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Infection and Immunity, November 2005, p. 7525-7534, Vol. 73, No. 11
0019-9567/05/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/IAI.73.11.7525-7534.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Section on Molecular Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine,1 Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 271572
Received 26 April 2005/ Returned for modification 4 June 2005/ Accepted 1 August 2005
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Species from the genus Bordetella, namely, Bordetella pertussis, Bordetella parapertussis, and Bordetella bronchiseptica, colonize the respiratory tracts of mammals. While B. pertussis (the causative agent of whooping cough) has adapted exclusively to the human host, B. parapertussis can infect humans (causing a pertussis-like illness) and sheep. By contrast with the more host-restricted Bordetella spp., B. bronchiseptica causes respiratory tract infections in a wide variety of hosts, both human and animal. A two-component signal transduction system, BvgAS, controls a phenotypic transition (Bvg+, Bvg, and Bvgi or intermediate phase) involving changes in the expression of virulence factors critical in the pathogenesis of bordetellae (6, 12, 27, 30, 54). The Bvg+ phase in bordetellae is characterized by the expression of virulence factors required for colonization of the respiratory tract, including adhesins (10, 18, 26, 28, 37) and toxins (7, 45). By contrast, the Bvg phase of B. bronchiseptica, which may be advantageous in survival in the environment (9), is characterized mainly by the expression of genes involved in motility, including flagellin (2, 3), and the specific repression of virulence factors typical of the Bvg+ phase (1). Although motility genes are present in B. pertussis and B. parapertussis, inactivation of the flagellar operon results in a lack of motility in these two species (45). Rabbits and rats infected with wild-type B. bronchiseptica do not develop a potent immune response against flagellin, suggesting that flagellin expression upon infection is rapidly and effectively repressed (1, 9). Furthermore, infection with a B. bronchiseptica strain which expresses flagellin ectopically in the Bvg+ phase results in strong antibody responses to flagella and reduces tracheal colonization by B. bronchiseptica (1), suggesting that flagellin repression is important for Bordetella infection.
The wide host range of B. bronchiseptica and the phenotypic modulation by the BvgAS system make this species an excellent model to elucidate the role of virulence factors important in Bordetella pathogenesis. Although the functions of a number of Bvg+ phase-specific genes involved in Bordetella virulence have been studied, there is no information on the specific role of Bordetella flagellin in the regulation of host inflammatory responses. As stated earlier, flagellin has an inhibitory role in B. bronchiseptica infection (1). Because of the demonstrated role of flagellin in the regulation of host responses, we were prompted to investigate mucosal innate host defense modulation by B. bronchiseptica flagellin. For this, we have used models of coculture of human lung epithelial cells and bacteria to determine the role of B. bronchiseptica flagellin in the development of inflammatory responses. In addition, we have used human and mouse Toll-like receptor 5-expressing cells to examine receptor specificity in the response to B. bronchiseptica flagellin. Our results demonstrate that B. bronchiseptica flagellin is a potent proinflammatory virulence factor for human lung epithelial cells, eliciting a response geared to the effective elimination of the pathogen. Our work also shows that B. bronchiseptica flagellin signals efficiently through human and mouse TLR-5.
