MyD88 is crucial for the development of a protective CNS immune response to Toxoplasma gondii infection

Torres Marbel, Guiton Rachel, Lacroix-Lamandé Sonia, Ryffel Bernhard, Leman Samuel, Dimier-Poisson, Dimier-Poisson Isabelle

Description

Toxoplasmosis is one of the most common parasitic infections in humans. It can establish chronic infection and is characterized by the formation of tissue cysts in the brain. The cysts remain largely quiescent for the life of the host, but can reactivate and cause life-threatening toxoplasmic encephalitis in immunocompromised patients, such as those with AIDS, neoplastic diseases and organ transplants. Toll-like receptor (TLR) adaptor MyD88 activation is required for the innate sensing of Toxoplasma gondii . Mice deficient in MyD88 have defective IL-12 and Th1 effector responses, and are highly susceptible to the acute phase of T. gondii infection. However, the role of this signaling pathway during cerebral infection is poorly understood and requires examination. Method MyD88-deficient mice and control mice were orally infected with T. gondii cysts . Cellular and parasite infiltration in the peripheral organs and in the brain were determined by histology and immunohistochemistry. Cytokine levels were determined by ELISA and chemokine mRNA levels were quantified by real-time PCR (qPCR). Results Thirteen days after infection, a higher parasite burden was observed but there was no histological change in the liver, heart, lungs and small intestine of MyD88 −/− and MyD88 +/+ mice. However, MyD88 −/− mice compared to MyD88 +/+ mice were highly susceptible to cerebral infection, displayed high parasite migration to the brain, severe neuropathological signs of encephalitis and succumbed within 2 weeks of oral infection. Susceptibility was primarily associated with lower expression of Th1 cytokines, especially IL-12, IFN-γ and TNF-α, significant decrease in the expression of CCL3, CCL5, CCL7 and CCL19 chemokines, marked defect of CD8 + T cells, and infiltration of CD11b + and F4/80 + cells in the brain. Conclusion MyD88 is essential for the protection of mice during the cerebral installation of T. gondii infection. These results establish a role for MyD88 in T cell-mediated control of T. gondii in the central nervous system (CNS).

Sujets

• Myd88
• Innate immune system
• Toxoplasma gondii
• Encephalitis

Informations

• Publié par: biomed
• Publié le: 01 janvier 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 18
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Torres et al. Journal of Neuroinflammation 2013, 10 :19 http://www.jneuroinflammation.com/content/10/1/19

JOURNAL OF NEUROINFLAMMATION

R E S E A R C H Open Access MyD88 is crucial for the development of a protective CNS immune response to Toxoplasma gondii infection Marbel Torres 1,2 † , Rachel Guiton 1,2 † , Sonia Lacroix-Lamandé 3,4 , Bernhard Ryffel 5 , Samuel Leman 6 and Isabelle Dimier-Poisson 1,2*

Abstract Background: Toxoplasmosis is one of the most common parasitic infections in humans. It can establish chronic infection and is characterized by the formation of tissue cysts in the brain. The cysts remain largely quiescent for the life of the host, but can reactivate and cause life-threatening toxoplasmic encephalitis in immunocompromised patients, such as those with AIDS, neoplastic diseases and organ transplants. Toll-like receptor (TLR) adaptor MyD88 activation is required for the innate sensing of Toxoplasma gondii . Mice deficient in MyD88 have defective IL-12 and Th1 effector responses, and are highly susceptible to the acute phase of T. gondii infection. However, the role of this signaling pathway during cerebral infection is poorly understood and requires examination. Method: MyD88-deficient mice and control mice were orally infected with T. gondii cysts . Cellular and parasite infiltration in the peripheral organs and in the brain were determined by histology and immunohistochemistry. Cytokine levels were determined by ELISA and chemokine mRNA levels were quantified by real-time PCR (qPCR). Results: Thirteen days after infection, a higher parasite burden was observed but there was no histological change in the liver, heart, lungs and small intestine of MyD88 − / − and MyD88 +/+ mice. However, MyD88 − / − mice compared to MyD88 +/+ mice were highly susceptible to cerebral infection, displayed high parasite migration to the brain, severe neuropathological signs of encephalitis and succumbed within 2 weeks of oral infection. Susceptibility was primarily associated with lower expression of Th1 cytokines, especially IL-12, IFN-γ and TNF-α , significant decrease in the expression of CCL3, CCL5, CCL7 and CCL19 chemokines, marked defect of CD8 + T cells, and infiltration of CD11b + and F4/80 + cells in the brain. Conclusion: MyD88 is essential for the protection of mice during the cerebral installation of T. gondii infection. These results establish a role for MyD88 in T cell-mediated control of T. gondii in the central nervous system (CNS). Keywords: MyD88, innate immunity, Toxoplasma gondii , BALB/c mice, encephalitis

Background in latent cyst form in multiple tissues, most prominently Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan parasite responsible in the brain. In immunocompetent individuals, the for toxoplasmosis, a worldwide disease that infects ap- chronic phase is asymptomatic, but leads to toxoplasmic proximately one-third of the world ’ s population. Despite encephalitis in immunocompromised individuals [1]. the development of protective immunity, parasites persist During primary acute infection, T. gondii induce a pro- tective immunity, which is thought to mainly involve a * Cor s onde tours.fr systemic Th1 cellular immune response, which is focused † Equa r l e c p ontribu n t c o e r : s dimier@univ- on IL-12 secreted by dendritic cells (DCs) and IFN- 1 P U h n a i r v m e a rs c i i t e é ,T d o eTours,UMR1282InfectiologieetSantéPublique,UFR gamma production by CD4 + and CD8 + T lymphocytes 2 InstitutNation u a r l s d F- e 3 l 7 a 0 R 0 e 0, ch Fr e a rc n h ce eAgronomique(INRA),UMR1282 [2]. Recent research on the molecular signaling pathways Infectiologie et Santé Publique, Immunologie Parasitaire, Vaccinologie et triggered during the infection of T. gondii have demon- B F i u o ll t l h is é t ra o p f ie a s ut A h n o t r i- i I n n f f o e r ct m ie a u ti s o e n s, is N a ouz i i l ll a y bl F e -3 a 7 t 3 t 8 h 0 e ,F e r n a d nc o e fthearticle strated that the adaptor molecule MyD88, recruited after va © 2013 Torres et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.