Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06520,1 Centre d'Ecologie Cellulaire, Hôpital de la Salpétrière, Paris, France2
Received 12 December 2003/ Returned for modification 26 January 2004/ Accepted 9 February 2004
| ABSTRACT |
|---|
|
|
|---|
| INTRODUCTION |
|---|
|
|
|---|
Polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) are the initial responding cells after a tick bite (2). They are effective in eliminating spirochetes by a variety of pathways but are more efficient in the presence of opsonizing antisera (10, 11, 17). The saliva of Ixodes ticks is known to inhibit in some way both phagocytosis and superoxide production by PMN in vitro (24). Ixodes tick saliva also inhibits T-cell proliferation (27), perhaps due to an interleukin-2 binding protein (6); inhibits complement lysis of erythrocytes (28); and reduces the production of cytokines and nitric oxide (NO) and the killing of spirochetes by macrophages (9, 20, 27). We undertook the present study to determine whether saliva inhibits PMN chemotaxis and adherence, basic functions that are likely to be important for the clearance of spirochetes.
| MATERIALS AND METHODS |
|---|
|
|
|---|
For measurement of cell area, freshly isolated PMN in PBS containing Ca2+, Mg2+, and 0.1% bovine serum albumin (BSA) were plated at a concentration of 1 x 105 cells per glass coverslip and incubated for 1 h at 37°C to allow adherence. Adherent cells were then incubated for an additional 1 h in a humidified chamber either alone or in dilutions of saliva (1:10, 1:20, and 1:100). Cells were fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde in PBS, mounted in Mowiol, and examined with a Zeiss Axiovert 200 M microscope (Carl Zeiss Microimaging, Inc., Thornwood, N.Y.). Digital images were taken from 100 to 200 cells under each condition at a magnification of x40, and the diameter of each cell (in arbitrary units) was determined from a print of the digital image.
For videomicroscopy, 5-µl portions of cells in PBS-2% BSA were sealed under glass coverslips with a mean final thickness of 5.7 µm so that the cells were compressed between the slides and coverslips (13, 15). PMN were examined by phase-contrast microscopy by using a x40 objective on a 33°C stage. The orientation and trajectory of PMN was recorded before, during, and after their response to a chemotactic stimulus created by ruby laser microbeam destruction of an erythrocyte (wavelength, 694.3 min; duration of flash, 0.5 ms) (13). Freeze-frame images were collected with a Hamamatsu C2400 microscope video camera (Hamamatsu Photonics K.K., Hamamatsu City, Japan) and a Panasonic AG6720 time-lapse video recorder (Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Osaka, Japan). Reagents for treatment of cells were obtained from Sigma-Aldrich Fine Chemicals (St. Louis, Mo.)
Spirochete culture. A low-passage clonal isolate of B. burgdorferi strain N40 was cultivated in Barbour-Stoenner-Kelly (BSK) II medium at 33°C as described previously (10). Spirochetes were opsonized for 30 min with 1 to 10% heat-inactivated serum from a well-characterized Lyme disease patient or a normal volunteer in PBS; donor serum reactivities were documented by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Western blotting against B. burgdorferi lysate.
Saliva preparation. Adult Ixodes scapularis ticks were allowed to feed on naïve rabbits for 5 to 7 days until they were engorged. Saliva was harvested from the ticks following pilocarpine stimulation as described previously (28) and was stored at 80°C until it was used.
Detection of killing of spirochetes. B. burgdorferi was quantified by using a modified regrowth assay which measures spirochete uptake of [3H]adenine over 48 h (10). PMN in these experiments did incorporate some [3H]adenine, but as they did not divide, it was a small amount. Briefly, 5 x 106 B. burgdorferi cells per ml were incubated with PMN for 1 h at 37°C with agitation. Triplicate aliquots (50 µl) plated in 96-well plates in the presence of 200 µl of BSK II medium containing 5 µCi of [3H]adenine were incubated for 48 h at 33°C. Spirochetes and cells were harvested with a semiautomated cell harvester (Skatron Instruments, Inc., Sterling, Va.), and the incorporated [3H]adenine was counted with an LKB/Wallac 1205 Betaplate liquid scintillation counter (LKB/Wallac, Gaithersburg, Md.). Viability was determined by measuring incorporation of [3H]adenine by B. burgdorferi alone compared to incorporation of [3H]adenine by B. burgdorferi incubated with PMN. The results were expressed as the increase in the percentage of viable spirochetes recovered after incubation with saliva-treated PMN compared with the results obtained with control PMN.
