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Host Transcriptomic responses to pneumonic plague reveal that Yersinia pestis inhibits both the initial adaptive and innate immune responses in mice

ABSTRACT: Pneumonic plague is the most deadly form of infection caused by Yersinia pestis and can progress extremely fast. However, our understanding on the host transcriptomic response to pneumonic plague is insufficient. Here, we used RNA-sequencing technology to analyze transcriptomic responses in mice infected with fully virulent strain 201 or EV76, a live attenuated vaccine strain lacking the pigmentation locus. Approximately 600 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were detected in lungs from both 201- and EV76-infected mice at 12 hours post-infection (hpi). DEGs in lungs of 201-infected mice exceeded 2,000 at 48 hpi, accompanied by sustained large numbers of DEGs in the liver and spleen; however, limited DEGs were detected in those organs of EV-infected mice. Remarkably, DEGs in lungs were significantly enriched in critical immune responses pathways in EV76-infected but not 201-infected mice, including antigen processing and presentation, T cell receptor signaling among others. Pathological and bacterial load analyses confirmed the rapid systemic dissemination of 201-infection and the confined EV76-infection in lungs. Our results demonstrate that fully virulent Y. pestis strongly inhibits both the innate and adaptive immune responses that are substantially stimulated in a self-limited infection, which update our holistic views on the transcriptomic response to pneumonic plague.

ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus

PROVIDER: GSE84341 | GEO | 2017/07/13

SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA328937

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:Purpose:Investigated transcriptome profile changes in the lungs of infected mice at different time points, to increase our understanding of hvKp pulmonary infection and to screen for genes or targets of research value. microarray and quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT–PCR) methods and to evaluate protocols for optimal high-throughput data analysis Methods: Animals were randomly divided into four infection groups and one control group (five mice per group), and the infected mice were euthanized at 12, 24, 48 and 60 h post-infection (hpi), respectively, while the control group mice were euthanized immediately after delivery of PBS at the 0 h time point. The lungs of the mice were isolated and divided into two parts for subsequent histopathologic examination or total RNA extraction. Results: Using the control group (0 hpi) as a reference, 6247 DEGs were identified across four time points after hvKp infection. At 12 hpi, 939 upregulated DEGs and 439 downregulated DEGs were detected, and by 60 hpi, 2647 upregulated DEGs and 2806 downregulated DEGs were detected. Overall, the number of upregulated and downregulated DEGs increased over time and a total of 688 genes were upregulated and 240 genes downregulated in common for all time points. And 12 of these were validated with qRT–PCR. RNA-seq data had a linear relationship with qRT–PCR for more than four orders of magnitude and a goodness of fit (R2) of 0.9548. To get a more holistic view, DEGs were clustered into nine clusters according to their temporal expression patterns.WGCNA was performed with the detected DEGs. The dynamic tree cutting algorithm in the WGCNA package was used to process the hierarchical clustering tree, and a total of 28 different modules were finally obtained. Conclusions: Our work both validates the results of previous studies on K. pneumoniae pulmonary infections and provides new additions and insights on hvKp pulmonary infections, which may contribute to the development of therapeutic approaches to reduce hvKp lung inflammation.

Project description:Initiation of treatment during the pre-symptomatic phase of infection with Yersinia pestis (Y. pestis) is particularly critical because the rapid proliferation of Y. pestis is coupled with the manifestation of common flu-like early symptoms that often delay the intervention. Our study used African Green Monkeys that didn’t exhibited clear clinical symptoms for nearly two days after intranasal challenge with Y. pestis and succumbed within a day after showing the first signs of clinical discomfort. Colonization of Y. pestis was detected in blood one day post-infection although blood transcripts were found to be altered immediately after the pathogenic assault. The organs of the respiratory tract and those adjacent, such as lungs and submandibular lymph nodes, accumulated significant Y. pestis colonization immediately after pathogenic challenge. Hence organ-specific molecular investigations are deemed to be the key in elucidation of the mechanisms of the initial host response. Based on results from our previous investigation of the blood transcriptomic profile, we explored the early involvement of the ubiquitin-microtubule-mediated host defense mechanism in detail. Genes enriching the ubiquitin network were altered, indicating an early suppression of the network functions in the submandibular lymph nodes. In concert, the upstream toll-like receptor signaling and downstream IκB kinase/NFκB signaling were inhibited at the transcription level. The inflammatory response was suppressed in the lungs, submandibular lymph nodes and mediastinal lymph nodes. By dysregulating both ubiquitin and the microtubule networks, Yersinia pestis was able to impair host-mediated proteolysis activities and evade autophagosome capture. A synchronized suppression of the immune response may render the peripheral organs more vulnerable to the imminent pathogenic assault. Furthermore, a comprehensive early onset of apoptosis was found across these three organ types. This was possibly a parallel mechanism undertaken by Yersinia pestis to further weaken the host response and enable a permissive colonization of the host. Targeting these networks in an organ-specific and time-resolved fashion could be essential for development of the next generation therapeutics for pneumonic plague.

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Host Transcriptomic responses to pneumonic plague reveal that Yersinia pestis inhibits both the initial adaptive and innate immune responses in mice

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