Discovery of a viral NLR homolog that inhibits the inflammasome

The NLR (nucleotide binding and oligomerization, leucine-rich repeat) family of proteins senses microbial infections and activates the inflammasome, a multiprotein complex that promotes microbial clearance. Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is linked to several human malignancies. We found that KSHV Orf63 is a viral homolog of human NLRP1. Orf63 blocked NLRP1-dependent innate immune responses, including caspase-1 activation and processing of interleukins IL-1β and IL-18. KSHV Orf63 interacted with NLRP1, NLRP3, and NOD2. Inhibition of Orf63 expression resulted in increased expression of IL-1β during the KSHV life cycle. Furthermore, inhibition of NLRP1 was necessary for efficient reactivation and generation of progeny virus. The viral homolog subverts the function of cellular NLRs, which suggests that modulation of NLR-mediated innate immunity is important for the lifelong persistence of herpesviruses.     

Intestinal microbiota promote enteric virus replication and systemic pathogenesis

Intestinal bacteria aid host health and limit bacterial pathogen colonization. However, the influence of bacteria on enteric viruses is largely unknown. We depleted the intestinal microbiota of mice with antibiotics before inoculation with poliovirus, an enteric virus. Antibiotic-treated mice were less susceptible to poliovirus disease and supported minimal viral replication in the intestine. Exposure to bacteria or their N-acetylglucosamine-containing surface polysaccharides, including lipopolysaccharide and peptidoglycan, enhanced poliovirus infectivity. We found that poliovirus binds lipopolysaccharide, and exposure of poliovirus to bacteria enhanced host cell association and infection. The pathogenesis of reovirus, an unrelated enteric virus, also was more severe in the presence of intestinal microbes. These results suggest that antibiotic-mediated microbiota depletion diminishes enteric virus infection and that enteric viruses exploit intestinal microbes for replication and transmission.     

魟鱼软骨多糖的免疫调节作用

[目的]观察魟鱼软骨多糖对小鼠免疫器官胸腺和脾脏重量的影响以及脾脏组织细胞IL-2、IL-6、IFN-γ细胞因子的表达水平。[方法]腹腔注射环磷酰胺（CY）造成小鼠免疫抑制模型,以香菇多糖为阳性对照,魟鱼软骨多糖（低、中、高剂量）,灌胃给药14 d,试验结束后称量胸腺和脾脏重量计算胸腺指数和脾指数,检测脾脏中细胞因子的表达情况：运用抗原对应抗体进行免疫组化SP法检测脾中IL-2、IL-6、IFN-γ细胞因子的表达水平。[结果]魟鱼软骨多糖能显著提高小鼠胸腺和脾脏重量,能拮抗环磷酰胺导致的免疫抑制,升高脾脏中细胞因子的表达水平从而提高机体的免疫功能。[结论]魟鱼软骨多糖对小鼠的免疫功能具有一定的调节作用,是一种良好的免疫调节剂。     

Coordination of early protective immunity to viral infection by regulatory T cells

Suppression of immune responses by regulatory T cells (Tregs) is thought to limit late stages of pathogen-specific immunity as a means of minimizing associated tissue damage. We examined a role for Tregs during mucosal herpes simplex virus infection in mice, and observed an accelerated fatal infection with increased viral loads in the mucosa and central nervous system after ablation of Tregs. Although augmented interferon production was detected in the draining lymph nodes (dLNs) in Treg-deprived mice, it was profoundly reduced at the infection site. This was associated with a delay in the arrival of natural killer cells, dendritic cells, and T cells to the site of infection and a sharp increase in proinflammatory chemokine levels in the dLNs. Our results suggest that Tregs facilitate early protective responses to local viral infection by allowing a timely entry of immune cells into infected tissue.     

Hepatitis B virus DNA sequences in lymphoid cells from patients with AIDS and AIDS-related complex

A lymphotropic virus HTLV-III/LAV was recently identified as the etiologic agent of the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). In a study of concomitant hepatitis B infections in patients with AIDS or the AIDS-related complex, DNA sequences of hepatitis B virus (HBV) were found in fresh and cultured lymphocytes from patients with AIDS even in the absence of conventional HBV serological markers. Furthermore, the restriction DNA pattern was consistent with the integration of the viral DNA. These results should prompt additional studies to reevaluate a possible role of HBV as a cofactor in AIDS in addition to the HTLV-III/LAV causal agent.     