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54) is locked in the Bvg phase as a result of an in-frame deletion in bvgS (9). The isogenic flagellin mutant RB54
flaA contains a deletion in the flagellin structural gene flaA (10). Strain REV1 (frlr [superscrpt "r" designates reversal of expression of frl locus; reference 1]) expresses frlAB (an activator of flagellar genes) from the fhaB promoter resulting in constitutive expression of flagella in the Bvg+ phase (1). The nonflagellated strain RBA5 (frlr-
flaA) has an in-frame deletion in the flaA gene (1). The nonmotile strain RBA2 (
frlAB) has a deletion in frlAB (1). Strain RB53 (bvgS-C3) is locked in the Bvg+ phase, and thus, it does not express flagellin (9). Strain WD3 (
bscN) is a type III secretion mutant, with an in-frame deletion in bscN, a putative ATPase required for the secretion process (68, 69). B. pertussis Bp536 and its Bvg phase-locked derivative strain Bp537 (52) and B. parapertussis 12822 (22) have been previously described. B. bronchiseptica, B. pertussis, and B. parapertussis were maintained on Bordet-Gengou (BG) agar, containing 7.5% defibrinated sheep blood for the determination of colony morphology and hemolytic activity. Liquid cultures were grown in Stainer-Scholte broth, supplemented with heptakis(2,6-di-O-methyl-)-ß-cyclodextrin (Sigma) for B. pertussis. BvgAS activity in B. parapertussis was modulated by 40 mM MgSO4. Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium 14028 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa 10145 were obtained from ATCC and were routinely grown in 3% tryptic soy broth. Gentamicin, polymyxin B, fetal bovine serum, and chemicals were obtained from Sigma Chemical Company (St. Louis, MO). The monoclonal antibody 15D8 (IGEN International, Gaithersburg, MD), directed against an epitope in E. coli flagellin, was used to detect Bordetella flagellin (2, 3). |
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TABLE 1. Strains used in this study
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Host defense gene expression analysis. Calu-3 human lung epithelial cells were seeded onto six-well plates and grown to about 95% density. Epithelial monolayers were infected for 60 min and then washed as described above. Cells were subsequently incubated in RPMI 1640 medium containing 10% FBS and 100 µg/ml gentamicin, and total RNA was prepared with RNAzol B (Tel-Test, Inc., Friendswood, TX) at 6 h postinfection. Northern hybridization for matrilysin and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase mRNAs was done as described previously (32). For the expression analysis of human ß-defensins, total RNA samples were reverse transcribed using random hexamer primers (Perkin-Elmer, Branchburg, NJ), and cDNAs were then amplified by PCR as described previously (31). The sizes of the amplified products for hBD2 and hBD1 are 241 and 258 bp, respectively. Reactions were analyzed on 6% acrylamide gels.
Purification of flagellin and protein sequencing. Flagellin was purified from overnight culture supernatants of B. bronchiseptica RB54, P. aeruginosa (ATCC 10145), and S. enterica serovar Typhimurium (ATCC 14028), as described previously (32). Flagellin was analyzed by electrophoresis on 12% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gels and stained with Coomassie blue. Flagellin was further purified by using polymyxin B beads (Sigma), and the removal of endotoxin was verified as described previously (8). For the N-terminal sequencing of flagellin, purified protein was visualized by staining with 0.1% Coomassie brilliant blue, excised, and sequenced by automated Edman degradation using a PE Applied Biosystems 492 sequencer as described previously (31).
Immunoblotting. Conditioned medium samples were separated on 12% SDS-polyacrylamide gels, transferred by semidry electrophoretic transfer to nitrocellulose membranes (Hybond ECL; Amersham Pharmacia Biotechology, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom), and probed with the antiflagellin monoclonal antibody 15D8 as described previously (31).
Statistical analysis. For statistical comparisons, data on chemokine and cytokine expression were analyzed by analysis of variance and Bonferroni-type multiple t test. A P value of <0.01 was considered significant.
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flaA (9, 10). As shown in Fig. 1A, secretion of the chemokine macrophage inflammatory protein 3
(MIP-3
) (CCL20) by BEAS-2B cells was up-regulated compared to uninfected cells in response to exposure to RB54 but not RB54
flaA. A similar result was obtained when we determined IL-8 (CXCL8) secretion by A549, NHBE, BEAS-2B, and Calu-3 cells exposed to B. bronchiseptica (Fig. 1B and C; see Fig. 3C; also data not shown), suggesting that flagellin expression by the bacterium induces these inflammatory markers. Secretion of IL-8 by NHBE cells was reduced compared to the other cell lines examined (Fig. 1), in agreement with previous reports (64), but a similar significant reduction in IL-8 secretion was observed in response to nonmotile bacteria (Fig. 1C). To determine the effect of flagellin expressed ectopically in the Bvg+ phase, we used REV1 (frlr), a strain engineered to express flagella constitutively in a wild-type background (1). As shown in Fig. 1A and B, REV1 induced the secretion of proinflammatory markers by human lung epithelial cells to an extent similar to RB54, while exposure to the isogenic flagellin mutant RBA5 (frlr::
flaA) had no significant effect (Fig. 1A and B; also data not shown). No significant induction of cytokines and chemokines was observed in response to exposure to RBA2 (a nonmotile
frlAB deletion mutant [1]) or the nonflagellated Bvg+ phase-locked strain (RB53) in any of the human lung epithelial cell lines mentioned above (Fig. 1 and data not shown). Acute exposure to nonflagellated B. pertussis and B. parapertussis did not induce significant IL-8 secretion by A549 cells (Fig. 1B), consistent with previous reports (5). Finally, we used strain WD3 (
bscN), a B. bronchiseptica type III secretion mutant (69). Type III secretion has been shown to modulate signaling pathways in host cells (51, 68). As shown in Fig. 1A and B, WD3 induced the secretion of MIP-3
and IL-8 by human lung epithelial cells to an extent similar to the parental strain RB50, suggesting that factors secreted by the type III secretion system are not critical for these responses. Note that when RB50 and its isogenic derivative WD3 are grown in liquid culture, these strains can switch to the Bvg phase and express flagellin (Fig. 2), resulting in the induction of proinflammatory mediators in lung epithelial cells (Fig. 1). In contrast, we determined that RB50 and WD3 grown on solid agar media did not express flagellin and did not induce proinflammatory markers (data not shown). Altogether, these data show that flagellin expression by B. bronchiseptica results in the induction of a proinflammatory response in a variety of human lung epithelial cell lines and human primary airway cells. In this experimental design, no significant cytotoxicity due to B. bronchiseptica infection was observed at 6 and 24 h postinfection, the time points at which host responses were analyzed (data not shown).