FACS analysis of PMN.
Freshly isolated PMN in PBS containing Ca2+, Mg2+, and 0.1% BSA were preincubated in dilutions of saliva before stimulation with tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-
) (15 ng/ml; R & D Systems, Minneapolis, Minn.). Cells were labeled with specific antibodies (DAKO Corp.) in PBS-BSA for 1 h at 4°C, washed, fixed in 0.5% paraformaldehyde in PBS, and stored at 4°C until fluorescence-activated cell sorter (FACS) analysis. Fluorescein isothiocyanate-conjugated CD4 (T-cell marker) served as a negative control. Pilocarpine treatment did not change integrin expression.
Statistical analysis. Significance was assessed by analysis of variance and paired, one-tailed Student's t tests.
| RESULTS |
|---|
|
|
|---|
|
|
|
per ml for 30 min showed significant upregulation of CD18 integrin expression (Table 1) (16). In contrast, a dramatic decrease in CD18 (ß2-integrin) expression was detected in saliva-treated cells. This reduction was dose dependent, and higher concentrations of saliva resulted in more profound reductions (Fig. 3). The reduction in CD18 expression on saliva-treated PMN was apparent in the presence or absence of TNF-
activation and was statistically different from CD18 expression by PMN not exposed to saliva (for 1:10 dilution of saliva, P = 0.0004 without TNF-
and P = 0.08 in the presence of TNF-
; n = 4) (Table 1). Expression of the PMN surface marker CD15 (siayl Lewis X antigen) was not appreciably changed by saliva treatment or by TNF-
stimulation.
|
produced a statistically significant increase in expression of all integrins tested (P = 0.04), regardless of treatment, but not of CD15 (n = 3) (data not shown). Saliva treatment impairs spirochete killing in suspension. Saliva-treated PMN were dramatically less adherent (Fig. 1) and thus were not suitable for direct microscopic observation of spirochete killing by vital staining. To measure killing, we quantified the recovery of spirochetes in suspension using a well-characterized [3H]adenine regrowth assay (10). PMN were preincubated in suspension with saliva at a 1:10 dilution for 1 h before addition of spirochetes at a B. burgdorferi/PMN ratio of 5:1 or 2:1. In three experiments in which PMN killed unopsonized spirochetes, a modest increase in the level of viability was noted in saliva-treated PMN (Fig. 4); the reduction was significant at a B. burgdorferi/PMN ratio of 2:1 (P = 0.04). While this suspension assay does not require adherence of the PMN to a surface, the increased survival of spirochetes in the presence of treated PMN is in keeping with the observed decrease in attachment of spirochetes to PMN.
|
|
| DISCUSSION |
|---|
|
|
|---|
. Moreover, killing of spirochetes was reduced in the presence of saliva, in keeping with evidence that integrins mediate binding of unopsonized spirochetes to leukocytes (3, 4). Although we did not distinguish between decreased appearance and increased removal of CD18 from the cell surface, the behavior of saliva-treated PMN during chemotaxis suggests that there is aggregation of integrin molecules that are swept to the rear of moving PMN. In compressed slide preparations, in which adhesion was less important for locomotion (13), tick saliva had no effect on the random locomotion of PMN or on their orientation or chemotaxis. After a tick bite, a local cement plug or absorbent reservoir forms, which contains high concentrations of saliva that are replenished by intermittent bursts of salivation during feeding (1). Generally, attachment of ticks for 48 h is necessary for efficient transmission of B. burgdorferi to a host (25), which provides a critical window of time for saliva to exert its modulatory effects on the host immune response.