The antibacterial lectin RegIIIgamma promotes the spatial segregation of microbiota and host in the intestine

The mammalian intestine is home to ~100 trillion bacteria that perform important metabolic functions for their hosts. The proximity of vast numbers of bacteria to host intestinal tissues raises the question of how symbiotic host-bacterial relationships are maintained without eliciting potentially harmful immune responses. Here, we show that RegIIIγ, a secreted antibacterial lectin, is essential for maintaining a ~50-micrometer zone that physically separates the microbiota from the small intestinal epithelial surface. Loss of host-bacterial segregation in RegIIIγ(-/-) mice was coupled to increased bacterial colonization of the intestinal epithelial surface and enhanced activation of intestinal adaptive immune responses by the microbiota. Together, our findings reveal that RegIIIγ is a fundamental immune mechanism that promotes host-bacterial mutualism by regulating the spatial relationships between microbiota and host.     

PRRSV诱导猪体内肺泡巨噬细胞炎症模型的建立

[目的]建立猪繁殖与呼吸综合征病毒(PRRSV)诱导体内猪肺泡巨噬细胞(PAM)炎症模型,评价PRRSV感染对仔猪免疫系统的影响,为猪繁殖与呼吸综合征(PRRS)的临床诊断及科学防控提供参考依据.[方法]以PRRSV-GXNN1396株人工感染30日龄健康断奶仔猪,复制出PRRS病症,剖杀后采集病料,通过组织病理学和RT-PCR检测观察各免疫器官组织的病理变化及其病毒分布情况,并检测PAM细胞内的COX-1、COX-2等酶活性变化及IL-6、IL-8、IL-10、IL-1β、IFN-γ、MCP-1和TNF-α等炎性细胞因子水平变化.[结果]断奶仔猪接种PRRSV-GXNN1396株后第3d开始表现出典型的PRRS病症,PRRSV主要集中在肺脏、颌下淋巴结、血液和扁桃体等样品组织中,攻毒仔猪各主要器官的实质细胞及有关淋巴细胞均出现不同程度坏死和炎症细胞浸入现象,尤其以肺脏、肾脏、脾脏等器官受损严重,出现巨噬细胞和淋巴细胞浸润.PRRSV感染早期(第3d)仔猪PAM细胞中的ROS水平及COX-2、IL-6、IL-8、IL-10和TNF-α等因子水平均呈升高趋势,且COX-2、IL-6、IL-8和TNF-α因子水平极显著升高(P<0.01);随着感染天数的增加,PAM细胞内的COX-2、IL-6和IL-8因子水平呈下降趋势,TNF-α因子水平呈上升趋势.[结论]成功建立了PRRSV诱导仔猪体内PAM细胞炎症模型,进一步佐证PRRSV主要侵害猪的免疫器官组织,以达到免疫抑制的效果,并推断感染第3d是病猪炎症反应的高峰期.     

Toxicant-disease-environment interactions associated with suppression of immune system, growth, and reproduction

The effects of marginal malnourishment , infections, and environmental chemicals on growth and reproductive success in Swiss-Webster white mice and wild deer mice were studied with fractional factorial designs. Interaction effects were discovered. For example, malnourished mice were more sensitive to virus exposure and environmental chemicals (a plant growth regulator or polychlorinated biphenyls). Since several commercial plant growth regulators also appear to suppress the immune system, these results cast doubt on the adequacy of current toxicity testing procedures in which factors are studied individually and not in combination.     

Vaccination for disease.

Recombinant virus vaccines that express a limited number of epitopes are currently being developed to prevent disease by changing the relative balance between viral spread and the immune response. Some circumstances, however, were found in infections with a noncytopathic virus in which vaccination caused disease; sensitive parameters included the genetic background of the host, the time or dose of infection, and the constituents of the vaccine. Thus, immunopathologic damage by T cells may be an unwanted consequence of vaccination with the new types of peptide or recombinant vaccines that are being investigated for the human immunodeficiency viruses and other pathogens.     