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FIG. 1. Bordetella bronchiseptica flagellin is a critical determinant of MIP-3 and IL-8 secretion by human lung epithelial cells. (A) BEAS-2B human bronchial epithelial cells were exposed to B. bronchiseptica RB54, RB54 flaA, REV1, RBA5, RBA2, RB53, WD3, and RB50 for 1 h at a multiplicity of infection of 100. After extensive washes and the addition of fresh media containing antibiotics, cells were incubated for 24 h. Conditioned media were collected at 24 h postinfection, and the secretion of MIP-3 was examined by an ELISA. Cntl, control (uninfected cells). The response to flagellated and nonflagellated strains was statistically significantly different (P < 0.001) (*); the response to RB50 and WD3 was not significantly different (**). (B) A549 cells were exposed to B. bronchiseptica, B. pertussis Bp536 and Bp537 (isogenic Bvg derivative), and B. parapertussis 12822 (Bpp) grown in the absence or presence of 40 mM MgSO4 (Bvg phase condition), as described above for panel A. Conditioned media were collected at 24 h postinfection, and the secretion of IL-8 was examined by an ELISA. Differences between the response to motile and nonmotile strains were statistically significant (P < 0.001) (*); the response to RB50 and WD3 did not differ significantly (**). (C) Normal human bronchial epithelial cells were exposed to B. bronchiseptica as described above for panel A. Conditioned media were collected at 24 h postinfection, and the secretion of IL-8 was examined by an ELISA. The response to RB54 and RB54 flaA was significantly different (P < 0.01) (*).
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FIG. 3. Effect of Bordetella bronchiseptica flagellin on host defense gene expression. (A) Calu-3 human airway epithelial cells were exposed to purified B. bronchiseptica flagellin (107 M). Infection with B. bronchiseptica RB54 and RB54 flaA for 1 h at a multiplicity of infection of 50 was used as a control (Cntl). Total RNA was prepared at 6 h postinfection, and the expression of human ß-defensins hBD2 and hBD1 was examined by reverse transcription-PCR. (B) Calu-3 cells were treated with purified B. bronchiseptica flagellin (107 M) or infected as described above for panel A, and expression of the matrix metalloproteinase matrilysin (MMP-7) was examined by Northern blotting with a specific probe at 6 h postinfection. MAT, matrilysin. Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) was used as a housekeeping control gene. (C, D, and E) Calu-3 cells were exposed to purified B. bronchiseptica flagellin (107 M) or infected with B. bronchiseptica RB54 and RB54 flaA as described above for panel A. Conditioned media were collected 24 h after treatment or infection, and the secretion of IL-8, GM-CSF, and MIP-3 was examined by an ELISA. Differences between the response to RB54 and RB54 flaA were statistically significant (P < 0.001) (*).
