Project description:Here we investigate how glucocorticoids affect the response to Interferon gamma in human macrophages. Total RNA obtained from monocyte-derived macrophages exposed to Interferon gamma presceding exposure to fluticasone propionate or left untreated.
Project description:Scrub typhus is a life-threatening disease caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi, a bacterium that mainly infects endothelial cells in vitro and in vivo. Evidence suggests that the interaction of O. tsutsugamushi with myeloid cells may play a pivotal role in O. tsutsugamushi infection. We showed here that O. tsutsugamushi intensively replicated within human monocyte-derived macrophages. Bacterial organisms stimulated the expression of a large panel of genes including type I interferon, interferon-stimulated, inflammatory, apoptosis-related genes and induced an M1-type gene response in macrophages. This transcriptional signature was accompanied by functional consequences such as the release of inflammatory cytokines such as Tumor Necrosis Factor and interleukin-gamma. Live O. tsutsugamushi organisms were necessary for type I interferon response and, to a lesser degree, to inflammatory response. As interferon-gamma is known to elicit M1 polarization, we assessed the effect of interferon-gamma on O. tsutsugamushi fate in macrophages. Exogenous interferon-gamma partly inhibited O. tsutsugamushi replication within macrophages. Our results suggest that the inflammatory response induced by O. tsutsugamushi may account for the local and systemic inflammation observed in scrub typhus and that interferon-gamma may be useful as an adjuvant treatment of patients with scrub typhus. Macrophages (4 M-CM-^W 10.5 cells per assay) were incubated with O. tsutsugamushi at a bacterium-to-cell ratio of 20:1 for 8 hours. RNA samples (four samples per experimental condition) were processed for microarray analysis.
Project description:Toxoplasma strains are known to inhibit the expression of several interferon-gamma induced genes, and a type II strain was shown to dysregulate genome-wide responses to interferon-gamma in human fibroblasts (Kim et al., 2007, J Immunol.). In this study we aimed to determine the effect of infection with three clonal lineages of Toxoplasma, type I, II, and III strains on genome-wide interferon-gamma induced transcription in murine macrophages. We also assessed the effect of the two main Toxoplasma modulators of mouse macrophage transcription, ROP16 and GRA15 (Jensen et al., 2011, Cell Host Microbe). We used Affymetrix microarrays to analyze host cell transcription after Toxoplasma infection and interferon-gamma stimulation. RAW264.7 murine macrophages were left uninfected or infected with type I (RH), type I ?rop16 (RH ?rop16), type II (Pru), type II ?gra15 (Pru ?gra15), or type II (CEP) parasites at an MOI ~5 for 18 hours and subsequently stimulated with murine IFN-? for six hours. Plaque assays were done to assess parasite viability. Total RNA was isolated and hybridized to Affymetrix Mouse 430A 2.0 gene chips.
Project description:Human fibroblasts were infected or not with Toxoplasma gondii (Pru strain) for 18 h at a nominal MOI of 3. Cells were subsequently treated with human recombinant interferon gamma (0.5 ng/ml = 30 pM) for 0, 2, 4 and 8 h before RNA was harvested for cDNA microarray experiments. Uninfected samples were named N0, N2, N4 and N8 (i.e., N2 indicated uninfected cells treated with interferon gamma for 2 h); infected samples were named P0, P2, P4 and P8. Duplicate cultures were analyzed for each condition (indicated as "a" and "b"). The reference channel (ch1, green) contained Universal Human Reference RNA. Using a genome-wide microarray analysis we show here a complete dysregulation of interferon-gamma-inducible gene expression in human fibroblasts infected with Toxoplasma. Notably, 46 of the 127 interferon-gamma-responsive genes were induced and 19 were suppressed in infected cells before they were exposed to interferon gamma, indicating that other stimuli produced during infection may also regulate these genes. Following interferon-gamma treatment, none of the 127 interferon-gamma-responsive genes could be significantly induced in infected cells.