鸭坦布苏病毒对雏鸭血清生化指标、细胞因子和病毒复制情况的影响(英文)

为了解鸭坦布苏病毒(DTMUV)的致病性,试验以1×10~4EID_(50)的剂量DTMUV肌肉注射5日龄樱桃谷雏鸭,采用生化指标检测试剂盒对血清样品进行生化指标检测,采用荧光定量PCR方法检测排毒情况、组织载毒量和细胞因子的变化情况。结果表明,DTMUV对肝脏、肾脏、心脏和肌肉组织都有严重损伤;DTMUV可以在肝脏、脾脏、肺脏、脑中增殖,并于攻毒后第5天在肝脏和脑中达到高峰,于攻毒后第9天后在肺脏和脾脏中达到高峰,且脑、肝脏、脾脏中病毒含量最高;攻毒后第1天DTMUV就可引起脾脏中γ干扰素(IFN γ)、α干扰素(IFN α)、白细胞介素6(IL-6)、β干扰素(IFN β)、白细胞介素1β(IL-1β)、Toll样受体7(TLR-7)、白细胞介素2(IL-2)、主要组织相容性复合体Ⅰ型(MHC-Ⅰ)、主要组织相容性复合体Ⅱ型(MHC-Ⅱ)细胞因子过渡表达,在脑中第1,2,3 d均引起促炎性细胞因子IL-6、IL-2的过度应答。     

The alarmin interleukin-33 drives protective antiviral CD8⁺ T cell responses

Pathogen-associated molecular patterns decisively influence antiviral immune responses, whereas the contribution of endogenous signals of tissue damage, also known as damage-associated molecular patterns or alarmins, remains ill defined. We show that interleukin-33 (IL-33), an alarmin released from necrotic cells, is necessary for potent CD8(+) T cell (CTL) responses to replicating, prototypic RNA and DNA viruses in mice. IL-33 signaled through its receptor on activated CTLs, enhanced clonal expansion in a CTL-intrinsic fashion, determined plurifunctional effector cell differentiation, and was necessary for virus control. Moreover, recombinant IL-33 augmented vaccine-induced CTL responses. Radio-resistant cells of the splenic T cell zone produced IL-33, and efficient CTL responses required IL-33 from radio-resistant cells but not from hematopoietic cells. Thus, alarmin release by radio-resistant cells orchestrates protective antiviral CTL responses.     

A single amino acid interchange yields reciprocal CTL specificities for HIV-1 gp160

For the IIIB isolate of human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1), the immunodominant determinant of the envelope protein gp160 for cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) of H-2d mice is in a region of high sequence variability among HIV-1 isolates. The general requirements for CTL recognition of peptide antigens and the relation of recognition requirements to the natural variation in sequence of the HIV were investigated. For this purpose, a CTL line specific for the homologous segment of the envelope from the MN isolate of HIV-1 and restricted by the same class I major histocompatibility (MHC) molecule (Dd) as the IIIB-specific CTLs was raised from mice immunized with MN-env-recombinant vaccinia virus. The IIIB-specific and MN-specific CTLs were completely non-cross-reactive. Reciprocal exchange of a single amino acid between the two peptide sequences, which differed in 6 of 15 residues, led to a complete reversal of the specificity of the peptides in sensitizing targets, such that the IIIB-specific CTLs lysed targets exposed to the singly substituted MN peptide and vice versa. These data indicate the importance of single residues in defining peptide epitopic specificity and have implications for both the effect of immune pressure on selection of viral mutants and the design of effective vaccines.     

Interleukin-22 drives endogenous thymic regeneration in mice

Endogenous thymic regeneration is a crucial function that allows for renewal of immune competence after stress, infection, or immunodepletion. However, the mechanisms governing this regeneration remain poorly understood. We detail such a mechanism, centered on interleukin-22 (IL-22) and triggered by the depletion of CD4(+)CD8(+) double-positive thymocytes. Intrathymic levels of IL-22 were increased after thymic insult, and thymic recovery was impaired in IL-22-deficient mice. IL-22, which signaled through thymic epithelial cells and promoted their proliferation and survival, was up-regulated by radio-resistant RORγ(t)(+)CCR6(+)NKp46(-) lymphoid tissue inducer cells after thymic injury in an IL-23-dependent manner. Administration of IL-22 enhanced thymic recovery after total body irradiation. These studies reveal mechanisms of endogenous thymic repair and offer innovative regenerative strategies for improving immune competence.     

