesis of chronic infections, including TB, is the programmed death-1 (PD-1) pathway. We show here that the expression of the programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1), which interacts with PD-1, is increased in whole blood from active TB patients compared with whole blood from healthy controls or Mtb-exposed individuals, and that expression by neutrophils is largely responsible for this increase

Detectable Changes in The Blood Transcriptome Are Present after Two Weeks of Antituberculosis Therapy

Globally there are approximately 9 million new active tuberculosis cases and 1.4 million deaths annually. Effective antituberculosis treatment monitoring is difficult as there are no existing biomarkers of poor adherence or inadequate treatment earlier than 2 months after treatment initiation. Inadequate treatment leads to worsening disease, disease transmission and drug resistance.To determine if blood transcriptional signatures change in response to antituberculosis treatment and could act as early biomarkers of a successful response.Blood transcriptional profiles of untreated active tuberculosis patients in South Africa were analysed before, during (2 weeks and 2 months), at the end of (6 months) and after (12 months) antituberculosis treatment, and compared to individuals with latent tuberculosis. An active-tuberculosis transcriptional signature and a specific treatment-response transcriptional signature were derived. The specific treatment response transcriptional signature was tested in two independent cohorts. Two quantitative scoring algorithms were applied to measure the changes in the transcriptional response. The most significantly represented pathways were determined using Ingenuity Pathway Analysis.An active tuberculosis 664-transcript signature and a treatment specific 320-transcript signature significantly diminished after 2 weeks of treatment in all cohorts, and continued to diminish until 6 months. The transcriptional response to treatment could be individually measured in each patient.Significant changes in the transcriptional signatures measured by blood tests were readily detectable just 2 weeks after treatment initiation. These findings suggest that blood transcriptional signatures could be used as early surrogate biomarkers of successful treatment response

Signaling via interleukin-4, receptor alpha chain is required for successful vaccination against schistosomiasis in BALB/c mice

Radiation-attenuated (RA) schistosome larvae are potent stimulators of innate immune responses at the skin site of exposure (pinna) that are likely to be important factors in the development of Th1-mediated protective immunity. In addition to causing an influx of neutrophils, macrophages, and dendritic cells (DCs) into the dermis, RA larvae induced a cascade of chemokine and cytokine secretion following in vitro culture of pinna biopsy samples. While macrophage inflammatory protein 1 and interleukin-1 (IL-1) were produced transiently within the first few days, the Th1-promoting cytokines IL-12 and IL-18 were secreted at high levels until at least day 14. Assay of C3H/HeJ mice confirmed that IL-12 secretion was not due to lipopolysaccharide contaminants binding Toll-like receptor 4. Significantly, IL-12 p40 secretion was sustained in pinnae from vaccinated mice but not in those from nonprotected infected mice. In contrast, IL-10 was produced from both vaccinated and infected mice. This cytokine regulates IL-12-associated dermal inflammation, since in vaccinated IL-10/ mice, pinna thickness was greatly increased concurrent with elevated levels of IL-12 p40. A significant number of IL-12 p40 cells were detected as emigrants from in vitro-cultured pinnae, and most were within a population of rare large granular cells that were Ia, consistent with their being antigen-presenting cells. Labeling of IL-12 cells for CD11c, CD205, CD8, CD11b, and F4/80 indicated that the majority were myeloid DCs, although a proportion were CD11c F4/80, suggesting that macrophages were an additional source of IL-12 in the skin

Signatures of malaria-associated pathology revealed by high-resolution whole-blood transcriptomics in a rodent model of malaria.

The influence of parasite genetic factors on immune responses and development of severe pathology of malaria is largely unknown. In this study, we performed genome-wide transcriptomic profiling of mouse whole blood during blood-stage infections of two strains of the rodent malaria parasite Plasmodium chabaudi that differ in virulence. We identified several transcriptomic signatures associated with the virulent infection, including signatures for platelet aggregation, stronger and prolonged anemia and lung inflammation. The first two signatures were detected prior to pathology. The anemia signature indicated deregulation of host erythropoiesis, and the lung inflammation signature was linked to increased neutrophil infiltration, more cell death and greater parasite sequestration in the lungs. This comparative whole-blood transcriptomics profiling of virulent and avirulent malaria shows the validity of this approach to inform severity of the infection and provide insight into pathogenic mechanisms