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Infection and Immunity, April 2004, p. 2438-2441, Vol. 72, No. 4
0019-9567/04/$08.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/IAI.72.4.2438-2441.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Laurent Dubuquoy,2,
,
Christel Caucheteux-Rousseaux,2 Benoit Foligne,3 Pierre Desreumaux,2 and Michel Simonet1*
E0364 INSERMUniversité de Lille II, Faculté de Médecine and Institut de Biologie de Lille,1 Equipe INSERM 0114, Centre Hospitalier Régional et Universitaire de Lille,2 Laboratoire de Bactériologie des Ecosystèmes, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Lille, France3
Received 4 September 2003/ Returned for modification 28 October 2003/ Accepted 18 December 2003
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) (9, 16). The production of TNF-
and other proinflammatory cytokines requires activation of the nuclear factor
B (NF-
B) pathway, together with stress-activated kinases of the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK) family and c-Jun NH2-terminal kinases (JNK) (10, 19, 29). In patients with IBD, there are several indications that the pathways which regulate cytokine production are abnormally active (20, 23, 27). This finding may be due (at least in part) to impaired expression of the peroxisome proliferator-activator receptor
(8), a nuclear factor which is highly expressed by epithelial cells and that can be regulated by microorganisms present in the intestinal lumen (7). Since mesalamine, corticosteroids, immunosuppressive drugs, and (as shown more recently) TNF-
-specific monoclonal antibodies fail to induce or maintain remission in about 30% of patients with IBD (11), inhibitors of the NF-
B, p38, and JNK MAPK pathways (as well as activators of peroxisome proliferator-activator receptor
) are viewed as potential therapeutic agents.
The enteroinvasive bacterium Yersinia pseudotuberculosis synthesizes virulence factors encoded by a 70-kb plasmid, pYV. Some of these factors (designated Yops [Yersinia outer proteins]) are delivered into the cytosol of macrophages, epithelial cells, and endothelial cells via a type III secretion-translocation apparatus (for a review, see reference 2). The ubiquitin-like protease YopJ (known as YopP in the other enteropathogenic yersinia, Yersinia enterocolitica) has received particular attention: it has the ability to down-regulate the MAPK and NF-
B pathways in infected cells by preventing the activation (via phosphorylation) of MAPK kinases and IKKß (I
B kinase ß) (for a review, see reference 17). This results in reduced release of TNF-
by macrophages (11) and of interleukin-8 (IL-8) by epithelial and endothelial cells (4, 22). It has further been reported that two other pYV-encoded factors counteract the host's inflammatory response: the GTPase-activating protein YopE and the tyrosine phosphatase YopH both down-regulate IL-8 production in Yersinia-infected epithelial cells by blocking the NF-
B and MAPK pathways (G. I. Viboud, S. Shun Kin So, and J. B. Bliska, Abstr. 103rd Gen. Meet. Am. Soc. Microbiol., abstr. D-099, p. 220, 2003; 26). YopE suppresses NF-
B activation as efficiently as YopJ, whereas YopH has only a weak inhibitory effect on this signaling pathway. YopE potently inhibits the activation of JNK and (to a lesser extent) extracellular signaling-regulated kinase, whereas YopH prevents activation of the two MAPKs (Viboud et al., Abstr. 103rd Gen. Meet. Am. Soc. Microbiol.) and also blocks (via phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase activation) the expression of monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 by macrophages in vitro (21). Additionally, it has been reported that LcrV (V antigen, part of the translocation apparatus of the type III secretion system) induces anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 release in macrophages in vitro through an as yet unknown signaling pathway (24). Taken together, these observations suggest that Yersinia components might be potential drugs for the treatment of patients with IBD. Demonstration of their efficacy in an experimental model of colitis mimicking human IBD is, however, a prerequisite for further development.
In the mouse, rectal instillation of the hapten reagent 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS) triggers extensive necrosis of the colon within 5 days. This result is mediated by activation of the NF-
B pathway and leads to enhanced levels of TNF-
and IL-1ß mRNA in the mucosa (6). Although this murine model has limitations, it does allow preclinical studies of new IBD drugs. We studied the impact of prior intestinal infection by Y. pseudotuberculosis on the development of TNBS-induced colitis. Since the wild type of this species is highly virulent in the mouse, we used a virulence-attenuated phoP mutant (32777
PhoPA;
phoP
kan) (M. Marceau, F. Sebbane, F. Ewann, F. Collyn, B. Linder, M. A. Campos, J. A. Bengoechea, and M. Simonet, submitted for publication) which nevertheless retains production of pYV-encoded anti-inflammatory proteins. Mutation of the PhoP-PhoQ two-component regulatory system has been previously reported to increase by
100-fold the 50% lethal dose of pathogenic yersiniae (18; Marceau, unpublished results). We have shown that loss of a functional PhoP-PhoQ system does not impair yopJ, yopE, yopH, or lcrV expression as judged by RNA slot blot hybridization with specific DNA probes (Marceau, unpublished results). When our Y. pseudotuberculosis phoP mutant (Marceau et al., submitted) was inoculated orally in mice, it was still capable of colonizing the Peyer's patches and the colon wall and also translocated to the mesenteric lymph nodes and the spleen (Fig. 1). We then challenged C57BL/6 mice (which are more resistant than the BALB/c lineage to TNBS [15] and also to Yersinia infection [25]) with a sublethal intragastric dose of 107.7 32777
PhoPA cells. On day 5 following the bacterial challenge, infected animals and control animals were anesthetized for 90 to 120 min and then received an intrarectal administration of TNBS (150 mg/kg of body weight; 40 µl of a 1:1 mixture in 0.9% NaCl and 100% ethanol). Five days later, animals were sacrificed and the colon was evaluated under a dissecting microscope (magnification, x5) for macroscopic lesions according to the Wallace criteria (28). This score rates macroscopic lesions over a 4-cm length of colon on a scale from 0 to 10, based on features reflecting inflammation, i.e., hyperemia, thickening of the bowel, and the extent of ulceration. Compared to the results for control mice (n = 7) given only TNBS, a significant decrease in the macroscopic lesion score (Wallace score) was observed in mice infected with Yersinia (n = 7) prior to TNBS administration (Fig. 2). We found an inverse relationship between the Wallace score and colonic colonization by Yersinia cells. Of the five individuals without colitis, four showed bacterial levels in the colon (over a 4-cm length) of 106.6 to 106.8 CFU (with just one showing 103.9 CFU), whereas for the two animals with colonic lesions scored at 1 and 3 on the Wallace scale, levels were 103.6 and 102.3 CFU, respectively. Suppression of TNBS-induced colitis was Yersinia specific since the Wallace score was not reduced when animals were challenged daily with 107 Escherichia coli TG1 (instead of Y. pseudotuberculosis 32777
PhoPA) bacteria over 5 days to ensure persistence of this nonpathogenic strain in the intestinal tract (Fig. 2).