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FIG. 2. Expression of flagellin by Bordetella bronchiseptica. (A) Conditioned media from epithelial cells exposed for 1 h to B. bronchiseptica, B. pertussis, and B. parapertussis were collected, centrifuged to eliminate debris, and resolved by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Flagellin was detected by Western blotting with a monoclonal antibody directed against Escherichia coli flagellin. A single band of approximately 40 kDa was detected in conditioned media of cells exposed to B. bronchiseptica RB54, REV1, RB50, and WD3. No band was detected in conditioned media of cells exposed to B. bronchiseptica RB54 flaA, RBA5, RBA2, RB53, B. pertussis Bp536 and Bp537, and B. parapertussis (Bpp). The positions of molecular mass markers (in kilodaltons) are shown to the left of the gels. Cntl, control (uninfected cells). (B) Samples of a cell lysate and purified flagellin from the motile strain RB54 were separated by SDS-PAGE and stained with Coomassie blue. The positions of molecular mass markers (in kilodaltons) are shown to the left of the gel. A unique protein of approximately 40 kDa was present in the purified flagellin preparations. (C) Aliquots of RB54 cell lysate and purified flagellin shown in panel B were resolved by SDS-PAGE, transferred to nitrocellulose filters, and probed by Western blotting with a monoclonal antibody against E. coli flagellin. A unique reactive band of approximately 40 kDa was detected. The positions of molecular mass markers (in kilodaltons) are shown to the left of the gel.
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flaA, RBA5, RBA2, and RB53 and B. pertussis and B. parapertussis (Fig. 2A). The motility phenotype was confirmed in standard soft-agar motility assays for all B. bronchiseptica strains and correlated with the presence or absence of flagellin as detected by Western blotting of conditioned media and bacterial cell lysates (data not shown). As mentioned before, RB50 and WD3 grown on solid agar media did not express flagellin (data not shown).
B. bronchiseptica flagellin induces host defense gene expression in human lung epithelial cells.
In order to examine the role of flagellin in the pathogenesis of B. bronchiseptica, we purified this protein from strain RB54 (32). A unique band migrating at about 40 kDa, consistent with the expected mass of B. bronchiseptica flagellin (1, 46), was detected by Coomassie blue staining in our purified preparations (Fig. 2B), and its identity was further confirmed as flagellin by Western blotting (Fig. 2C) and N-terminal sequencing. We exposed Calu-3 human airway epithelial cells to purified flagellin, as well as to strains RB54 and RB54
flaA. As shown in Fig. 3A, expression of the inducible antimicrobial peptide hBD2 was up-regulated by exposure to flagellin and RB54, but not to the flagellin mutant RB54
flaA. hBD1, which is constitutively expressed by epithelial cells (31, 44), was used as an internal control. Furthermore, the expression of matrilysin, a matrix metalloproteinase involved in host defense (66), which is specifically up-regulated by P. aeruginosa flagellin (32), was also induced by Bordetella flagellin and RB54, but not by RB54
flaA (Fig. 3B). In similar experiments, conditioned media were harvested at 24 h postinfection, and selected proinflammatory mediators were examined by ELISAs. The secretion of IL-8, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), and MIP-3
was induced by treatment with purified flagellin to an extent similar to exposure to RB54 (Fig. 3C, D, and E). On the basis of the amount of flagellin detected by Western blotting in conditioned medium samples of infected cells, direct exposure to B. bronchiseptica RB54 for 1 h at an MOI of 100 was roughly equivalent to treatment with 107 M purified flagellin (data not shown). Altogether, these results indicate that B. bronchiseptica flagellin is an important determinant of expression of these host defense genes and a modulator of airway mucosal defense.
Bordetella flagellin is similar in potency to other bacterial flagellins. We compared the effects of flagellin purified from Bordetella, Pseudomonas, and Salmonella species on IL-8 secretion by human lung epithelial cells. In these experiments, Calu-3 cells were challenged for 24 h with different concentrations of endotoxin-free flagellin, and the accumulation of IL-8 in the conditioned media was determined by ELISA. As shown in Fig. 4, treatment with 108 M Bordetella flagellin resulted in an approximately 20-fold induction in IL-8 levels, while the same concentration of S. enterica serovar Typhimurium flagellin resulted in a 24-fold induction. Consistent with recent observations (4, 24), P. aeruginosa flagellin showed slightly reduced bioactivity (about 10-fold induction in IL-8 secretion with exposure to 108 M flagellin). Therefore, Bordetella flagellin bioactivity in human airway epithelial cells is comparable to that of flagellin from other gram-negative pathogens.
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FIG. 4. Bioactivity of Bordetella bronchiseptica flagellin is comparable to those of other bacterial flagellins. Calu-3 human airway epithelial cells were challenged with the indicated concentrations (M) of purified B. bronchiseptica (Bb), P. aeruginosa (Pa), and S. enterica serovar Typhimurium (St) flagellin. Conditioned media were collected at 24 h postchallenge, and the secretion of IL-8 was examined by an ELISA. Cntl, control (uninfected cells).