Besides their apparent contribution to the adhesion of PMN to B. burgdorferi and killing of spirochetes as demonstrated here, integrins are known to be important in adherence and locomotion and other aspects of phagocyte function; the absence of these molecules results in severe complications of infectious diseases and wound healing (8). For example, masking of CD18 blocked cytokine stimulation of H2O2 production by PMN (19) and delayed apoptosis (5). The downregulation of PMN integrins by saliva compromises the abilities of the responding PMN and provides spirochetes with critical time to establish themselves in situ before they disseminate to cause systemic illness.
| ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
|---|
We are grateful for ticks supplied by John Anderson and Durland Fish and for the technical assistance of Rita Palmarozza and Deborah Beck.
| FOOTNOTES |
|---|
| REFERENCES |
|---|
|
|
|---|
| 1. | Alekseev, A. N., E. A. Arumova, and I. S. Vasilieva. 1995. Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in female cement plug of Ixodes persulcatus ticks (Acari, Ixodiae). Exp. Appl. Acarol. 19:519-522.[CrossRef][Medline] |
| 2. | Barthold, S. W., M. de Souza, E. Fikrig, and D. H. Persing. 1992. Lyme borreliosis in the laboratory mouse, p. 223-242. In S. E. Schutzer (ed.), Lyme disease: molecular and immunologic approaches. Cold Spring Harbor Press, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. |
| 3. | Cinco, M., R. Murgia, G. Presani, and S. Perticarari. 1997. Integrin CR3 mediates the binding of nonspecifically opsonized Borrelia burgdorferi to human phagocytes and mammalian cells. Infect. Immun. 65:4784-4789.[Abstract] |
| 4. | Coburn, J., J. M. Leong, and J. K. Erban. 1993. Integrin IIbß3 mediates binding of the Lyme disease agent Borrelia burgdorferi to human platelets. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 90:7059-7063. |
| 5. | Coxon, A., P. Rieu, F. J. Barkalow, S. Askari, A. H. Sharpe, U. H. von Andrian, M. A. Arnaout, and T. N. Mayadas. 1996. A novel role for the beta 2 integrin CD11b/CD18 in neutrophil apoptosis: a homeostatic mechanism in inflammation. Immunity 5:653-666.[CrossRef][Medline] |
| 6. | Gillespie, R. D., M. C. Dolan, J. Piesman, and R. G. Titus. 2001. Identification of an IL-2 binding protein in the saliva of the Lyme disease vector tick, Ixodes scapularis. J. Immunol. 166:4319-4326. |
| 7. | Gillespie, R. D., M. L. Mbow, and R. G. Titus. 2000. The immunomodulatory factors of bloodfeeding arthropod saliva. Parasite Immunol. 22:319-331.[CrossRef][Medline] |
| 8. | Kishimoto, T. K., E. T. Baldwin, and D. C. Anderson. 1999. The role of ß2 integrins in inflammation, p. 537-569. In J. I. Gallin and R. Snyderman (ed.), Inflammation: basic principals and clinical correlates, 3rd ed. Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia, Pa. |
| 9. | Kuthejlova, M., J. Kopecky, G. Stepanova, and A. Macela. 2001. Tick salivary gland extract inhibits killing of Borrelia afzelii spirochetes by mouse macrophages. Infect. Immun. 69:575-578. |
| 10. | Lusitani, D., S. E. Malawista, and R. R. Montgomery. 2002. Borrelia burgdorferi are susceptible to killing by a variety of PMN components. J. Infect. Dis. 185:797-804.[CrossRef][Medline] |
| 11. | Lusitani, D. L., S. E. Malawista, and R. R. Montgomery. 2003. Calprotectin, an abundant cytosolic protein from human polymorphonuclear leukocytes, inhibits the growth of Borrelia burgdorferi. Infect. Immun. 71:4711-4716. |
| 12. | Malawista, S. E. Lyme disease. In W. J. Koopman (ed.), Arthritis and allied conditions. A textbook of rheumatology, in press. Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia, Pa. |
| 13. | Malawista, S. E., and A. de Bloisfleury Chevance. 1997. Random locomotion and chemotaxis of human blood polymorphonuclear leukocytes in the presence of EDTA: PMN in close quarters require neither leukocyte integrins nor external divalent cations. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 94:11577-11582. |