中药产复康对免疫功能低下小鼠细胞因子的影响

[目的]研究产复康对免疫功能低下小鼠细胞因子的影响,为进一步研究其对机体免疫功能的影响提供基础：[方法]通过给小鼠2次皮下注射40mg/kg体重的环磷酰胺,建立免疫抑制模型,并分别以10、15、2．0g/kg的剂量灌服产复康,检测小鼠血清中细胞因子IL10、IL-2和TNFα水平的变化,[结果]单一灌服产复康明显提高了正常小鼠血清中的IL-1β、IL-2和TNFα水平;环磷酰胺降低了小鼠血清中IL-1β、IL-2和TNFQ水平;产复康显著提高免疫抑制小鼠血清中IL-1β、IL-2和TNFα水平。[结论]产复康能拮抗环磷酰胺的免疫抑制,提高机体的免疫功能。     

Structure of an extracellular gp130 cytokine receptor signaling complex

The activation of gp130, a shared signal-transducing receptor for a family of cytokines, is initiated by recognition of ligand followed by oligomerization into a higher order signaling complex. Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus encodes a functional homolog of human interleukin-6 (IL-6) that activates human gp130. In the 2.4 angstrom crystal structure of the extracellular signaling assembly between viral IL-6 and human gp130, two complexes are cross-linked into a tetramer through direct interactions between the immunoglobulin domain of gp130 and site III of viral IL-6, which is necessary for receptor activation. Unlike human IL-6 (which uses many hydrophilic residues), the viral cytokine largely uses hydrophobic amino acids to contact gp130, which enhances the complementarity of the viral IL-6-gp130 binding interfaces. The cross-reactivity of gp130 is apparently due to a chemical plasticity evident in the amphipathic gp130 cytokine-binding sites.     

H1N1亚型猪流感病毒HA蛋白225位氨基酸对病毒致病性的影响

[目的]流感病毒的致病性是由多个基因共同决定的,笔者之前的研究结果发现当两株具有相似基因特征的H1N1亚型猪流感病毒进行HA基因替换以后,病毒对小鼠的致病性发生了改变.通过确定影响病毒致病性的关键氨基酸位点,为进一步揭示流感病毒致病力差异奠定了基础.[方法]对ZD71和SY130的HA蛋白氨基酸序列进行比对,确认氨基酸...     

Compartmentalized control of skin immunity by resident commensals

Intestinal commensal bacteria induce protective and regulatory responses that maintain host-microbial mutualism. However, the contribution of tissue-resident commensals to immunity and inflammation at other barrier sites has not been addressed. We found that in mice, the skin microbiota have an autonomous role in controlling the local inflammatory milieu and tuning resident T lymphocyte function. Protective immunity to a cutaneous pathogen was found to be critically dependent on the skin microbiota but not the gut microbiota. Furthermore, skin commensals tuned the function of local T cells in a manner dependent on signaling downstream of the interleukin-1 receptor. These findings underscore the importance of the microbiota as a distinctive feature of tissue compartmentalization, and provide insight into mechanisms of immune system regulation by resident commensal niches in health and disease.     

Latency of herpes simplex virus in absence of neutralizing antibody: model for reactivation

Mice inoculated with herpes simplex virus (type 1) by the lip or corneal route and then passively immunized with rabbit antibody to herpes simplex virus developed a latent infection in the trigeminal ganglia within 96 hours. Neutralizing antibody to herpes simplex virus was cleared from the circulation and could not be detected in most of these mice after 2 months. Examination of ganglia from the antibody-negative mice revealed latent virus in over 90 percent of the animals, indicating that serum neutralizing antibody is not necessary to maintain the latent state. When the lips or corneas of these mice were traumatized, viral reactivation occurred in up to 90 percent of the mice, as demonstrated by the appearance of neutralizing antibody. This study provides a model for identifying factors that trigger viral reactivation.