Dataset Information

Predictive computational modeling of the mucosal immune responses during Helicobacter pylori infection.

ABSTRACT: T helper (Th) cells play a major role in the immune response and pathology at the gastric mucosa during Helicobacter pylori infection. There is a limited mechanistic understanding regarding the contributions of CD4+ T cell subsets to gastritis development during H. pylori colonization. We used two computational approaches: ordinary differential equation (ODE)-based and agent-based modeling (ABM) to study the mechanisms underlying cellular immune responses to H. pylori and how CD4+ T cell subsets influenced initiation, progression and outcome of disease. To calibrate the model, in vivo experimentation was performed by infecting C57BL/6 mice intragastrically with H. pylori and assaying immune cell subsets in the stomach and gastric lymph nodes (GLN) on days 0, 7, 14, 30 and 60 post-infection. Our computational model reproduced the dynamics of effector and regulatory pathways in the gastric lamina propria (LP) in silico. Simulation results show the induction of a Th17 response and a dominant Th1 response, together with a regulatory response characterized by high levels of mucosal Treg) cells. We also investigated the potential role of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor ? (PPAR?) activation on the modulation of host responses to H. pylori by using loss-of-function approaches. Specifically, in silico results showed a predominance of Th1 and Th17 cells in the stomach of the cell-specific PPAR? knockout system when compared to the wild-type simulation. Spatio-temporal, object-oriented ABM approaches suggested similar dynamics in induction of host responses showing analogous T cell distributions to ODE modeling and facilitated tracking lesion formation. In addition, sensitivity analysis predicted a crucial contribution of Th1 and Th17 effector responses as mediators of histopathological changes in the gastric mucosa during chronic stages of infection, which were experimentally validated in mice. These integrated immunoinformatics approaches characterized the induction of mucosal effector and regulatory pathways controlled by PPAR? during H. pylori infection affecting disease outcomes.

SUBMITTER: Carbo A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3764126 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Predictive computational modeling of the mucosal immune responses during Helicobacter pylori infection.

Carbo Adria A Bassaganya-Riera Josep J Pedragosa Mireia M Viladomiu Monica M Marathe Madhav M Eubank Stephen S Wendelsdorf Katherine K Bisset Keith K Hoops Stefan S Deng Xinwei X Alam Maksudul M Kronsteiner Barbara B Mei Yongguo Y Hontecillas Raquel R

PloS one 20130905 9

T helper (Th) cells play a major role in the immune response and pathology at the gastric mucosa during Helicobacter pylori infection. There is a limited mechanistic understanding regarding the contributions of CD4+ T cell subsets to gastritis development during H. pylori colonization. We used two computational approaches: ordinary differential equation (ODE)-based and agent-based modeling (ABM) to study the mechanisms underlying cellular immune responses to H. pylori and how CD4+ T cell subsets ...[more]

PMID: 24039925

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Project description:Helicobacter pylori colonizes half of the world's population as the dominant member of the gastric microbiota resulting in a lifelong chronic infection. Host responses toward the bacterium can result in asymptomatic, pathogenic or even favorable health outcomes; however, mechanisms underlying the dual role of H. pylori as a commensal versus pathogenic organism are not well characterized. Recent evidence suggests mononuclear phagocytes are largely involved in shaping dominant immunity during infection mediating the balance between host tolerance and succumbing to overt disease. We combined computational modeling, bioinformatics and experimental validation in order to investigate interactions between macrophages and intracellular H. pylori. Global transcriptomic analysis on bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDM) in a gentamycin protection assay at six time points unveiled the presence of three sequential host response waves: an early transient regulatory gene module followed by sustained and late effector responses. Kinetic behaviors of pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) are linked to differential expression of spatiotemporal response waves and function to induce effector immunity through extracellular and intracellular detection of H. pylori. We report that bacterial interaction with the host intracellular environment caused significant suppression of regulatory NLRC3 and NLRX1 in a pattern inverse to early regulatory responses. To further delineate complex immune responses and pathway crosstalk between effector and regulatory PRRs, we built a computational model calibrated using time-series RNAseq data. Our validated computational hypotheses are that: 1) NLRX1 expression regulates bacterial burden in macrophages; and 2) early host response cytokines down-regulate NLRX1 expression through a negative feedback circuit. This paper applies modeling approaches to characterize the regulatory role of NLRX1 in mechanisms of host tolerance employed by macrophages to respond to and/or to co-exist with intracellular H. pylori.