| 14. | Malawista, S. E., A. de Bloisfleury Chevance, and L. A. Boxer. 2000. Random locomotion and chemotaxis of human blood polymorphonuclear leukocytes from a patient with leukocyte adhesion deficiency-1: normal displacement in close quarters via chimneying. Cell Motil. Cytoskel. 46:183-189.[CrossRef][Medline] |
| 15. | Malawista, S. E., A. de Boisfleury Chevance, E. J. Brown, L. A. Boxer, and S. K. Law. 2003. Chemotaxis of non-compressed blood polymorphonuclear leukocytes from an adolescent with severe leukocyte adhesion deficiency. Am. J. Hematol. 73:115-120.[CrossRef][Medline] |
| 16. | Miller, L. J., D. F. Bainton, N. Borregaard, and T. A. Springer. 1987. Stimulated mobilization of monocyte Mac-1 and p150,95 adhesion proteins from an intracellular vesicular compartment to the cell surface. J. Clin. Investig. 80:535-544. |
| 17. | Montgomery, R. R., D. L. Lusitani, A. de Boisfleury Chevance, and S. E. Malawista. 2002. Human phagocytic cells in the early innate immune response to Borrelia burgdorferi. J. Infect. Dis. 185:1773-1779.[CrossRef][Medline] |
| 18. | Montgomery, R. R., M. H. Nathanson, and S. E. Malawista. 1993. The fate of Borrelia burgdorferi, the agent for Lyme disease, in mouse macrophages: destruction, survival, recovery. J. Immunol. 150:909-915.[Abstract] |
| 19. | Nathan, C., S. Srimal, C. Farber, E. Sanchez, L. Kabbash, A. Asch, J. Gailit, and S. D. Wright. 1989. Cytokine-induced respiratory burst of human neutrophils: dependence on extracellular matrix proteins and CD11/CD18 integrins. J. Cell Biol. 109:1341-1349. |
| 20. | Ramachandra, R. N., and S. K. Wikel. 1992. Modulation of host-immune responses by ticks (Acari:Ixodidae): effect of salivary gland extracts on host macrophages and lymphocyte cytokine production. J. Med. Entomol. 29:818-826.[Medline] |
| 21. | Ribeiro, J. M., and I. M. Francischetti. 2003. Role of arthropod saliva in blood feeding: sialome and post-sialome perspectives. Annu. Rev. Entomol. 48:73-88.[CrossRef][Medline] |
| 22. | Ribeiro, J. M. C., G. T. Makoul, J. Levine, D. R. Robinson, and A. R. Spielman. 1985. Antihemostatic, antiinflammatory, and immunosuppressive properties of the saliva of a tick, Ixodes dammini. J. Exp. Med. 161:332-344. |
| 23. | Ribeiro, J. M. C., A. Vachereau, G. B. Modi, and R. B. Tesh. 1989. A novel vasodilatory peptide from the salivary glands of the sand fly Lutzomyia longipalpis. Science 243:212-214. |
| 24. | Ribeiro, J. M. C., J. J. Weis, and S. R. Telford III. 1990. Saliva of the tick Ixodes dammini inhibits neutrophil function. Exp. Parasitol. 70:382-388.[CrossRef][Medline] |
| 25. | Shih, C.-M., R. J. Pollack, S. R. Telford III, and A. Spielman. 1992. Delayed dissemination of Lyme disease spirochetes from the site of deposition in the skin of mice. J. Infect. Dis. 166:827-831.[Medline] |
| 26. | Titus, R. G., and J. M. C. Ribeiro. 1990. The role of vector saliva in transmission of arthropod-borne disease. Parasitol. Today 6:157-160.[CrossRef][Medline] |
| 27. | Urioste, S., L. R. Hall, S. R. Telford III, and R. G. Titus. 1994. Saliva of the Lyme disease vector, Ixodes dammini, blocks cell activation by a nonprostaglandin E2-dependent mechanism. J. Exp. Med. 180:1077-1085. |
| 28. | Valenzuela, J. G., R. Charlab, T. N. Mather, and J. M. Ribeiro. 2000. Purification, cloning, and expression of a novel salivary anticomplement protein from the tick, Ixodes scapularis. J. Biol. Chem. 275:18717-18723. |
| 29. | Zeidner, N. S., B. S. Schneider, M. S. Nuncio, L. Gern, and J. Piesman. 2002. Coinoculation of Borrelia spp. with tick salivary gland lysate enhances spirochete load in mice and is tick species-specific. J. Parasitol. 88:1276-1278.[CrossRef][Medline] |
This article has been cited by other articles:
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| J. Bacteriol. | J. Virol. | Eukaryot. Cell |
|---|
| Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. | Clin. Vaccine Immunol. | All ASM Journals |
|---|