技术资料

Little is known about monocyte differentiation in the lung mucosal environment and about how the epithelium shapes monocyte function. We studied the role of the soluble component of bronchial epithelial cells (BECs) obtained under basal culture conditions in innate and adaptive monocyte responses. Monocytes cultured in bronchial epithelial cell-conditioned media (BEC-CM) specifically upregulate CD141,CD123,and DC-SIGN surface levels andFLT3expression,as well as the release of IL-1β,IL-6,and IL-10. BEC-conditioned monocytes stimulate naive T cells to produce IL-17 through IL-1β mechanism and also trigger IL-10 production by memory T cells. Furthermore,monocytes cultured in an inflammatory environment induced by the cytokines IL-6,IL-8,IL-1β,IL-15,TNF-α,and GM-CSF also upregulate CD123 and DC-SIGN expression. However,only inflammatory cytokines in the epithelial environment boost the expression of CD141. Interestingly,we identified a CD141/CD123/DC-SIGN triple positive population in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) from patients with different inflammatory conditions,demonstrating that this monocyte population existsin vivo. The frequency of this monocyte population was significantly increased in patients with sarcoidosis,suggesting a role in inflammatory mechanisms. Overall,these data highlight the specific role that the epithelium plays in shaping monocyte responses. Therefore,the unraveling of these mechanisms contributes to the understanding of the function that the epithelium may playin vivo. View Publication

The embryonic mouse lung is a widely used substitute for human lung development. For example,attempts to differentiate human pluripotent stem cells to lung epithelium rely on passing through progenitor states that have only been described in mouse. The tip epithelium of the branching mouse lung is a multipotent progenitor pool that self-renews and produces differentiating descendants. We hypothesized that the human distal tip epithelium is an analogous progenitor population and tested this by examining morphology,gene expression and in vitro self-renewal and differentiation capacity of human tips. These experiments confirm that human and mouse tips are analogous and identify signalling pathways that are sufficient for long-term self-renewal of human tips as differentiation-competent organoids. Moreover,we identify mouse-human differences,including markers that define progenitor states and signalling requirements for long-term self-renewal. Our organoid system provides a genetically-tractable tool that will allow these human-specific features of lung development to be investigated. View Publication

Human bocavirus 1 (HBoV1) is a human parvovirus that causes acute respiratory tract infections in young children. In this study,we confirmed that,when polarized/well-differentiated human airway epithelia are infected with HBoV1in vitro,they develop damage characterized by barrier function disruption and cell hypotrophy. Cell death mechanism analyses indicated that the infection induced pyroptotic cell death characterized by caspase-1 activation. Unlike infections with other parvoviruses,HBoV1 infection did not activate the apoptotic or necroptotic cell death pathway. When the NLRP3-ASC-caspase-1 inflammasome-induced pathway was inhibited by short hairpin RNA (shRNA),HBoV1-induced cell death dropped significantly; thus,NLRP3 mediated by ASC appears to be the pattern recognition receptor driving HBoV1 infection-induced pyroptosis. HBoV1 infection induced steady increases in the expression of interleukin 1α (IL-1α) and IL-18. HBoV1 infection was also associated with the marked expression of the antiapoptotic genesBIRC5andIFI6When the expression ofBIRC5and/orIFI6was inhibited by shRNA,the infected cells underwent apoptosis rather than pyroptosis,as indicated by increased cleaved caspase-3 levels and the absence of caspase-1.BIRC5and/orIFI6gene inhibition also significantly reduced HBoV1 replication. Thus,HBoV1 infection of human airway epithelial cells activates antiapoptotic proteins that suppress apoptosis and promote pyroptosis. This response may have evolved to confer a replicative advantage,thus allowing HBoV1 to establish a persistent airway epithelial infection. This is the first report of pyroptosis in airway epithelia infected by a respiratory virus.IMPORTANCEMicrobial infection of immune cells often induces pyroptosis,which is mediated by a cytosolic protein complex called the inflammasome that senses microbial pathogens and then activates the proinflammatory cytokines IL-1 and IL-18. While virus-infected airway epithelia often activate NLRP3 inflammasomes,studies to date suggest that these viruses kill the airway epithelial cells via the apoptotic or necrotic pathway; involvement of the pyroptosis pathway has not been reported previously. Here,we show for the first time that virus infection of human airway epithelia can also induce pyroptosis. Human bocavirus 1 (HBoV1),a human parvovirus,causes lower respiratory tract infections in young children. This study indicates that HBoV1 kills airway epithelial cells by activating genes that suppress apoptosis and thereby promote pyroptosis. This strategy appears to promote HBoV1 replication and may have evolved to allow HBoV1 to establish persistent infection of human airway epithelia. View Publication

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a common childhood infection that in young infants can progress into severe bronchiolitis and pneumonia. Disease pathogenesis results from both viral mediated and host immune processes of which alveolar macrophages play an important part. Here,we investigated the role of different types of alveolar macrophages on RSV infection using an in vitro co-culture model involving primary tissue-derived human bronchial epithelial cells (HBECs) and human blood monocyte-derived M0-like,M1-like,or M2-like macrophages. It was hypothesized that the in vitro model would recapitulate previous in vivo findings of a protective effect of macrophages against RSV infection. It was found that macrophages maintained their phenotype for the 72-hour co-culture time period and the bronchial epithelial cells were unaffected by the macrophage media. HBEC infection with RSV was decreased by M1-like macrophages but enhanced by M0- or M2-like macrophages. The medium used during the co-culture also impacted the outcome of the infection. This work demonstrates that alveolar macrophage phenotypes may have differential roles during epithelial RSV infection,and demonstrates that an in vitro co-culture model could be used to further investigate the roles of macrophages during bronchial viral infection. View Publication