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Infection and Immunity, February 2006, p. 1156-1160, Vol. 74, No. 2
0019-9567/06/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/IAI.74.2.1156-1160.2006
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Immunobiology Program, Department of Medicine,1 Department of Pathology, The University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, Vermont 50405,2 Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Charlotte, North Carolina 282233
Received 12 September 2005/ Returned for modification 13 October 2005/ Accepted 21 November 2005
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Fas (CD95, Apo-1) is highly expressed by several cells in inflamed synovium, including macrophages, dendritic cells (DC), fibroblasts, and lymphocytes (17, 21). Fas ligand (FasL) is also expressed by some of the same synovial components, including macrophages (21) and 
T cells (24). Fas recruits FADD (Fas-associated death domain protein) and caspase-8, which form the death-inducing signal complex that promotes apoptosis (8, 9). Although Fas is traditionally viewed as a death receptor that triggers apoptosis, more recent studies have shown that in certain circumstances Fas can also activate the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and NF-
B signal pathways (2, 14, 15). In this capacity Fas can stimulate cell growth and/or differentiation in various cell types, including fibroblasts (1), cardiac myocytes (5), certain tumors (20), and T lymphocytes (3).
We recently determined that synovial FasL can stimulate DC to produce interleukin-12 (IL-12) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-
) and to upregulate CD86 (11). This resulted from the high expression by DC of the Fas inhibitor, c-FLIP, which renders them resistant to Fas-mediated cell death (4, 23). In addition to blocking Fas-mediated cell death, c-FLIP also diverts signals to the mitogen-activated protein kinase ERK, by the association of c-FLIP with Raf1 (15). c-FLIP can also engage the NF-
B pathway through an association with TRAF2 and RIP1 (15, 16). These alternative pathways of Fas signaling were likely responsible for the induction of IL-12 and TNF-
by Fas stimulation (23). Given the prominent role of synovial DC in regulating inflammatory responses in the joints, these collective findings suggested that FasL might contribute to the inflammatory response during the induction of synovitis following infection with B. burgdorferi.
To test more directly the role of FasL in vivo in Lyme arthritis, we examined the infectivity of B. burgdorferi, the antibody and cytokine responses, and inflammatory arthritis in C3H/HeJ+/+ and C3H/HeJ FasL mutant (gld) mice. C3H mice develop multisystem infections in response to B. burgdorferi with a reproducibly high incidence of polyarthritis within 4 weeks after inoculation (7, 29, 30). As gld mice develop adenopathy and an autoimmune propensity with age (10), only young 4-week-old mice were used prior to the onset of either feature. The findings show that although both groups of mice developed similar burdens of infection and titers of anti-Borrelia antibodies, C3Hgld mice manifested a significantly reduced Borrelia-specific cytokine response as well as a decreased incidence and severity of arthritis compared to C3H+/+ control mice. The results demonstrate a role for Fas/FasL interactions in the host immune response to B. burgdorferi.
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Infection and evaluation of mice. Low-passage cloned B. burgdorferi strain N40, with proven infectivity and pathogenicity in mice, was used throughout the studies. Spirochetes were grown in Barbour-Stoenner-Kelly complete medium (Sigma Chemical Co., St. Louis, MO) at 34°C to mid-log phase and then counted by dark-field microscopy using a Petroff-Hausser bacterial counting chamber. Spirochetes (105) were inoculated subcutaneously at the middle posterior section of the neck. Mice were euthanized after 2 weeks or 4 weeks of infection. Serum was collected and assayed for B. burgdorferi-specific antibody titer and isotype. Tibiotarsal joint thickness was measured by spring-loaded digital calipers (Mitutoyo Corp., Japan). Total genomic DNA was extracted from the ear and then analyzed by SYBR green real-time PCR as previously reported (18). Heart and legs were collected for histology assessment by hematoxylin and eosin staining. Assessment of joint inflammation was made by two readers who were blinded to the code of the slides.
T-cell cytokine response to B. burgdorferi.
Splenic CD4+ cells were purified by magnetic bead negative selection using antibodies to CD8 (Tib105), major histocompatibility complex class II (3F12), NK1.1 (RK136), and CD11b (BD PharMingen, San Diego, CA). Splenic CD11c+ dendritic cells were purified by positive selection with biotinylated anti-CD11c beads from miniMACS (Miltenyi Biotec Inc., Auburn, CA). Purified CD4+ cells (106) were plated in 48-well plates with 20 µg/ml Borrelia sonicate and 106 purified CD11c+ dendritic cells in a final volume of 1 ml. Supernatants were collected after 72 h. Quantification of IL-4 and gamma interferon (IFN-
) using a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was performed as described previously (12). Additional cytokines were also analyzed by cytometric bead array according to the manufacturer's protocol (BD PharMingen). Capture beads (50 µl) were added to the assay tube combined with 50 µl of cytokine standard over a range of 1,250 pg/ml to 20 pg/ml, or with 50 µl of test samples. Phycoerythrin-conjugated detection reagent (50 µl) was added to each tube and incubated for 2 h at room temperature protected from direct light exposure. Wash buffer (1 ml) was added to each tube and centrifuged at 200 x g for 5 min. The supernatant was aspirated, and bead pellets were resuspended in 300 µl of wash buffer. Samples were analyzed by flow cytometry using cytometric bead array software.