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flaA and RBA-5 and the nonmotile strain RBA-2 (Fig. 5A). In fact, IL-8 secretion in response to the flagellin mutants was not significantly different from the low level of IL-8 induction observed in HEK293-null cells exposed to B. bronchiseptica (Fig. 5A). This response of HEK293-null cells may be mediated by intrinsic low levels of expression of other receptors in the parental cells (57). In addition, transfected cells were treated for 24 h with 108 M endotoxin-free flagellin purified from B. bronchiseptica and S. enterica serovar Typhimurium, and secretion of IL-8 was examined by ELISA as before (Fig. 5B). Results show that treatment with Bordetella flagellin induces IL-8 secretion to a similar extent in cells expressing human and mouse TLR-5, suggesting that it signals effectively through both receptors. Furthermore, Bordetella flagellin bioactivity in these cells was comparable to Salmonella flagellin bioactivity.
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FIG. 5. Bordetella bronchiseptica flagellin signals through both human and mouse TLR-5. (A) HEK293-null, HEK293-hTLR5, and HEK293-mTLR-5 epithelial cells were exposed to B. bronchiseptica RB54, RB54 flaA, REV1, RBA5, and RBA2 as described in the legend to Fig. 1. After extensive washes and the addition of fresh media containing antibiotics, cells were incubated for 24 h. Conditioned media were collected at 24 h postinfection, and the secretion of IL-8 was examined by an ELISA. Cntl, control (uninfected cells). The response to flagellated and nonflagellated strains was statistically significantly different (P < 0.001) (*). (B) HEK293-null, HEK293-hTLR5, and HEK293-mTLR-5 epithelial cells were treated with 108 M endotoxin-free purified flagellin from B. bronchiseptica (Bb) and S. enterica serovar Typhimurium (St), and the secretion of IL-8 was examined by an ELISA in 24-h conditioned media. Cntl, control (untreated cells).
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) and MIP-2 secretion over the isogenic flagellin mutants RB54
flaA and RBA-5. By contrast, exposure of control RAW cells to B. bronchiseptica resulted in increased cytokine levels that were not significantly different between motile strains and flagellin mutants. For a control, cells were incubated with purified Bordetella flagellin, and the levels of TNF-
were determined in conditioned media (Fig. 6C). Treatment of TLR-5-expressing cells, but not control cells, resulted in a 10-fold increase in TNF-
. Altogether, these results confirm the importance of flagellin in the development of proinflammatory responses to B. bronchiseptica infection.
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FIG. 6. Effects of Bordetella infection on mouse macrophages. (A and B) Control RAW 264.7 and TLR-5-expressing RAW 264.7 (TLR-5-EYFP) cells were infected with B. bronchiseptica at an MOI of 10 for 30 min. Following infection, cells were washed extensively and incubated in fresh media containing 100 µg/ml gentamicin. TNF- (A) and MIP-2 (B) levels were determined by ELISAs in 4-h conditioned media and corrected by cell number. Data are expressed as the percentage of TNF- and MIP-2 secreted by cells exposed to each of the motile strains. Cntl, control (uninfected cells). The response of TLR-5-expressing RAW 264.7 cells to flagellated and nonflagellated strains was significantly different (P < 0.05) (*). TNF- secretion by control RAW 264.7 cells exposed to the different B. bronchiseptica strains did not vary significantly (**). (C) Cells were treated with 109 M purified flagellin, and TNF- levels in 4-h conditioned media were analyzed by ELISAs. Data are expressed as the increase in induction over untreated cells. Cntl, control (no addition); Bb, B. bronchiseptica flagellin.
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, IL-8, and GM-CSF as critical components of the microenvironment generated by human epithelial cells to coordinate inflammatory responses in the airways. IL-8 and GM-CSF are involved in recruitment and survival of neutrophils (53), and MIP-3
(CCL20) participates in the recruitment and activation of immature dendritic cells (50). Flagellin-regulated human host defense genes, matrilysin and ß-defensin-2 genes (32, 43), were also specifically induced by Bordetella flagellin.
