Biology subjects

Aunins, E.

Publications and source records attributed to Aunins, E..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

The type I IFN-IL-27 axis promotes mRNA vaccine-induced CD8+ T cell responses

The ability of lipid nanoparticle (LNP)-delivered mRNA vaccines to induce type I IFNs is critical to promote CD8+ T cell responses. The studies presented here indicate that immunization with nucleoside modified mRNA-LNP vaccines drives myeloid cell expression of the cytokine IL-27, which acts on antigen-specific CD8+ T cells to sustain T cell expansion. In vitro and in vivo studies revealed that type I IFN signaling is necessary for mRNA-LNP-induced IL-27 production, that immunization failed in IL-27 KO mice, and that immunization of IFNAR1-deficient mice with mRNA-LNP particles that also encode IL-27 mRNA restored antigen-specific CD8+ T cell responses. In addition, IL-27 mRNA-LNPs served as an adjuvant that improved cytolytic CD8+ T cell responses and the therapeutic efficacy of mRNA-LNPs to drive anti-pathogen and anti-tumor immunity. These studies highlight the central role of IL-27 in mRNA-LNP induced CD8+ T cell responses and the ability of this cytokine to augment the functionality of the CD8+ T cell response for prophylactic or therapeutic immunization.

immunology↗

bioRxiv2023

TLR priming licenses NAIP inflammasome activation by immunoevasive ligands

NLR family, apoptosis inhibitory proteins (NAIPs) detect bacterial flagellin and structurally related components of bacterial type III secretion systems (T3SS), and recruit NLR family, CARD domain containing protein 4 (NLRC4) and caspase-1 into an inflammasome complex that induces pyroptosis. NAIP/NLRC4 inflammasome assembly is initiated by the binding of a single NAIP to its cognate ligand, but a subset of bacterial flagellins or T3SS structural proteins are thought to evade NAIP/NLRC4 inflammasome sensing by not binding to their cognate NAIPs. Unlike other inflammasome components such as NLRP3, AIM2, or some NAIPs, NLRC4 is constitutively present in resting macrophages, and not thought to be regulated by inflammatory signals. Here, we demonstrate that Toll-like receptor (TLR) stimulation upregulates NLRC4 transcription and protein expression in murine macrophages, which licenses NAIP detection of evasive ligands. TLR-induced NLRC4 upregulation and NAIP detection of evasive ligands required p38 MAPK signaling. In contrast, TLR priming in human macrophages did not upregulate NLRC4 expression, and human macrophages remained unable to detect NAIP-evasive ligands even following priming. Critically, ectopic expression of either murine or human NLRC4 was sufficient to induce pyroptosis in response to immunoevasive NAIP ligands, indicating that increased levels of NLRC4 enable the NAIP/NLRC4 inflammasome to detect these normally evasive ligands. Altogether, our data reveal that TLR priming tunes the threshold for NAIP/NLRC4 inflammasome activation and enables inflammasome responses against immunoevasive or suboptimal NAIP ligands. Significance StatementCytosolic receptors in the neuronal apoptosis inhibitor protein (NAIP) family detect bacterial flagellin and components of the type III secretion system (T3SS). NAIP binding to its cognate ligand engages the adaptor molecule NLRC4 to form NAIP/NLRC4 inflammasomes culminating in inflammatory cell death. However, some bacterial pathogens evade NAIP/NLRC4 inflammasome detection, thus bypassing a crucial barrier of the immune system. Here, we find that, in murine macrophages, TLR-dependent p38 MAPK signaling increases NLRC4 expression, thereby lowering the threshold for NAIP/NLRC4 inflammasome activation in response to immunoevasive NAIP ligands. Human macrophages were unable to undergo priming-induced upregulation of NLRC4 and could not detect immunoevasive NAIP ligands. These findings provide a new insight into species-specific regulation of the NAIP/NLRC4 inflammasome.

molecular biology↗

bioRxiv2021

Modifying TIMER, a slow-folding DsRed derivative, for optimal use in quickly-dividing bacteria

It is now well appreciated that members of pathogenic bacterial populations exhibit heterogeneity in growth rates and metabolic activity, and it is known this can impact the ability to eliminate all members of the bacterial population during antibiotic treatment. It remains unclear which pathways promote slowed bacterial growth within host tissues, primarily because it has been difficult to identify and isolate slow growing bacteria from host tissues for downstream analyses. To overcome this limitation, we have developed a novel variant of TIMER, a slow-folding fluorescent protein, to identify subsets of slowly dividing bacteria within host tissues. The original TIMER folds too slowly for fluorescence accumulation in quickly replicating bacterial species (Escherichia coli, Yersinia pseudotuberculosis), however this TIMER42 variant accumulates signal in late stationary phase cultures of E. coli and Y. pseudotuberculosis. We show TIMER42 signal also accumulates during exposure to sources of nitric oxide (NO), suggesting TIMER42 signal detects growth-arrested bacterial cells. In a mouse model of Y. pseudotuberculosis deep tissue infection, TIMER42 signal is clearly detected, and primarily accumulates in bacteria expressing markers of stationary phase growth. There was not significant overlap between TIMER42 signal and NO-exposed subpopulations of bacteria within host tissues, suggesting NO stress was transient, allowing bacteria to recover from this stress and resume replication. This novel TIMER42 variant represents a new faster folding TIMER that will enable additional studies of slow-growing subpopulations of bacteria, specifically within bacterial species that quickly divide. Author SummaryWe have generated a variant of TIMER that can be used to mark slow-growing subsets of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, which has a relatively short division time, similar to E. coli. We used a combination of site-directed and random mutagenesis to generate the TIMER42 variant, which has red fluorescent signal accumulation in post-exponential or stationary phase cells. We found that nitric oxide (NO) stress is sufficient to promote TIMER42 signal accumulation in culture, however within host tissues, TIMER42 signal correlates with a stationary phase reporter (dps). These results suggest NO may cause an immediate arrest in bacterial cell division, but during growth in host tissues exposure to NO is transient, allowing bacteria to recover from this stress and resume cell division. Thus instead of indicating a response to host stressors, TIMER42 signal accumulation within host tissues appears to identify slow-growing cells that are experiencing nutrient limitation.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2020

Topologically correct synthetic reconstruction of pathogen social behavior found in deep tissue sites

Within deep tissue sites, extracellular bacterial pathogens often replicate in clusters that are surrounded by immune cells. Disease is modulated by interbacterial interactions as well as bacterial-host cell interactions resulting in microbial growth, phagocytic attack and secretion of host antimicrobial factors. To overcome the limited ability to manipulate these infection sites, we established a system for Yersinia pseudotuberculosis (Yptb) growth in microfluidics-driven microdroplets that regenerates microbial social behavior in tissues. Chemical generation of nitric oxide (NO) in the absence of immune cells was sufficient to reconstruct microbial social behavior, as witnessed by expression of the NO-inactivating protein Hmp on the extreme periphery of microcolonies, mimicking spatial regulation in tissues. Similarly, activated macrophages that expressed inducible NO synthase (iNOS) drove peripheral expression of Hmp, allowing regeneration of social behavior observed in tissues. These results argue that topologically correct microbial tissue growth and associated social behavior can be reconstructed in culture.

microbiology↗