B. burgdorferi-specific antibody determination. Ninety-six-well microtiter plates (ICN Biomedical, Aurora, OH) were coated overnight at 4°C with 20 µg/ml Borrelia sonicate in bicarbonate coating buffer, pH 9.6, and blocked with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) plus 10% fetal calf serum at room temperature for 3 h or at 4°C overnight. After two washes with PBS-0.05% Tween 20, serially diluted sera (from 1:25 to 1:400) were applied and incubated at 37°C for 3 h. Wells were washed three times, and biotinylated anti-immunoglobulin G (IgG), IgG2a, and IgG1 (ZYMED Laboratories, San Francisco, CA) were applied individually and incubated at room temperature for 45 min. After six washes, the plates were incubated with avidin-peroxidase-conjugated anti-mouse antibody at room temperature for 30 min. TMB chromogenic substrate was added to all the wells after eight additional washes, and plates were read at 450 nm by an ELISA reader (ELX 800; Bioteck, Winooski, VT).
Detection of Borrelia-specific recA gene by real-time PCR. DNA was extracted from the ears or bladders of mice, or from cultured B. burgdorferi, using the DNeasy method (QIAGEN, Valencia, CA) according to the manufacturer's recommendations. Briefly, mouse tissue was cut into small pieces and digested with 180 µl of buffer ATL and 20 µl of proteinase K and then incubated at 55°C overnight. Samples were vortexed for 15 s and 200 ul of buffer AL was added, mixed thoroughly, and incubated at 70°C for 10 min. Two hundred microliters of 100% ethanol was added and mixed. The mixture was placed in the DNeasy mini spin column and centrifuged at 8,000 rpm for 3 min. The column was washed with buffer AW2 and centrifuged at 14,000 rpm for 3 min. The column was placed in a 1.5-ml microcentrifuge tube and 200 µl of buffer AE was added to the membrane, and then the tube was centrifuged at 8,000 rpm for 1 min.
Quantitative PCR of B. burgdorferi recA and mouse nidogen genes performed using SYBR green. The oligonucleotide primers used to detect the B. burgdorferi chromosomal recA gene, as previously published (18), were as follows: 5'-GTG GAT CTA TTG TAT TAG ATG AGG CTC TCG-3' (forward primer) and 5'-GCC AAA GTT CTG CAA CAT TAA CAC CTA AAG-3' (reverse primer). For standardization of the recA copy number against a reference internal mouse DNA control, the mouse nidogen gene was amplified using the following primers: 5'-CCA GCC ACA GAA TAC CAT CC-3' (forward primer) and 5'-GGA CAT ACT CTG CTG CCA TC-3' (reverse primer). PCR was performed on an ABI PRISM 7700. The standard amplification program was as follows: stage 1 (1 cycle of 94°C x 2 min), stage 2 (34 cycles of three steps; 94°C x 1 min, 60°C x 1 min, and 72°C x 1 min), and stage 3 (a three-step process for generating the dissociation curve; 95°C x 1 min, 60°C x 1 min, and 95°C x 1 min). Using this system, a threshold of 10 copies of the recA gene was detectable. The use of different amounts of ear genomic DNA from mice did not interfere with the linearity of the assay.
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FIG. 1. Similar burdens of B. burgdorferi and antibody responses in C3H+/+ and C3Hgld mice. (A) Quantitative PCR for the B. burgdorferi recA gene compared to the mouse nidogen gene was performed using ear DNA from eight C3H+/+ mice (open bars) and eight C3Hgld mice (closed bars) at 2 weeks and 4 weeks following infection with B. burgdorferi. No statistically significant difference was observed at either time point using the Mann-Whitney method. The findings were consistent in three separate experiments. (B) Serum samples were collected from the same animals and assayed by ELISA for Borrelia-specific total IgG, IgG2a, and IgG1. Shown are mean (± standard deviations) at a serum dilution of 1:100 from one of three similar experiments. Anti-Borrelia antibodies were undetectable in PBS-injected control mice of each genotype. No statistical differences were observed in mean antibody titers in three experiments at any serum dilution.
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and IL-4 by ELISA. As shown in Fig. 2A, the levels of these cytokines after 2 weeks of infection tended to be higher in C3H+/+ CD4+ T cells, although this was not statistically significant. However, by 4 weeks postinfection, C3H+/+ CD4+ T cells did indeed produce significantly more IFN-
and IL-4 than did C3Hgld CD4+ T cells (Fig. 2A). The cytokine production was due to Borrelia infection as there was no significant cytokine response of CD4+ T cells from uninfected mice. These findings were observed in three separate experiments. The ELISA findings were also confirmed and extended using cytokine bead array analysis. This revealed a statistically significant decrease in IFN-
, TNF-
, and IL-6, but not IL-10, for C3Hgld CD4+ T cells (Fig. 2B). These differences were not due to an inherent unresponsiveness of C3Hgld CD4+ cells, as the cytokine response to CD3/CD28 stimulation was equivalent to C3H+/+ CD4+ T cells (data not shown).