The conserved N- and C-terminal domains of flagellin from different bacteria are essential for bioactivity (14, 16, 42, 56), and the N-terminal D1 domain conserved amino acid residues required for TLR-5 activation are conserved in Bordetella flagellin (4). Indeed, we show here that the proinflammatory and signaling potencies of Bordetella flagellin are comparable to those of S. enterica serovar Typhimurium and P. aeruginosa flagellins, in contrast with the low intrinsic activity (i.e., weak development of inflammatory responses and/or activation of TLR-5) reported for Helicobacter pylori (20, 29) and Campylobacter jejuni (62) flagellins. Altogether, our results using primary and immortalized cells suggest that Bordetella flagellin shapes a potent proinflammatory and innate immune response in lung epithelial cells. In vivo, B. bronchiseptica elicits acute inflammatory responses in the lung, and host factors may contribute to effective bacterial clearance (65). Among other virulence factors important in Bordetella pathogenesis (10, 17), a role for lipopolysaccharide signaling through TLR-4 has been demonstrated recently (23, 34, 35). Interestingly, up-regulation of most inflammatory genes in B. bronchiseptica-exposed macrophages occurs in a TLR-4-independent manner (34). Exposure of TLR-4-deficient macrophages to whole bacteria resulted in an overall transcriptional response to B. bronchiseptica similar to the one observed in wild-type macrophages, while lipopolysaccharide had no significant effect on TLR-4-deficient macrophages (34). While pointing to the importance of TLR-4-mediated signaling in the early production of TNF-
during B. bronchiseptica infection, this work suggested that additional bacterial factors are responsible for eliciting the majority of the macrophage inflammatory response to this microorganism (34). Thus, our present work includes flagellin among the bacterial factors that modulate the host response to B. bronchiseptica.
In the context of Bordetella infection and in addition to the lack of flagellin expression by B. pertussis, another difference between B. bronchiseptica and B. pertussis is the expression of pertussis toxin only by the latter species. Thus, the induction of chemokines by pertussis toxin could result in different inflammatory responses to these two species (reviewed in reference 36). Furthermore, with the demonstrated ability of Bordetella flagellin to activate TLR-5, it is likely that flagellin from this microorganism may also activate other immune cells, including macrophages and dendritic cells (39, 40).
Because of the inflammatory activity of flagellin, an emerging theme in bacterial pathogenesis suggests that the infection strategy of some bacteria has evolved to effectively suppress its expression, whether permanently or during the establishment of chronic infection. B. bronchiseptica carries the entire flagellar operon, and it is motile, whereas the flagellar operons of both B. pertussis and B. parapertussis are inactivated by multiple pseudogenes and insertions, resulting in a lack of motility (45). Indeed, flagellin expression is rapidly and effectively repressed upon infection with wild-type B. bronchiseptica (1, 9), and ectopic expression of flagellin in the Bvg+ growth phase inhibits colonization (1). Therefore, our data on Bordetella flagellin bioactivity provide a rationale for immunological pressure to suppress its expression during infection of the host. In addition, B. bronchiseptica flagellin induced similar proinflammatory responses in cells expressing human or mouse TLR-5. Within the limitations of an in vitro system, the data strongly suggest that B. bronchiseptica flagellin signals effectively through both the human and mouse flagellin receptors.
The loss of flagellar expression by B. pertussis and B. parapertussis evokes the lack of motility developed by P. aeruginosa as a specific long-term adaptation to the environment in the cystic fibrosis lung (33, 67) and the loss of motility of Shigella species and Yersinia pestis as a strategy to adapt to a particular host environment (58). Since Bordetella flagellar expression is limited to the Bvg phase, it has been suggested that these organelles are important in survival in the environment (45). For B. pertussis, a lack of motility may reflect adaptation to a human-restricted niche, supporting the hypothesis that this microorganism does not have an environmental phase. In host-pathogen interactions, surface structures, such as flagella, fimbriae, and polysaccharides, have a dual role in the establishment of infection and modulation of host responses aimed at clearance. Thus, elimination of flagella may have contributed to enhanced B. pertussis virulence in the human host (45, 47). In this context, the inhibition of colonization by the ectopic expression of flagella in the B. bronchiseptica Bvg+ phase underscores the importance of BvgAS-mediated flagellin repression in the establishment of long-term Bordetella infection (1). In summary, our present work includes Bordetella flagellin in the class of bacterial flagellins with potent proinflammatory effects on lung epithelial cells and demonstrates that human and mouse TLR-5-expressing cells respond similarly to Bordetella flagellin. Because of the abilities of bacterial flagellin to induce mucosal immune responses and to act as a potent adjuvant (11, 24, 60), characterizing responses to Bordetella flagellin may be particularly relevant in the context of the development of new vaccines against Bordetella spp.
This work was supported in part by Wake Forest University School of Medicine institutional funds (Y.S.L.-B. and R.D.). We (Y.S.L.-B., L.M.C., and R.D.) declare no conflict of interest.
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