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FIG. 1. Growth of the PhoP-deficient mutant in mouse tissues. Eight-week-old female inbred C57BL/6 mice (Iffa Credo) were given an intragastric dose of 107.7 Y. pseudotuberculosis 32777 PhoPA resuspended in sterile distilled water (0.2 ml). Infected animals were kept in positive-pressure cabinets in a level 2 biosafety facility and had free access to regular rodent chow and tap water. Mice were sacrificed on day 5 after the intragastric challenge. The spleen, three Peyer's patches along a 10-cm length of the ileum, a 2-cm length of colon, and the entire chain of mesenteric lymph nodes were aseptically removed and homogenized in phosphate-buffered saline. Bacteria were counted by spreading dilutions of organ or tissue homogenate on Luria-Bertani agar containing 50 mg of kanamycin per liter since in strain 32777 PhoPA, phoP was replaced by a kanamycin resistance gene. Yersinia colonies were identified on the basis of colony morphology and urease production. Each data point shows bacterial counts in tissues from individual animals, and each bar represents the mean value for seven mice.
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FIG. 2. Macroscopic analysis of mouse colons on day 5 after intrarectal administration of TNBS in animals preinoculated with Yersinia or Escherichia cells and in noninoculated controls. Data from individual mice are shown (solid circles, controls given TNBS only; open circles, Yersinia-infected mice; solid squares, E. coli-infected mice), and bars indicate mean values. Results obtained in the three experimental groups were compared using the nonparametric Mann-Whitney test. NS, not significant.
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plays a key role in the pathophysiology of TNBS-induced colitis, as demonstrated by (i) the decrease in disease severity after the neutralization of the cytokine in vivo, (ii) the absence of colonic lesions in TNF-
knockout mice after intrarectal instillation of TNBS, and (iii) the development of lethal pan-colitis upon TNBS administration in TNF-
transgenic mice (14). To confirm and extend our previous results, we compared colon TNF-
mRNA levels measured in TNBS-treated mice preinfected with Yersinia (n = 9) to those of controls (n = 5). Total RNA was isolated from colonic biopsy samples with phenol and chloroform, and specific mRNAs were quantified by competitive reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) as follows. Ten micrograms of DNA-free RNA extract was reverse transcribed into cDNA by using Moloney murine leukemia virus reverse transcriptase as previously detailed (5). cDNAs were further PCR amplified (40 cycles) in a Perkin-Elmer apparatus using custom-synthesized sense (s) and antisense (as) primers (Genset) specific for the genes coding for TNF-
(s, 5'-TCTCATCAGTTCTATGGCCC-3'; as, 5'-GGGAGTAGACAAGGTACAAC-3') and ß-actin (s, 5'-GGGTCAGAAGGATTCCTATG-3'; as, 5'-GGTCTCAAACATGATCTGGG-3'). Two linearized plasmid DNA competitors (pMus-3 and pQB3 for competition with TNF-
cDNA and ß-actin cDNA, respectively) were added to the PCR mixture. After amplification, the DNA competitors and target cDNAs were separated by agarose gel electrophoresis, and cDNA quantification was performed by using an image analyzer (Gel Analyst; Clara Vision) as previously described (5). For each colonic sample, the results were expressed as the number of TNF-
mRNA molecules per 109 mRNA molecules of internal control ß-actin. Levels of TNF-
mRNA in each of the groups of mice are depicted in Fig. 3. As shown, we found a sixfold reduction (P < 0.001) in cytokine transcript synthesis in the colons of animals inoculated with Yersinia prior to TNBS administration.
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FIG. 3. Colonic TNF- transcript levels on day 5 after intrarectal administration of TNBS in mice preinoculated with Yersinia cells and in noninoculated controls. Data from individual animals are shown with corresponding Wallace scores in parentheses (solid circles, controls given TNBS only; open circles, Yersinia-infected mice), and bars indicate mean values. Results obtained in the two experimental groups were compared using the nonparametric Mann-Whitney test.
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We thank C. Bisiaux for technical assistance and P. Vincent for assistance with statistical analysis.
M.M. and L.D. contributed equally to this work. ![]()
Present address: Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, CNRS/Inserm/ULP, 67404 Illkirch, France. ![]()
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