Capacity Of Macrophages Research Articles

Microbiota-Derived Short-Chain Fatty Acids Promote LAMTOR2-Mediated Immune Responses in Macrophages.

ABSRTACTKlebsiella pneumoniae is a common cause of human-pneumonia-derived sepsis with high morbidity and mortality. The microbiota promotes and maintains host immune homeostasis. The mechanisms by which the gut microbiota affects the host defenses in the respiratory system systematically, however, remain poorly understood. Here, we show that gut microbiota depletion increases susceptibility to extracellular K. pneumoniae infections in terms of increased bacterial burdens in lung and decreased survival rates. Oral supplementation with gut microbiota-derived short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), subsequently activating G protein-coupled receptor 43 (GPCR43), enhances a macrophage's capacity to phagocytose invading K. pneumoniae Furthermore, SCFAs and GPR43 increase macrophage bacterial clearance by upregulating LAMTOR2, which is further identified as an antibacterial effector and elucidated to facilitate phagosome-lysosome fusion and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) phosphorylation. Lastly, conditional ablation of Lamtor2 in macrophages decreases their antimicrobial activity, even though mice were pretreated with exogenous SCFA supplementation.IMPORTANCE These observations highlight that SCFAs promote macrophage elimination of K. pneumoniae via a LAMTOR2-dependent signal pathway and suggest that it is possible to intervene in K. pneumoniae pneumonia by targeting the gut microbiota.

Human myoblasts modulate the function of antigen-presenting cells

Muscle biopsy specimens of myositis patients were analyzed for the presence of dendritic cells (DC) and macrophages (MPh) by immunohistochemistry. The interaction of DC and myoblasts (MB) was studied by coculture and effects on DC phenotype and function were assessed by flow cytometry and T-cell proliferation assays. Effects of MB-lysates on the phagocytic capacity of MPh were analyzed in bead-incorporation assays. Myositis specimens revealed a tendency towards more immature DC. MB modulated the maturation state of DC and DC recovered from MB-coculture had an inhibitory effect on T-cell proliferation. MB-lysates strongly stimulated MPh phagocytosis. Hypothetically, MB might modulate APC, counterbalancing immune-mediated damage.

Stimulatory effects of leukotriene B4 on macrophage association with and intracellular destruction of Trypanosoma cruzi.

The effects of leukotriene B4 (LTB4) on mouse peritoneal macrophage (MPH) association with and destruction of Trypanosoma cruzi were studied. The presence of 10(-8) to 10(-6) M LTB4 in co-cultures of MPH and T. cruzi enhanced their association (a term meaning surface binding and internalization), as evidenced by increases in the percentage of MPH associating with trypanosomes and the number of parasites per 100 MPH. Pretreatment of either parasites or MPH with LTB4 increased their association with the untreated counterpart, suggesting that the enhancement was a composite of effects on both cells. The effect of LTB4 on MPH was reversible, because normal levels of MPH-parasite association were recorded 60 min after the LTB4 pretreatment. However, the enhancement was demonstrable after the MPH were incubated with LTB4 for up to 24 hr, indicating that the effect lasted if LTB4 was present. Pretreatment with LTB4 also increased the capacity of MPH to take up glutaraldehyde-killed T. cruzi or latex beads, suggesting that LTB4 stimulated phagocytosis. Pretreatment of rat heart myoblasts--which are not phagocytic--with LTB4 also increased parasite association, suggesting that phagocytic ability was not an absolute requirement for production of the enhancement and that LTB4-induced alterations of the cell membrane facilitating parasite invasion may also be involved. An effect of LTB4 on MPH cytotoxicity was denoted by an increased rate of intracellular parasite killing. Two inhibitors of guanylate cyclase abrogated the enhancing effect of LTB4, suggesting that increased MPH levels of cyclic GMP--known to be increased by LTB4--mediated the effect. Because inflammatory cells, such as are found in acute chagasic lesions, are known to produce increased amounts of leukotrienes, the stimulatory effects of LTB4 could contribute to host defense against T. cruzi infection.