Toxoplasma gondii dense granule protein GRA24 drives MyD88-independent p38 MAPK activation, IL-12 production and induction of protective immunity

Autor: Barbara A. Fox, Heather L. Mercer, Claire M. Doherty, Eric Y. Denkers, David J. Bzik, Lindsay M. Snyder
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
Chemokine
Physiology
Protozoan Proteins
Biochemistry
Immune Receptors
p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases
Toxoplasma Gondii
Mice
Immune Physiology
Medicine and Health Sciences
Enzyme-Linked Immunoassays
Biology (General)
Receptor
Toll-like Receptors
Protozoans
Mice
Knockout

Innate Immune System
0303 health sciences
Immune System Proteins
biology
Nucleotides
Chemistry
030302 biochemistry & molecular biology
Eukaryota
Interleukin-12
Cell biology
Interleukin 12
Cytokines
Toxoplasma
Toxoplasmosis
Research Article
Signal Transduction
MAP Kinase Signaling System
QH301-705.5
p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases
Immunology
CD11c
Research and Analysis Methods
Microbiology
03 medical and health sciences
Virology
Parasite Groups
Parasitic Diseases
Genetics
Animals
Uracils
Immunoassays
Molecular Biology
030304 developmental biology
Nucleobases
Macrophages
Organisms
Wild type
Biology and Life Sciences
Proteins
Toxoplasma gondii
Cell Biology
Molecular Development
RC581-607
biology.organism_classification
Parasitic Protozoans
Enzyme Activation
Immune System
Myeloid Differentiation Factor 88
Immunologic Techniques
biology.protein
Tachyzoites
Parasitology
Immunologic diseases. Allergy
Dense granule
Apicomplexa
Developmental Biology
Zdroj: PLoS Pathogens, Vol 16, Iss 5, p e1008572 (2020)
PLoS Pathogens
ISSN: 1553-7374
DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1008572
Popis: The apicomplexan Toxoplasma gondii induces strong protective immunity dependent upon recognition by Toll-like receptors (TLR)11 and 12 operating in conjunction with MyD88 in the murine host. However, TLR11 and 12 proteins are not present in humans, inspiring us to investigate MyD88-independent pathways of resistance. Using bicistronic IL-12-YFP reporter mice on MyD88+/+ and MyD88-/- genetic backgrounds, we show that CD11c+MHCII+F4/80- dendritic cells, F4/80+ macrophages, and Ly6G+ neutrophils were the dominant cellular sources of IL-12 in both wild type and MyD88 deficient mice after parasite challenge. Parasite dense granule protein GRA24 induces p38 MAPK activation and subsequent IL-12 production in host macrophages. We show that Toxoplasma triggers an early and late p38 MAPK phosphorylation response in MyD88+/+ and MyD88-/- bone marrow-derived macrophages. Using the uracil auxotrophic Type I T. gondii strain cps1-1, we demonstrate that the late response does not require active parasite proliferation, but strictly depends upon GRA24. By i. p. inoculation with cps1-1 and cps1-1:Δgra24, we identified unique subsets of chemokines and cytokines that were up and downregulated by GRA24. Finally, we demonstrate that cps1-1 triggers a strong host-protective GRA24-dependent Th1 response in the absence of MyD88. Our data identify GRA24 as a major mediator of p38 MAPK activation, IL-12 induction and protective immunity that operates independently of the TLR/MyD88 cascade.
Author summary Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan parasite that infects over 1 billion people worldwide. Infection with the parasite is normally asymptomatic and Toxoplasma co-exists with its host in the form of latent cysts in brain and muscle tissue. The balance between immune recognition and immune evasion is likely a key factor in the outcome of this host-parasite interaction. It is therefore important to understand how Toxoplasma triggers immunity, and in particular how the protective cytokine IL-12 is induced during infection. While Toll-like receptor (TLR)/MyD88 signaling is important in mouse resistance to Toxoplasma, this pathway is likely less important in human infection. Here, we report that the parasite dense granule protein GRA24 triggers p38 MAPK activation and IL-12 production independently of TLR/MyD88 signaling. We identify additional cytokines and chemokines that are regulated by GRA24 during in vivo infection. Our data demonstrate that GRA24 initiates a protective MyD88-independent immune response during in vivo infection. The GRA24 molecule provides an example of a parasite molecule whose function is induction of a host protective immune response. From the standpoint of Toxoplasma, this likely reflects an evolutionary adaptation to ensure host survival and simultaneously enable latency to maximize the chance of transmission.
Databáze: OpenAIRE