Submandibular lymph node, a key battleground for host-Yersinia pestis interaction: A transcriptomic study using non-human primate model

ABSTRACT: 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.

ORGANISM(S): Chlorocebus aethiops Macaca fascicularis Macaca mulatta

PROVIDER: GSE101653 | GEO | 2017/10/31

SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA395085

REPOSITORIES: GEO