Project description:Scrub typhus is a life-threatening disease caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi, a bacterium that mainly infects endothelial cells in vitro and in vivo. Evidence suggests that the interaction of O. tsutsugamushi with myeloid cells may play a pivotal role in O. tsutsugamushi infection. We showed here that O. tsutsugamushi intensively replicated within human monocyte-derived macrophages. Bacterial organisms stimulated the expression of a large panel of genes including type I interferon, interferon-stimulated, inflammatory, apoptosis-related genes and induced an M1-type gene response in macrophages. This transcriptional signature was accompanied by functional consequences such as the release of inflammatory cytokines such as Tumor Necrosis Factor and interleukin-gamma. Live O. tsutsugamushi organisms were necessary for type I interferon response and, to a lesser degree, to inflammatory response. As interferon-gamma is known to elicit M1 polarization, we assessed the effect of interferon-gamma on O. tsutsugamushi fate in macrophages. Exogenous interferon-gamma partly inhibited O. tsutsugamushi replication within macrophages. Our results suggest that the inflammatory response induced by O. tsutsugamushi may account for the local and systemic inflammation observed in scrub typhus and that interferon-gamma may be useful as an adjuvant treatment of patients with scrub typhus.
Project description:Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is a major melanoma risk factor, yet underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here we introduce a mouse model permitting fluorescence-aided melanocyte imaging and isolation following in vivo UV irradiation. We use expression profiling to show that activated neonatal skin melanocytes isolated following a melanomagenic UVB dose bear a distinct, persistent interferon-response signature, including genes associated with immunoevasion. UVB-induced melanocyte activation, characterized by aberrant growth and migration, was abolished by antibody-mediated systemic blockade of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), but not type-I interferons. IFN-gamma was produced by macrophages recruited to neonatal skin by UVB-induced chemokine receptor Ccr2 ligands. Admixed recruited skin macrophages enhanced transplanted melanoma growth by inhibiting apoptosis; notably, IFN-gamma blockade abolished macrophage-associated melanoma growth and survival. IFN-gamma-producing macrophages were identified in 70% of human melanomas examined. Our data reveal an unanticipated role for IFN-gamma in promoting melanocytic cell survival/immunoevasion, and suggest IFN-gamma-R signaling represents a novel therapeutic melanoma target. Biologic replicates of UVA- and UVB-treated mouse melanocytes, as well as untreated mouse melanocytes and mouse keratinocytes, were used to define melanocyte expression signatures associated with UV treatment.
Project description:Toxoplasma strains are known to inhibit the expression of several interferon-gamma induced genes, and a type II strain was shown to dysregulate genome-wide responses to interferon-gamma in human fibroblasts (Kim et al., 2007, J Immunol.). In this study we aimed to determine the effect of infection with three clonal lineages of Toxoplasma, type I, II, and III strains on genome-wide interferon-gamma induced transcription in murine macrophages. We also assessed the effect of the two main Toxoplasma modulators of mouse macrophage transcription, ROP16 and GRA15 (Jensen et al., 2011, Cell Host Microbe). We used Affymetrix microarrays to analyze host cell transcription after Toxoplasma infection and interferon-gamma stimulation.
Project description:Understanding how cells sense and respond to their environment, and how these responses are modulated by genetic variation, are fundamental biological problems, particularly for understanding how pathogenic organisms invade and manipulate the cells of the human immune system. Macrophages recognize and respond to many important human pathogens including HIV-1, Mycobacteria tuberculosis and Salmonella. This study will focus on the cellular response of human macrophages to Salmonella infection and how this response is modulated by the genetic bacground of the individual as well as additional pro-inflammatory stimulus (interferon-gamma priming). We will acquire 100 human induced pluripotent stem cell lines from the HipSci project, differentiate the cells in vitro into macrophages and expose them to four environmental conditions: (i) no stimulation, (ii) interferon-gamma (18h), (iii) Salmonella typhimurium SL1344 (5h), (iv) interferon-gamma (18h) + Salmonella (5h).Subsequently, we will isolate RNA from the samples for sequencing.
Project description:Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is a major melanoma risk factor, yet underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here we introduce a mouse model permitting fluorescence-aided melanocyte imaging and isolation following in vivo UV irradiation. We use expression profiling to show that activated neonatal skin melanocytes isolated following a melanomagenic UVB dose bear a distinct, persistent interferon-response signature, including genes associated with immunoevasion. UVB-induced melanocyte activation, characterized by aberrant growth and migration, was abolished by antibody-mediated systemic blockade of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), but not type-I interferons. IFN-gamma was produced by macrophages recruited to neonatal skin by UVB-induced chemokine receptor Ccr2 ligands. Admixed recruited skin macrophages enhanced transplanted melanoma growth by inhibiting apoptosis; notably, IFN-gamma blockade abolished macrophage-associated melanoma growth and survival. IFN-gamma-producing macrophages were identified in 70% of human melanomas examined. Our data reveal an unanticipated role for IFN-gamma in promoting melanocytic cell survival/immunoevasion, and suggest IFN-gamma-R signaling represents a novel therapeutic melanoma target.