Project description:Immune responses to Helicobacter pylori are orchestrated through complex balances of host-bacterial interactions, including inflammatory and regulatory immune responses across scales that can lead to the development of the gastric disease or the promotion of beneficial systemic effects. While inflammation in response to the bacterium has been reasonably characterized, the regulatory pathways that contribute to preventing inflammatory events during H. pylori infection are incompletely understood. To aid in this effort, we have generated a computational model incorporating recent developments in the understanding of H. pylori-host interactions. Sensitivity analysis of this model reveals that a regulatory macrophage population is critical in maintaining high H. pylori colonization without the generation of an inflammatory response. To address how this myeloid cell subset arises, we developed a second model describing an intracellular signaling network for the differentiation of macrophages. Modeling studies predicted that LANCL2 is a central regulator of inflammatory and effector pathways and its activation promotes regulatory responses characterized by IL-10 production while suppressing effector responses. The predicted impairment of regulatory macrophage differentiation by the loss of LANCL2 was simulated based on multiscale linkages between the tissue-level gastric mucosa and the intracellular models. The simulated deletion of LANCL2 resulted in a greater clearance of H. pylori, but also greater IFN? responses and damage to the epithelium. The model predictions were validated within a mouse model of H. pylori colonization in wild-type (WT), LANCL2 whole body KO and myeloid-specific LANCL2-/- (LANCL2Myeloid) mice, which displayed similar decreases in H. pylori burden, CX3CR1+ IL-10-producing macrophages, and type 1 regulatory (Tr1) T cells. This study shows the importance of LANCL2 in the induction of regulatory responses in macrophages and T cells during H. pylori infection.

Project description:BackgroundOngoing Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection triggers a chronic active gastritis. Eradicating HP reduces gastric inflammation, but does not eliminate it. We sought to characterize this persistent gastritis, and demonstrate the persistence of HP-specific Th17 responses in individuals previously infected with HP but who no longer had evidence of ongoing infection.Methodology/principal findingsStudy subjects were divided into 3 groups 55 individuals had active HP infection (group A), 41 were diagnosed with previous HP infection (group P), and 59 were naïve to HP (group N). Blood and gastric tissue were obtained with written informed consent from all subjects, and immune responses were evaluated using flow cytometry, semi-quantitative real time PCR, immunofluorescent staining, ELISA, and multiplex cytometric bead array for cytokine quantification. Elevated IL-17A responses were observed in patients from group A compared to group N. Interestingly, IL-17A responses remained persistently elevated in the blood and gastric mucosa of individuals from group P, despite the absence of ongoing HP infection. Using purified CD4(+) T cells as effectors and antibodies that blocked antigen presentation by MHC Class II, we showed that these persistent IL-17A responses were mediated primarily by HP-specific Th17 cells, rather than other immune cells that have also been described to secrete IL-17A. Gastric mucosal IL-1? levels were also persistently elevated in group P, and neutralisation of IL-1? reduced the HP-specific IL-17A response of purified CD4(+) T cells to autologous HP-pulsed antigen presenting cells in vitro, suggesting a functional association between IL-1? and the persistent Th17 response in group P patients.Conclusions/significanceDespite lack of ongoing HP infection, HP-specific Th17 cells persist in the blood and gastric mucosa of individuals with past HP infection. We speculate that this persistent inflammation might contribute to gastric mucosal pathology, for example, persistent increased gastric cancer risk despite eradication of HP.

Dataset Information

Predictive computational modeling of the mucosal immune responses during Helicobacter pylori infection.

Publications

Predictive computational modeling of the mucosal immune responses during Helicobacter pylori infection.

Similar Datasets

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