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FIG. 2. Decreased cytokine response from Borrelia-infected C3Hgld mice. CD4+ T cells were purified from the spleens of mice infected 2 weeks and 4 weeks previously with B. burgdorferi (Bb). CD4+ T cells (106) were cultured in a final volume of 1 ml containing 20 µg/ml Borrelia sonicate with 106 irradiated syngeneic dendritic cells purified from the spleens of uninfected C3H+/+ mice. After 72 h, supernatants were assayed by (A) ELISA for IFN- and IL-4 and (B) cytokine bead array of the same supernatants for IFN- , TNF- , IL-6, and IL-10. *, indicates statistically significant differences (P < 0.05) by the Mann-Whitney method. These finding were consistent in three experiments.
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FIG. 3. Decreased ankle swelling in Borrelia-infected C3Hgld mice. Tibiotarsal joint thickness was measured by digital calipers after 2 weeks and 4 weeks of Borrelia infection. * indicates statistically significant differences (P < 0.05) by the Mann-Whitney method. Bb, B. burgdorferi.
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TABLE 1. Decreased arthritis in B. burgdorferi-infected gld micea
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(10). For these reasons, only young 4-week-old mice were used in the current studies. Nonetheless, the cytokine profile of C3Hgld CD4+ T cells in response to B. burgdorferi was considerably diminished compared to wild-type CD4+ T cells, particularly at 4 weeks. This paralleled a decreased incidence and severity of arthritis in C3Hgld mice. Hence, while the absence of FasL signaling by T cells may not influence the burden of Borrelia, it greatly alters the extent to which the immune response provokes a secondary inflammatory synovitis.
The decreased cytokine response of CD4+ T cells from Borrelia-infected C3Hgld mice might result from either a decreased frequency of Borrelia-reactive T cells or a decreased responsiveness on a per cell basis. However, cytokine responses of CD4+ T cells from infected wild-type versus gld mice were very similar following anti-CD3/CD28 activation. This would favor a decreased frequency of Borrelia-reactive CD4+ T cells in gld mice. In either event, the findings indicate that in the absence of FasL there is a lack of optimal activation of at least the CD4+ T-cell cytokine response to B. burgdorferi. Although there is no known signaling abnormality in T cells from gld mice, other studies using wild-type T cells have demonstrated a possible positive retrograde signaling via FasL to costimulate T-cell proliferation (28). In addition, we (11) and others (23) have demonstrated that dendritic cells are strongly activated via FasL signaling to produce IL-12, TNF-
, and IL-1ß as well as to upregulate expression of surface CD40, CD80, CD86, and major histocompatibility complex class II. A likely explanation for the FasL-mediated activation, rather than cell death, of dendritic cells is that they express high levels of the Fas inhibitor, c-FLIP, a caspase-8 homolog that can also divert signals toward the mitogen-activated protein kinase ERK, as well as augment NF-
B activation (4, 15). Fas-mediated activation of dendritic cells could provide a strong stimulus toward proinflammatory cytokine production, which is observed in the synovial fluid of Lyme arthritis patients (32).
The contribution of Fas/FasL interactions in murine Lyme disease could also occur in other cell types in addition to dendritic cells. Fibroblasts are resistant to Fas-mediated cell death and proliferate faster in the presence of Fas stimulation (1). This could promote the expansion of synovial fibroblasts and macrophages in inflamed joints, a hallmark of rheumatoid arthritis and chronic Lyme arthritis (6, 21). In this regard, mice deficient for Fas also manifest diminished collagen-induced arthritis, and Fas-deficient macrophages have less induction of NF-
B and cytokine response following stimulation with the TLR4 agonist lipopolysaccharide (17). In addition, macrophages, like dendritic cells, are moderately resistant to Fas-induced death (21) and secrete large amounts of chemokines in response to Fas ligation, which was critical for tumor eradication in a murine model (13). Macrophage activation and recruitment are also central to the inflammatory features of murine borreliosis, and we observed substantially fewer macrophages in the synovium of Borrelia-infected gld mice. Fas signaling engages recruitment of FADD, caspase-8, and c-FLIP, and deficiency in any of these molecules is embryonically lethal (31, 33). Hence, Fas may function at many levels in cell responses during development of Borrelia infection as well as during infection to regulate inflammatory responses.
This work was supported by grants AR43520 and AI 45666 (to R.C.B.) and P30CA22435 (Vermont Cancer Center) from the National Institutes of Health.
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T cells instruct dendritic cells via Fas ligand. J. Immunol. 175:5656-5665.
B signaling pathway. Mol. Cell. Biol. 24:2627-2636.
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