PUBLICATION

Mycobacterium abscessus-Induced Granuloma Formation Is Strictly Dependent on TNF Signaling and Neutrophil Trafficking

Authors
Bernut, A., Nguyen-Chi, M., Halloum, I., Herrmann, J.L., Lutfalla, G., Kremer, L.
ID
ZDB-PUB-161103-3
Date
2016
Source
PLoS pathogens   12: e1005986 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Lutfalla, Georges
Keywords
Neutrophils, Embryos, Macrophages, Granulomas, Larvae, Fluorescence microscopy, Zebrafish, Confocal microscopy
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Animals, Genetically Modified
  • Chemotaxis, Leukocyte/immunology
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Granuloma/immunology*
  • Granuloma/pathology
  • Microscopy
  • Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous/immunology*
  • Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous/microbiology
  • Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous/pathology
  • Neutrophils/cytology
  • Neutrophils/immunology*
  • Nontuberculous Mycobacteria/immunology
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Signal Transduction/immunology*
  • Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/immunology*
  • Zebrafish
PubMed
27806130 Full text @ PLoS Pathog.
Abstract
Mycobacterium abscessus is considered the most common respiratory pathogen among the rapidly growing non-tuberculous mycobacteria. Infections with M. abscessus are increasingly found in patients with chronic lung diseases, especially cystic fibrosis, and are often refractory to antibiotic therapy. M. abscessus has two morphotypes with distinct effects on host cells and biological responses. The smooth (S) variant is recognized as the initial airway colonizer while the rough (R) is known to be a potent inflammatory inducer associated with invasive disease, but the underlying immunopathological mechanisms of the infection remain unsolved. We conducted a comparative stepwise dissection of the inflammatory response in S and R pathogenesis by monitoring infected transparent zebrafish embryos. Loss of TNFR1 function resulted in increased mortality with both variants, and was associated with unrestricted intramacrophage bacterial growth and decreased bactericidal activity. The use of transgenic zebrafish lines harboring fluorescent macrophages and neutrophils revealed that neutrophils, like macrophages, interact with M. abscessus at the initial infection sites. Impaired TNF signaling disrupted the IL8-dependent neutrophil mobilization, and the defect in neutrophil trafficking led to the formation of aberrant granulomas, extensive mycobacterial cording, unrestricted bacterial growth and subsequent larval death. Our findings emphasize the central role of neutrophils for the establishment and maintenance of the protective M. abscessus granulomas. These results also suggest that the TNF/IL8 inflammatory axis is necessary for protective immunity against M. abscessus and may be of clinical relevance to explain why immunosuppressive TNF therapy leads to the exacerbation of M. abscessus infections.
Genes / Markers
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Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
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Mapping